Story: Propeller found miles from crash scene

In article ,
" jls" wrote:



To me, losing a prop on a single-engine tractor aircraft means instant loss
of power, an aft CG outside of the envelope, and a life-threatening
encounter with the earth's gravitational pull.

A prop for most light aircraft weights about 80 pounds for a constant
speed unit, much less for a fixed pitch prop. I don't anticipate that
on most GA aircraft the CG will go so far aft that you'll have control
problems,unless already loaded with the CG well aft.

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html

On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 06:13:05 -0800, Dale wrote:

In article ,
" jls" wrote:



To me, losing a prop on a single-engine tractor aircraft means instant loss
of power, an aft CG outside of the envelope, and a life-threatening
encounter with the earth's gravitational pull.

A prop for most light aircraft weights about 80 pounds for a constant
speed unit, much less for a fixed pitch prop. I don't anticipate that

I have the big 3-blade Hartzel on the Deb. It weighs 83#. The 2-blade
it replaced weighed 57#


Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
on most GA aircraft the CG will go so far aft that you'll have control
problems,unless already loaded with the CG well aft.

A quick back-of-the-envelope (unintentional pun) calculation, assuming a
Cherokee/Warrior prop weighs around 25 lb and is 6" back from the datum
shows a shift in CG of about 1.5" aft. Hardly life threatening. OTOH,
without a prop, the glide ability would really be improved, and it might be
very difficult to judge an approach under those circumstances. He might
have just landed really long compared with where he was hoping to set it
down.

My dad used to tell the story of a Corsair prop that departed the a/c during
a runup somewhere in the Pacific. It flew all the way across the airfield
at low level and was found several hundred feet into the jungle at the end
of an impressive swath cut through the bougainvillea. Depending on the
altitude and RPM at the time of loss, I can easily imagine a lost prop
traveling a mile or two before it hit the ground.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love
America

" jls" wrote in message
...


To me, losing a prop on a single-engine tractor aircraft means instant
loss
of power, an aft CG outside of the envelope, and a life-threatening
encounter with the earth's gravitational pull.

("Bob Chilcoat" wrote)
My dad used to tell the story of a Corsair prop that departed the a/c
during
a runup somewhere in the Pacific. It flew all the way across the airfield
at low level and was found several hundred feet into the jungle at the end
of an impressive swath cut through the bougainvillea. Depending on the
altitude and RPM at the time of loss, I can easily imagine a lost prop
traveling a mile or two before it hit the ground.


Prop thought fully feathered meant something else.


Montblack

"H.P." wrote:

Griswold Airport (MPE) is in the same town where he went down
(Madison).Wonder how (specifically) the dislodged prop affected the
aerodynamics of the Warrior and his chances for a controllable glide.

The prop and spinner weighs about 40 pounds. Removing it would have about the same
effect on the center of gravity as adding 40 pounds in the back seat would. With two
people on board and little luggage, the W&B would still be ok. The glide ratio would
improve, since a windmilling prop produces drag.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message ...
"H.P." wrote:

Griswold Airport (MPE) is in the same town where he went down
(Madison).Wonder how (specifically) the dislodged prop affected the
aerodynamics of the Warrior and his chances for a controllable glide.

The prop and spinner weighs about 40 pounds. Removing it would have about the same
effect on the center of gravity as adding 40 pounds in the back seat would. With two
people on board and little luggage, the W&B would still be ok. The glide ratio would
improve, since a windmilling prop produces drag.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.


Have I missed something here, or is there a possibility the prop
departed and fell promptly to the ground while the aircraft glided
several miles in whatever direction before crashing? What's so unusual
about a missing prop being miles from the airplane?

Dan

Sounds to me like it might be a failure to comply with AD 98-02-08,

SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to
certain Textron Lycoming 320 and 360 series reciprocating engines, that requires
visual inspections of the inside diameter (ID) of the crankshaft for corrosion
pits, and if corrosion pits are found during this inspection, prior to further
flight, performing a magnetic particle inspection (MPI) or fluorescent penetrant
inspection (FPI) of the ID for cracks. In addition, this AD requires reporting
findings of inspections to the FAA. Finally, terminating action to the
inspections of this AD is the application of a preventive treatment coating on
non-corroded crankshafts to prevent corrosion. This amendment is prompted by
reports of cracks in crankshafts originating from corrosion pits in the ID. The
actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent crankshaft failure, which
can result in engine failure, propeller separation, forced landing, and possible
damage to the aircraft. DATES: Effective March 30, 1998.

Demonick

Saw the clip on TV and the complete crank flange (less propeller) was still on
the plane.

Jim