Throwing TP out of a/c?

[Ken S. Tucker]

Of course there are laws about throwing things out
of your airplane, that's a gimme, but I'm told some
like to toss out a few rolls of toilet paper.
That sounds 'benighn' and I'm quite certain no pilot
who post to this fine group would ever do that, but
perhaps a *friend* of yours did, what did your friend
do?
Ken

[a[_3_]]

On Dec 12, 5:02*pm, "Ken S. Tucker" > wrote:
> Of course there are laws about throwing things out
> of your airplane, that's a gimme, but I'm told some
> like to toss out a few rolls of toilet paper.
> That sounds 'benighn' and I'm quite certain no pilot
> who post to this fine group would ever do that, but
> perhaps a *friend* of yours did, what did your friend
> do?
> Ken

The roll of toilet paper trick used to be done at Old Rheinbeck (sp?)
Aerodrome in upstate NY, and then the guy flying the Cub would attempt
to cut it time and again. I remember watching in amazement as he got
very very close to the tree tops for the last several cuts. I don't
know how tightly a Cub can turn, but my qualitative answer is its
turning radius is oh-my-god tight at low airspeeds.

[vaughn[_2_]]

"Ken S. Tucker" > wrote in message
...
> Of course there are laws about throwing things out
> of your airplane, that's a gimme,

There is a regulation (not a law) "about" throwing things out of planes, but it
specifically does not prohibit the practice. Reference FAR 91.15

Vaughn

[Bug Dout]

Yeah I tried it a few times in a J3. It turns out to be rather
difficult to deliberately hit something in the air...but it is funny to
watch the TP drift like a huge piece of lint.
--
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support
rather than illumination."
-Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

[John Clear]

In article >,
a > wrote:
>
>The roll of toilet paper trick used to be done at Old Rheinbeck (sp?)
>Aerodrome in upstate NY, and then the guy flying the Cub would attempt
>to cut it time and again. I remember watching in amazement as he got
>very very close to the tree tops for the last several cuts. I don't
>know how tightly a Cub can turn, but my qualitative answer is its
>turning radius is oh-my-god tight at low airspeeds.

Old Rhinebeck still does the TP ribbon cuts, but they were using
a couple of WWI biplanes to do it when I was there over the summer.

For those not familiar with Old Rhinebeck <http://oldrhinebeck.org/>,
the *newest* planes in their collection are from WWI (many of their
planes are original, and they also have some very period accurate
reproductions). They have an original Bleriot XI (1911), claimed
to be the oldest plane in the US that still flies.

Definitely worth a trip if you are in the NYC area. It is located
about 2hrs north of NYC by car. Flying in is discouraged since
the runway is very unflat (the hills in the runway help deal with
the lack of brakes on the planes in the collection).

John
--
John Clear - http://www.clear-prop.org/

[Agerhart]

On Dec 12, 6:13*pm, Bug Dout > wrote:
> Yeah I tried it a few times in a J3. *It turns out to be rather
> difficult to deliberately hit something in the air...but it is funny to
> watch the TP drift like a huge piece of lint.
> --
> "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support
> rather than illumination."
> -Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

If you put a paper clip on the edge of the roll, engaging about 1/8"
of TP, it will
string out in a long line, as opposed to creating a large "pancake".

If you do manage to hit it squarely; land soon and decowl the
aircraft. TP has
been known to scatter across the top of the engine, sticking in the
cooling fins,
and presenting a very real fire hazard.

Ask me how I know.

Al G

[Ken S. Tucker]

On Dec 17, 9:05 am, Agerhart > wrote:
> On Dec 12, 6:13 pm, Bug Dout > wrote:
>
> > Yeah I tried it a few times in a J3. It turns out to be rather
> > difficult to deliberately hit something in the air...but it is funny to
> > watch the TP drift like a huge piece of lint.
> > --
> > "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support
> > rather than illumination."
> > -Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
>
> If you put a paper clip on the edge of the roll, engaging about 1/8"
> of TP, it will
> string out in a long line, as opposed to creating a large "pancake".
> If you do manage to hit it squarely; land soon and decowl the
> aircraft. TP has
> been known to scatter across the top of the engine, sticking in the
> cooling fins,
> and presenting a very real fire hazard.
> Ask me how I know.
> Al G

LOL, it's my thread, so I'll "ask".
Seriously, I rather doubt a bit of shredded TP would be a fire
hazard. OK, maybe a probabilty of 1 in 10,000, guess if you
use heavy ply TP maybe 1 in 8,000, but that's for rich folks.
Ken

[Agerhart]

On Dec 17, 12:15*pm, "Ken S. Tucker" > wrote:
> On Dec 17, 9:05 am, Agerhart > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Dec 12, 6:13 pm, Bug Dout > wrote:
>
> > > Yeah I tried it a few times in a J3. *It turns out to be rather
> > > difficult to deliberately hit something in the air...but it is funny to
> > > watch the TP drift like a huge piece of lint.
> > > --
> > > "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support
> > > rather than illumination."
> > > -Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
>
> > If you put a paper clip on the edge of the roll, engaging about 1/8"
> > of TP, it will
> > string out in a long line, as opposed to creating a large "pancake".
> > If you do manage to hit it squarely; land soon and decowl the
> > aircraft. TP has
> > been known to scatter across the top of the engine, sticking in the
> > cooling fins,
> > and presenting a very real fire hazard.
> > Ask me how I know.
> > Al *G
>
> LOL, it's my thread, so I'll "ask".
> Seriously, I rather doubt a bit of shredded TP would be a fire
> hazard. OK, maybe a probabilty of 1 in 10,000, guess if you
> use heavy ply TP maybe 1 in 8,000, but that's for rich folks.
> Ken- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

While checking for traffic I noticed this roll of tp un-rolling
verically nearby. It
apparently had no paper clip, and when it reached the end of the roll,
the cardboard
dropped off and left only paper. The lower edge(leading edge) had a
tendancy to fold back and create a larger drag surface than the
vertically falling TP, which folded itself back and forth until
achieving an inverted contact lens shape, about 3 feet in diameter. I
banked the Turbo 206 around for a closer look, and boresighted a spot
about 50'
below the mass(leading the target). I lost sight of my traffic, and
hit it with the spinner.

During the debrief, a mechanic with almost no sense of humor brought
me a large fistfull of very compacted TP. He had found it stuck to
baffle connectors, between the cylinders, and on bolts near the cowl
flaps. Most of that which was recovered, came from between the
cylinders. I think the blocking of cooling air is a far more serious
threat than the possibility of fire.

Al G