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Title: Still
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Published: Jun 22, 2023
Author: Whisperin' Bill Anderson - singer
Post Date: 2023-06-22 15:59:34 by Lod
Keywords: None
Views: 5091
Comments: 75
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 26.
#1. To: All (#0)
Reminded me of this one, as time winds down...
I washed my truck Tuesday afternoon for the first time in about two years. Of course, that had my back out of commission yesterday and on the narcotics. I'd be having the time of my life if it wasn't for the pain. My excitement now consists of giving away money and drinkin'. Anyway, the truck looks good. It ought to, it's got less than 11k miles after ten and a half years. FWIW, John Denver died at 53 in 1997 He died on the afternoon of October 12, 1997, when his light homebuilt aircraft, a Rutan Long-EZ with registration number N555JD, crashed into Monterey Bay near Pacific Grove, California, while making a series of touch-and-go landings at the nearby Monterey Peninsula Airport.
Why would a pilot make a series of touch-and-go landings? Practice? Fun? Testing the aircraft?
I don't remember the details. JD had plenty of hours, the aircraft was a homebuilt/experimental deal. Maybe he was trying to get used to it, I don't really know. Back in 2013, I was getting ready to get my rotary wing license. I wanted to finish up my Texas Two-Step lessons at the American Legion in Waynedale first. Texting Granny irrevocably changed my destiny on 26Nov2013.
The engine quit on John Denver's plane for running out of gas. It had a switch controlling which tank it drew gas from but in an unusual spot, I think above and behind the shoulder which was a customized location, and for some reason, one tank ran dry. So the crash was not any fault with the aircraft's avionics or general design.
Is the engine in a small aircraft like that easy to re-start in flight? What turns the engine to re-start it? Air over the prop? An electric starter like a car?
The vast majority of aircraft in the modern age can be re-started in- flight as they have battery power to do that. I can only think of the WW1 style radial engine types that relied on someone cranking the prop to start it. But of course you also need enough altitude to give you time to be able to react to an engine outage, determine the cause, remedy and restart it, and I think Denver was at too low an altitude to do all those things.
Are you familiar with the rotary-radial engines used mostly prior to 1920? The crankshaft was fixed to the airframe, while the entire engine block spun, with the propeller attached to the engine block. The main benefit of this design was that the engine air-cooled itself due to the cylinders spinning with the block, but there was no way to regulate throttle, the fuel supply was either on or off. That's why "blipping" was necessary, the pilot actually had to turn off fuel to regulate engine speed, so it sounds like engine is dying, then comes back. A major disadvantage to this design was lack of an enclosed crankcase, lubrication was via oil mixed with fuel, the oil usually being castor oil. The pilots would ingest the fumes and suffer the usual side effects of ingesting castor oil. Not to be confused with Rotary (Wankel) engine or Radial engine with fixed block and rotating crankshaft.
I've seen them only in old fraticide movies.
Whites killing Whites?
Yep. Sadly.
Holy crap. I can't believe I got that. I hope I don't lose my HoosierHick designation.
You already lost it when you used "insular" earlier today.
I hope my self-effacing Hick-Schtick isn't totally shattered. At least I know how to spell 'numb.' (Edit) My Merrican ire is rising... NEVER FORGET 9-11 OR J6. HOORAH! (Edit2) look at the gal @~ 2:36 in the dark blue scrubs. She looks a lot like a gal I used to date, I used to call her Reebok, because she always wore Reeboks. She worked at Hospital City. She also helped my mother take care of my handicapped sister for a long time after we went our own ways. I don't think I've had much contact since my mother died about ten years ago.
Well, as several people here are already aware, I'm not really an engineer. I'm the king of Spain.
#27. To: StraitGate (#26)
(Edited)
Maybe we should establish diplomatic relations then. I'm the dictator of Howland Island and the FBO of the Howland Island International Airport. Amelia Earhart almost landed here a couple of years ago, but got diverted to It's tourist season. Bring the family and come see our fabulous day beacon.
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#2. To: Lod (#1)
#3. To: Esso (#2)
Nice! thank you.
#4. To: Lod (#3)
...as time winds down...
#5. To: Esso (#4)
#6. To: StraitGate (#5)
(Edited)
#7. To: Esso (#6)
#10. To: Pinguinite (#7)
#12. To: StraitGate (#10)
Is the engine in a small aircraft like that easy to re-start in flight? What turns the engine to re-start it? Air over the prop? An electric starter like a car?
#13. To: Pinguinite, StraitGate (#12)
(Edited)
#19. To: Dakmar (#13)
#20. To: StraitGate (#19)
...old fraticide movies.
#21. To: Esso (#20)
#22. To: StraitGate (#21)
Yep.
#24. To: Esso (#22)
#25. To: StraitGate (#24)
(Edited)
You already lost it when you used "insular" earlier today.
#26. To: Esso (#25)
Replies to Comment # 26. I'm the king of Spain.
Vanuatu Nikumaroro Island, Kiribati or something. 
End Trace Mode for Comment # 26.