Pietenpol-List: Wood Prop & Rain
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2003 11:36 pm
Original Posted By: clif
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Wood Prop & RainOK, here is another flying story, during my Big Adventure: On the second leg of my return trip from Oshkosh, Sat. 8/2, enroute from Iowa Co. Wisconsin (MRJ) to Mount Pleasant, Iowa (MPZ)...what turned out to beone of the longer legs of my trip - 3 1/2 hours in the seat !! I was faced with a beautiful panoramic view of the Mighty Mississippi River about 5 stretching to 10 miles or more, out in front of me. Words simply cannot portraythis type of scenery. I was in 'The Zone', with thoughts of how our civilization has progressed, and altered the scenery from how it must have lookedbefore humans were on earth. Holding the stick between my thumb and fingers, it was a little bit bumpy, but my reflexes became used to letting 'er just ride it out, instead of correcting for every bump. The earth was slowly slipping about1000 feet below my trusty wings, when all of a sudden...BAM !! Something smacked me right on the forehead !! I thought a bolt or something fell off theengine, when I noticed the drops of water crawling up my windscreen. My thoughts instantly went to how rain can 'sandblast' a wood prop into a uselesspiece of frayed wood. As I instantly rolled into a steep right bank & haul back on the stick, my being was searching for any slight vibration, with thoughts of the prop eroding into an out of balance block of hard wood, then shaking the engine loose from the airframe, then becoming WAY tail heavy, I would spin in,and that would be that. I was ready to shut 'er down, if any serious vibrationwould be felt. After completing a 180 turn, it lasted what seemed like an eternity, but actually maybe another 30 seconds. Drops were still on the windscreen, but they just stayed there...no more crawlers. I was out of the rain.Decision time. Go back to Iowa Co. Airport, or see if I can pick my way through. Raising each wing tip, I could see what I was in. Towering cumulus tothe South, where I could see the showers under a portion of them, but directlywest looked like a wide path, judging by how the sun was shining on the earth. I picked up a westerly heading for the 10 mile wide path cut in the clouds. Approaching the Mighty Miss again, I always climb an extra 1000 feet, just in case the engine conks out. Engines always seem to have a way of sputtering when crossing a large body of water, or a forest. On this occasion, she neverskipped a beat !! After crossing the Miss, I just had to fly along the West shore for a little while, just to take it all in. What a magnificent river !!Way off course now, I had to locate my position with the chart I had strapped on my lap board. This wasn't too difficult, because there are numerous landmarks to refer to, and the ol' Piet just isn't fast enough to get lost...well,almost...but that's another story. The rest of this leg consisted of picking my way through the high clouds, enjoying every moment, and maintaining my position with my finger on the chart. Chuck G.NX770CGlogged 29.3 hours during my Big Adventure !!________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 00:14:51 -0700
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Wood Prop & RainOK, here is another flying story, during my Big Adventure: On the second leg of my return trip from Oshkosh, Sat. 8/2, enroute from Iowa Co. Wisconsin (MRJ) to Mount Pleasant, Iowa (MPZ)...what turned out to beone of the longer legs of my trip - 3 1/2 hours in the seat !! I was faced with a beautiful panoramic view of the Mighty Mississippi River about 5 stretching to 10 miles or more, out in front of me. Words simply cannot portraythis type of scenery. I was in 'The Zone', with thoughts of how our civilization has progressed, and altered the scenery from how it must have lookedbefore humans were on earth. Holding the stick between my thumb and fingers, it was a little bit bumpy, but my reflexes became used to letting 'er just ride it out, instead of correcting for every bump. The earth was slowly slipping about1000 feet below my trusty wings, when all of a sudden...BAM !! Something smacked me right on the forehead !! I thought a bolt or something fell off theengine, when I noticed the drops of water crawling up my windscreen. My thoughts instantly went to how rain can 'sandblast' a wood prop into a uselesspiece of frayed wood. As I instantly rolled into a steep right bank & haul back on the stick, my being was searching for any slight vibration, with thoughts of the prop eroding into an out of balance block of hard wood, then shaking the engine loose from the airframe, then becoming WAY tail heavy, I would spin in,and that would be that. I was ready to shut 'er down, if any serious vibrationwould be felt. After completing a 180 turn, it lasted what seemed like an eternity, but actually maybe another 30 seconds. Drops were still on the windscreen, but they just stayed there...no more crawlers. I was out of the rain.Decision time. Go back to Iowa Co. Airport, or see if I can pick my way through. Raising each wing tip, I could see what I was in. Towering cumulus tothe South, where I could see the showers under a portion of them, but directlywest looked like a wide path, judging by how the sun was shining on the earth. I picked up a westerly heading for the 10 mile wide path cut in the clouds. Approaching the Mighty Miss again, I always climb an extra 1000 feet, just in case the engine conks out. Engines always seem to have a way of sputtering when crossing a large body of water, or a forest. On this occasion, she neverskipped a beat !! After crossing the Miss, I just had to fly along the West shore for a little while, just to take it all in. What a magnificent river !!Way off course now, I had to locate my position with the chart I had strapped on my lap board. This wasn't too difficult, because there are numerous landmarks to refer to, and the ol' Piet just isn't fast enough to get lost...well,almost...but that's another story. The rest of this leg consisted of picking my way through the high clouds, enjoying every moment, and maintaining my position with my finger on the chart. Chuck G.NX770CGlogged 29.3 hours during my Big Adventure !!________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 00:14:51 -0700