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From: "Ed Anderson" <eanderson@carolina.rr.com>
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
References: <list-1316571@logan.com>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Re: Joe Hull's OSH Trip - Part 1
Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:12:40 -0400
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Hey, had to read part 1 and respond before going on to Part 2!!

Ed

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bulent Aliev" <atlasyts@bellsouth.net>
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 8:18 AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Joe Hull's OSH Trip - Part 1


> Ed, wake up :) there was PART2:
> 
> My trip to Oshkosh, summer of 2006 - Part 2
> 
> I happened to land in a great little town - Hyannis, Nebraska,  
> population
> 287 (maybe including pets!) and not close to anywhere. But I hadn't  
> been on
> the ground more than a few minutes before a rancher named Dean drove  
> up and
> asked if he could help. He suddenly became my liaison and repair
> coordinator. Even though it was Sunday he got a hold of a guy (Gary  
> the Vet)
> who had one of the 3 hangars on this little airfield and I was able  
> to work
> on my plane inside the hangar out of the blistering sun. He also  
> provided me
> with the one size of metric wrench that I hadn't brought with me so I  
> could
> get what remained of the exhaust manifold off the engine!
> 
> I was also given the name and home phone numbers of the hotel owners  
> and a
> couple of people who worked there because the hotel isn't open on  
> Sundays
> and I'd have to get someone to come and let me in and give me a room.  
> It was
> an OK little hotel - the only real issue was that it sits about 150ft  
> from a
> very busy railroad line and because this little town has a street that
> crosses the tracks the trains have to blow their monstrous horn whenever
> they come through. You guessed it, the hotel is right about the spot  
> where
> the train lets off it's huge blast!  So, at 1AM, 2AM, 3AM, 4AM... I  
> jumped
> out of bed and dove for cover only to remember that we weren't at war  
> - it
> was only a train.
> 
> My new rancher friend also gave me the name and number of a local  
> welder and
> again, even though it was Sunday, he returned my call within a couple of
> hours and came out and got my exhaust system and took it away and  
> welded it
> all up in about an hour. He also welded up all the spider cracks that
> emanated from each of the two the main breaks in the exhaust - an  
> excellent,
> excellent welding job!
> 
> While the welder was welding up my exhaust I cut, pried, and ripped the
> melted wiring apart. My first thought was to cut out all the exposed  
> wires
> and splice in some new wire that actually had insulation. However,  
> everyone
> I talked to in town said they didn't think there was any wire close  
> to the
> size I needed in the town. There was a "Rancher Supply" store -  
> plenty of
> barbed wire - no wire for electronics for sure. I'd have to go 60  
> miles to
> the closest "big city" (population 9000) to find what I needed. But I  
> also
> needed a soldering iron and shrink tube. So, after pondering my  
> options, I
> decided that since the wires themselves were intact - all I needed as  
> some
> insulation to keep them from shorting on themselves or the engine. So I
> carefully wrapped each one of the 12 or so wires in electrical tape and
> high-temp silicone rubber tape (which I had brought along just in case).
> 
> I reassembled everything by about 8:30 or 9PM Sunday night and ran the
> engine for a half-hour at different settings - especially full throttle.
> Everything seemed OK so it was time for some scrumptious dinner from the
> same place I where I enjoyed a fabulous lunch - the BP gas station  
> mini-mart
> next to the hotel (did I mention it was the only thing open).
> 
> Now I was ready to fly out the next morning - which direction?  
> Oshkosh or
> home? Given that this is the second time I have had cracks in the  
> exhaust it
> was a no-brainer. This exhaust system is apparently only good for  
> between
> 20-30 hours of use before some part of it fails. So home to Seattle  
> it is.
> 
> But here's my main concern (aside from the exhaust system) - my  
> engine and
> prop combination aren't the most efficient.  I was full of fuel when I
> departed Cheyenne and because of the altitude at Cheyenne (6200ft) and
> temperature it took about 6000 feet of runway to break ground - and  
> then I
> climbed VERY slowly. So, I've burned about 12 gallons getting to  
> Hyannis and
> I'm now a little lower at 3700ft and on a runway that is 3975ft  
> long.  There
> is a hill maybe 100ft high off of one end that has a cemetery on it  
> (local
> joke about pilots saving the grave diggers time by planting  
> themselves). Off
> the other end is a pasture and then some more rolling hills.  The  
> previous
> day the prevailing wind (maybe 10-15kts) was coming from the cemetery
> direction - not good.
> 
> I did some calculations, based on prior performance, and estimated  
> that I
> should be able to lift off somewhere in the 3000 foot range - as long  
> as the
> altitude remained the same (for non-aviators: when it's hot the altitude
> that the plane "sees" is higher because the air is less dense - i.e.  
> takes
> more runway to take-off). So a very early morning departure was  
> planned when
> it was cool - also hoping that the wind at 6AM would be calm and I could
> head for the pasture and not the cemetery - if you know what I  
> mean ;-)  I
> had to wait until 6AM too because the hotel doesn't open until 6AM  
> and when
> I "checked-in" they essentially just gave me two keys (one for the  
> outside
> door and one for the room). I had to pay them before I left -  
> couldn't skip
> town without paying!
> 
> I made the long drive (about 3 blocks!) to the airport in the pickup  
> truck
> that was loaned to me by the hanger owner. At 6:10AM I pushed the  
> plane out
> and did a pre-flight to make sure field mice hadn't taken up  
> residence where
> they shouldn't. I called the FAA Flight Service Station on my cell  
> phone to
> file a flight plan from Hyannis, Nebraska to Casper, Wyoming (about 285
> miles) with a route that happened to go over several larger airports  
> along
> the way!  As I hung up with FSS an older, gentleman rancher pulled up  
> in his
> pickup and got out for a chat. It turns out he was the guy who  
> originally
> built the airport 40 years before. An interesting guy! I thanked him  
> for his
> foresight in placing an airport exactly where I needed one and then  
> asked
> him to go the end of the runway and get ready to call in the cavalry  
> if I
> got hung up on the barbed wire at the other end.  He assured me he  
> would and
> we said good-bye.
> 
> At 6:30AM I started the engine up and took the plane to the edge of the
> grass on the end of the paved runway and ran the engine up and leaned  
> it for
> best power. Then it was off the brakes and on to counting runway  
> lights -
> was that 5 or 6 or 7 - I can't count lights at a time like this! (for
> non-aviators: runway lights are typically spaced at 200ft and  
> counting them
> can tell you how far you've gone and how much runway is left). By about
> mid-field I was up to 54kts and accelerating - only 16kts more and I can
> lift off. Sure enough, with about 700-800 feet left I came off the  
> runway
> and began a slow climb. A gentle left turn so I didn't skim the hills  
> on the
> other side of the pasture and I was on course to Casper, Wyoming.
> 
> The flight home was as uneventful as the flight had been coming out -  
> well
> up until Hyannis, Nebraska that is. There were 5-10kt headwinds most  
> of the
> way so it wasn't quite as quick a trip - plus I kept the engine  
> running rich
> so the exhaust was cooler - so I didn't have the same power setting  
> as the
> trip out.
> 
> Stats:  Miles traveled out - 1340, average speed 184MPH (with two  
> landings)
> Miles back - 1295, average speed 175MPH (with two landings)
> 
> Now it's off to design a different exhaust system - using different
> material! Oh, and back to work! Since I'm not at Oshkosh what else is  
> there
> to do!
> 
> Joe Hull
> Cozy Mk-IV N31CZ (65 hrs - Rotary 13B NA)
> Redmond (Seattle), Washington
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Jul 26, 2006, at 7:51 AM, Ed Anderson wrote:
> 
>> Boy, Joe.  Sure glad you paid attention to those "disturbances of  
>> the force" and landed safely before the situation "developed".  You  
>> develop a sense of when the engine is running right and even small  
>> differences in sound, tone, engine instruments is enough to get  
>> your attention - as it did yours.  Good decision!!!
>>
>> Sounds like the weight of the muffler  and vibration (caused by  
>> your encounter with air turbulence)  was too much for the header  
>> pipes.  It also makes a case for keeping (when possible) critical  
>> items like fuel lines and ignition lines as far away from the  
>> exhaust system as possible.
>>
>> I must admit,  I feel for you.  I thought that southwest Louisiana  
>> was a rotary no-mans land, but Wyoming has got to be a bit worst.   
>> Local shop should be able to cut and weld you a workable exhaust  
>> using the remains of yours as a pattern. You don't really have to  
>> have a muffler to get home. There should be a spark plug wire set  
>> from a local auto store that  can be made to work.  Hope you are  
>> able to get on your way quickly.
>>
>> Ed
>>
>> Ed Anderson
>> Rv-6A N494BW Rotary Powered
>> Matthews, NC
>> eanderson@carolina.rr.com
>> http://members.cox.net/rogersda/rotary/configs.htm#N494BW
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Hull" <joeh@pilgrimtech.com>
>> To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 12:05 AM
>> Subject: [FlyRotary] Joe Hull's OSH Trip - Part 1
>>
>>
>>> My trip to Oshkosh, summer of 2006.
>>>
>>> On Saturday, July 22 at about 8:30AM, I took off from Arlington,  
>>> Washington,
>>> where my Cozy airplane is hangared - ultimate destination OSHKOSH.  
>>> I stopped
>>> in Bozeman, Montana for fuel and then went south to Cheyenne,  
>>> Wyoming to see
>>> my two sister's. Aside from getting the snot beat out of me by  
>>> turbulence
>>> over the mountains of southern Montana and northern Wyoming, the  
>>> trip was
>>> great. The plane performed as well as expected.
>>>
>>> The next morning I fueled up and took off about 8:45AM heading  
>>> east toward
>>> Mecca - Oh no, I mean Oshkosh.
>>>
>>> The plane flew great, just like the day before, and the air was  
>>> calm and
>>> smooth unlike the day before! Then, about an hour or so out of  
>>> Cheyenne -
>>> about 160 miles - I suddenly felt a small change in the vibration  
>>> of the
>>> airplane - there was "a disturbance in the force" ;-)  I didn't  
>>> really know
>>> there was anything wrong - but the plane was vibrating just a little
>>> differently than it had for the previous 8 hours of flight. All the
>>> instruments said everything was normal - oil and water temps were  
>>> OK, oil
>>> pressure OK, airspeed the same - just that "disturbance in the  
>>> force" that
>>> said something might be amiss.
>>>
>>> I changed power settings and the engine responded fine but I did  
>>> notice that
>>> when I slowed down I thought I started to smell something - ever  
>>> so faint.
>>> Now for you non-Cozy airplane people, you have to remember - my  
>>> engine is in
>>> the rear of the airplane - so I can't see it let alone smell it.  
>>> So my first
>>> thought was FIRE!!! Not a good thing for "plastic airplanes"! I  
>>> did a quick
>>> 90 degree turn and looked back at my track to see if there was a  
>>> trail of
>>> smoke. No smoke - whew! But I really shouldn't be smelling anything -
>>> however faint that smell might be.
>>>
>>> So I decided to get on the ground and take a look around. There  
>>> was a little
>>> airport directly ahead about 5 miles and since it was the closest  
>>> thing
>>> within 60 miles that had a runway even close to long enough, that  
>>> was the
>>> place to go. I landed and walked around the airplane and nothing  
>>> was loose
>>> and everything I could see through the openings in the engine  
>>> cowling looked
>>> OK. So I hopped back in and started the engine - it ran really  
>>> rough. I
>>> throttled up and it was missing a lot and then sputtered and  
>>> died.  Now I
>>> was convinced - there was definitely something wrong.
>>>
>>> I pulled out my meager set of tools that I had brought along -  
>>> just in case
>>> - and started to take the cowling off. Even before I could do that  
>>> I noticed
>>> some blistering on the cowling - and one big burned spot. These  
>>> weren't
>>> there when I walked around a few minutes ago. So I removed the  
>>> cowl and
>>> voila - the whole exhaust system had cracked off the engine!
>>>
>>> There are two short runners that come out of the engine and attach  
>>> to a
>>> large collection tube. Both runners were complete cracked off of the
>>> collection tube. It had blown the collection tube out an inch or  
>>> so from the
>>> engine and it was only being held in place by some safety wire I  
>>> had around
>>> it and the braces to the heat shield that surrounded it. The hot  
>>> exhaust
>>> coming straight out of the rotors burned through the heat shield I  
>>> had
>>> around the large collection tube and fried all the ignition wires  
>>> above the
>>> exhaust area where the fuel injectors are located. It just melted  
>>> them
>>> together so they were all shorting one another.
>>>
>>> Needless to say, I'm glad I decided to land at an airport, however  
>>> small and
>>> remote, instead of being forced to find a country road or cow  
>>> pasture.
>>>
>>> -- Continued in Joe Hull's OSH Trip - Part 2-
>>>
>>> Joe Hull
>>> Cozy Mk-IV N31CZ (65 hrs - Rotary 13B NA)
>>> Redmond (Seattle), Washington
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Homepage:  http://www.flyrotary.com/
>>> Archive and UnSub:   http://mail.lancaironline.net/lists/flyrotary/
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Homepage:  http://www.flyrotary.com/
>> Archive and UnSub:   http://mail.lancaironline.net/lists/flyrotary/
> 
> 
> --
> Homepage:  http://www.flyrotary.com/
> Archive and UnSub:   http://mail.lancaironline.net/lists/flyrotary/
>