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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
Well, a friend finally got his starduster too in the air. He finished it
this last winter, and has been preparing for his first flight, The flight went well, apparently normal until shutdown. There was about 6 " of prop missing from each end, and what was left was shattered back another 6-8". His landing was in full stall attitude and no pieces were found on the runway, no one heard anything, so we've pretty much ruled out a ground strike. The videos show a perfectly normal flight although in one of the low passes, one of the observers heard a whistling sound. I've got pictures heading this way, and should have them posted by tomorrow. The pilot was as surprized as the rest of us by the lack of vibration, and evidently what was left of the prop continued to produce thrust. This is a Starduster Too, with a continental 200hp radial, and a Sensenich wooden prop(72" I think). While I don't think the prop was new, it was in perfect shape, and the aircraft/engine/prop were inspected by a number of very qualified folks, and no one saw anything amiss, until after the flight. The aircraft was thoroughly checked for ground clearance before flight, and from the test I think the attitude required to strike the prop(even with compressed gear), would scare any still living pilot. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Al |
#2
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
Al wrote:
Well, a friend finally got his starduster too in the air. He finished it this last winter, and has been preparing for his first flight, The flight went well, apparently normal until shutdown. There was about 6 " of prop missing from each end, and what was left was shattered back another 6-8". His landing was in full stall attitude and no pieces were found on the runway, no one heard anything, so we've pretty much ruled out a ground strike. The videos show a perfectly normal flight although in one of the low passes, one of the observers heard a whistling sound. I've got pictures heading this way, and should have them posted by tomorrow. The pilot was as surprized as the rest of us by the lack of vibration, and evidently what was left of the prop continued to produce thrust. I can only suppose this to be torsional vibration? At some RPM, the propeller is twisted so hard in such a way to make the ends of the prop wiggle off. This sounds modereately unlikely - I would expect much more of the blade to break off. |
#3
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
"Ian Stirling" wrote in message ... Al wrote: Well, a friend finally got his starduster too in the air. He finished it this last winter, and has been preparing for his first flight, The flight went well, apparently normal until shutdown. There was about 6 " of prop missing from each end, and what was left was shattered back another 6-8". His landing was in full stall attitude and no pieces were found on the runway, no one heard anything, so we've pretty much ruled out a ground strike. The videos show a perfectly normal flight although in one of the low passes, one of the observers heard a whistling sound. I've got pictures heading this way, and should have them posted by tomorrow. The pilot was as surprized as the rest of us by the lack of vibration, and evidently what was left of the prop continued to produce thrust. I can only suppose this to be torsional vibration? At some RPM, the propeller is twisted so hard in such a way to make the ends of the prop wiggle off. This sounds modereately unlikely - I would expect much more of the blade to break off. It had metal tips, if that helps. Don't most radial engines run wood props? Maybe we had the wrong prop for the engine? I'll see if I can get model numbers. I have one picture of the aircraft showing the prop,('before') and will post it at alt.binaries.pictures.aviation, followed by the 'after" pictures(probably tomorrow) Al |
#4
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
Ian Stirling wrote: Al wrote: Well, a friend finally got his starduster too in the air. He finished it this last winter, and has been preparing for his first flight, The flight went well, apparently normal until shutdown. There was about 6 " of prop missing from each end, and what was left was shattered back another 6-8". His landing was in full stall attitude and no pieces were found on the runway, no one heard anything, so we've pretty much ruled out a ground strike. The videos show a perfectly normal flight although in one of the low passes, one of the observers heard a whistling sound. I've got pictures heading this way, and should have them posted by tomorrow. The pilot was as surprized as the rest of us by the lack of vibration, and evidently what was left of the prop continued to produce thrust. I can only suppose this to be torsional vibration? At some RPM, the propeller is twisted so hard in such a way to make the ends of the prop wiggle off. This sounds modereately unlikely - I would expect much more of the blade to break off. While that is certainly a possibility, there is something else that can be checked quickly and easily... Question to OP... In three point attitude, how much prop clearance IS/WAS there? and How deep was the grass? Folk, you would not believe what grass can do to a wood prop unless you see it for yourself. Just a thought. Richard Now, if this already stated to be a paved runway, well, I'm on via Google Groups at the moment. Haven't figured out how the threads work yet. Rx |
#5
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
Pavement, KRBG, and about 10" I think.
Al "cavelamb" wrote in message oups.com... Ian Stirling wrote: Al wrote: Well, a friend finally got his starduster too in the air. He finished it this last winter, and has been preparing for his first flight, The flight went well, apparently normal until shutdown. There was about 6 " of prop missing from each end, and what was left was shattered back another 6-8". His landing was in full stall attitude and no pieces were found on the runway, no one heard anything, so we've pretty much ruled out a ground strike. The videos show a perfectly normal flight although in one of the low passes, one of the observers heard a whistling sound. I've got pictures heading this way, and should have them posted by tomorrow. The pilot was as surprized as the rest of us by the lack of vibration, and evidently what was left of the prop continued to produce thrust. I can only suppose this to be torsional vibration? At some RPM, the propeller is twisted so hard in such a way to make the ends of the prop wiggle off. This sounds modereately unlikely - I would expect much more of the blade to break off. While that is certainly a possibility, there is something else that can be checked quickly and easily... Question to OP... In three point attitude, how much prop clearance IS/WAS there? and How deep was the grass? Folk, you would not believe what grass can do to a wood prop unless you see it for yourself. Just a thought. Richard Now, if this already stated to be a paved runway, well, I'm on via Google Groups at the moment. Haven't figured out how the threads work yet. Rx |
#6
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
"Al" wrote in message ... Well, a friend finally got his starduster too in the air. He finished it this last winter, and has been preparing for his first flight, The flight went well, apparently normal until shutdown. There was about 6 " of prop missing from each end, and what was left was shattered back another 6-8". His landing was in full stall attitude and no pieces were found on the runway, no one heard anything, so we've pretty much ruled out a ground strike. The videos show a perfectly normal flight although in one of the low passes, one of the observers heard a whistling sound. I've got pictures heading this way, and should have them posted by tomorrow. The pilot was as surprized as the rest of us by the lack of vibration, and evidently what was left of the prop continued to produce thrust. This is a Starduster Too, with a continental 200hp radial, and a Sensenich wooden prop(72" I think). While I don't think the prop was new, it was in perfect shape, and the aircraft/engine/prop were inspected by a number of very qualified folks, and no one saw anything amiss, until after the flight. The aircraft was thoroughly checked for ground clearance before flight, and from the test I think the attitude required to strike the prop(even with compressed gear), would scare any still living pilot. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Al Nope, sounds very lucky! |
#7
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
Any BLOOD? Might have hit a bird!
"Al" wrote in message ... Well, a friend finally got his starduster too in the air. He finished it this last winter, and has been preparing for his first flight, The flight went well, apparently normal until shutdown. There was about 6 " of prop missing from each end, and what was left was shattered back another 6-8". His landing was in full stall attitude and no pieces were found on the runway, no one heard anything, so we've pretty much ruled out a ground strike. The videos show a perfectly normal flight although in one of the low passes, one of the observers heard a whistling sound. I've got pictures heading this way, and should have them posted by tomorrow. The pilot was as surprized as the rest of us by the lack of vibration, and evidently what was left of the prop continued to produce thrust. This is a Starduster Too, with a continental 200hp radial, and a Sensenich wooden prop(72" I think). While I don't think the prop was new, it was in perfect shape, and the aircraft/engine/prop were inspected by a number of very qualified folks, and no one saw anything amiss, until after the flight. The aircraft was thoroughly checked for ground clearance before flight, and from the test I think the attitude required to strike the prop(even with compressed gear), would scare any still living pilot. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Al |
#8
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
"Cy Galley" wrote in message news:1Affg.756435$084.24840@attbi_s22... Any BLOOD? Might have hit a bird! I didn't see any blood, (see new photos alt.binaries.pictures.aviation) and it seems unlikely you'd trash both ends with one bird. Al |
#9
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
Al wrote:
Pavement, KRBG, and about 10" I think. Al Ok, another WAG? Stardusters sometimes have rather long looking noses. If that was 10" in level attitude - obviously not a prob. If that's 10" clearance in 3 point? Maybe? LAST WAG? You found an old prop on the resturant wall? |
#10
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Starduster Too, first flight, busted prop
"cavelamb" wrote in message nk.net... Al wrote: Pavement, KRBG, and about 10" I think. Al Ok, another WAG? Stardusters sometimes have rather long looking noses. If that was 10" in level attitude - obviously not a prob. If that's 10" clearance in 3 point? Maybe? It was a good 10" in a level attitude. Far enough to strike the prop would be scary indeed. LAST WAG? You found an old prop on the resturant wall? He, He, It WILL end up on a wall somewhere. Perhaps with a clock. The strange part to me is that he didn't notice a thing until shutdown. I finally got some pictures up, (alt.binaries.pictures.aviation). I tried earlier, but hit some kind of size limitation. Al |
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