[TheForge] Safety -- Turning Things Off

[David E. Smucker]

When I started work with Alcoa our shop foreman was a retired B26 pilot 
having been in both WWII and the Berlin airlift.  He had a training flight 
one day where just as they got airborne at the end of the runway one engine 
froze up and flipped the plane.  The whole crew actually lived.  Steve was 
unhurt and his commanding officer made him get in another plane and fly the 
next day.  (Old falling of the horse story.)

Reason for the engine failure -- some maintenance folks left a bunch of 
steel wool on the engine and it got sucked in.  Those pilots (and crew) that 
flew the Berlin airlift did one hell of a job, it is easy for us to forget 
their efforts sometimes.

Dave Smucker





--------------------------------------------------
From: "Andrew Vida" <osan at netlabs.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 9:15 AM
To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Safety -- Turning Things Off

>
>
> Jerry Frost wrote:
>> Aileron.
>>
>> The rudder controls yaw, ailerons control roll and engine torque causes 
>> roll.
>>
>> Things were FAR harder in radial engine aricraft. They had so much 
>> gyroscopic force from the engine all control actions were through 90*. 
>> Pull back on the stick and turn left, push forward and turn right.
>>
>> Killed a lot of pilots taking off, some just taxiing.
>
> Oh yeah, that was the other big torque hazard.  When throttling up, you 
> have to go slow and easy.  Engine would otherwise flip the plane right 
> over where it stood.
>
> Those radial engines were such works of art.  I used to have the master 
> rod out of an old 9 cylinder Franklin.  The Franklin Institute in Philly 
> has a Pratt & Whitney R3000 cutaway on a stand.  IIRC it was the largest, 
> most powerful, and most complex radial engine ever made.  You should see 
> it... the complexity of the mechanism will make your head hurt just trying 
> to take it all in.  Thousands of parts... maybe 10 thousand, I do not 
> know.  It is mind numbing to think that each and every one of those bit 
> were designed completely by hand, so to speak. Not a computer used in any 
> of it.  I wonder if contemporary engineers could do the same?  The R3000 
> is a triple radial and each row of cylinders has several superchargers 
> running off of PTO shafting geared to the crank.  If you're ever in 
> Philly, I highly recommend the Franklin.  Go see the engine, but bring 
> your aspirin - you'll probably need it. :)
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>