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John Bickham
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 170
Location: St. Francisville, LA
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 Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:26 am Post subject: Prop Strike- Warps can take a beating, keep on ticking! |
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Hello Group,
Hope everyone had fun at Sun-n-Fun! I had another experience yesterday. Suffered a prop strike to my Warp Drive Prop during an after work, late evening flight. I keep learning the hard way!
I was doing a little slow flight, lazy eights. While I was straight and level. I remember noticing just a slight pitch(tone) change. No vibration, just a little different something. Actually thought is in my ANR headsets. Getting late so I decide that time to land. No sense of urgency.
Upon landing and shutdown, I have been drilled by John W and John H to square away my prop. It is a habit now. If you fly with them enough, they will get you into the habit. That is when I noticed the prop had been struck.
I spent the next hour and a half going over the engine trying to figure what came loose to cause the problem. Couldn't find a thing. Gave up when it got too dark.
I found it when I pushed the plane back into the hangar. I installed inspection plates in the fabric at key places in the wing. One at the drag strut connection, the spar connection and at the end of the wing for inspection purposes. The inspection plate at the drag strut connection was missing.
So now I knew the culprit. Nearly 400 hours and never had the inspection plates even move. Not sure why now.
This is obvious now, but another "should have known that stupid" lesson. I installed my inspection plates with the clips parallel to the airstream. This allows the inspection plate to be pushed to the rear and the clip coming out in the front. So now I've turned all my inspection plates so the clips are perpendicular to the airstream. They will only get tighter if they move to the rear. I think I'm going to look into a way to safety wire too. At least the ones in the prop area.
Anyway, this is the second prop strike I've experienced. The first was with an IVO on the way from Kitty Hawk to the 2003 TNK Homecoming. I never said I was any good at this stuff. Learned a lot, mostly from mistakes. The IVO strike was a lot more vibration with a long way to go. It was also minor damage to the blade compared to this one. I think I might have lost a good chunk of the IVO blade vs what happened to the WARP. I never really noticed anything with the WARP.
Just sharing so others can learn from my mistakes and avoid them.
Waiting for the Warp guys to get back from Sun-n-Fun to see about a repair or replace. Also considering asking them if they can trim the blades from 72" to 70". Want to get on the good side of the noise and mass inertia issues if possible.
At first I was disgusted and disappointed about the trouble and expense of this incident. You have to put this in perspective. There are not many propellers on GA planes that can be damaged and repaired/replaced for around $200. Also, I have gained enough wisdom to know that if I use something enough, it will wear out, break, or need maintenance. I like flying my plane and this is just part of the game. Kolbs fit my budget and flying style to a "T".
Living the Dream, the hard way! But still having a blast.
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Thanks too much,
John Bickham
Mark III-C w/ 912UL
St. Francisville, LA
I know many pilots and a few true aviators. There is a distinct difference that I have the greatest respect for. |
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Ralph B
Joined: 14 Apr 2007
Posts: 367
Location: Mound Minnesota
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:55 pm Post subject: Re: Prop Strike- Warps can take a beating, keep on ticking! |
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Be aware of the 8mm head bolts that hold the muffler bracket. They can come loose too. I bought ones with drilled heads so I can wire them down. The original bolts with the kit didn't have drilled heads and imagine what that will do to a wooden prop.
Ralph
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_________________
Ralph B
Kolb Kolbra 912uls
N20386
550 hours |
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bartmo(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 4:31 am Post subject: Prop Strike- Warps can take a beating, keep on ticking! |
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[quote][b]
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