Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group Re: Sting Sport Woodcomp blade loss

Really glad to hear the report in this form rather than the "error chain that lead to fatality" type.

Couple of thoughts and questions:

I was pleasantly surprised to see a news report of an incident (any incident really, but particularly for one about an aviation crash) that that was straight forward, reasonably factual, resonably complete, and not meadering off into often baseless speculation and hyperbole. Some local reporter/writer deserves at least a small pat on the back IMO.

Yeah, any kind of prop can fail. I suspect that failure of carbon composites are fewer, but have NO stats to support that suspicion.

I'm curious: When the prop threw its two blades (appears to be the case from your description and the photo with the article) didn't the engine start vibrating/shaking horribly immeadiatly from the one unbalance blade on the hub?
I would think in some cases such a configuration/situation the unbalance might be able to even rip the motor right off its mounts leaving the pilot with a plane so badly out of balance as to be uncontrollable?

Alex

--- In Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com, "Brian" <brian@...> wrote IN PART:
>
> ...... today I have something of interest!
> For a good brief "newsy" overview - the news report -
> http://www.timescall.com/news/longmont-local-news/ci_21450136/longmont-e\
> mergency-crews-investigate-report-plane-down
> <http://www.timescall.com/news/longmont-local-news/ci_21450136/longmont-\
> emergency-crews-investigate-report-plane-down>
>
>....a catastrophic failure of prop blades,
>......the initial prop blade loss completely evacuated the mount.
> The screws and bolts are still in the mount. When the first blade left the mount, it must've collided with the second blade, causing the
> shearing and loss.
> I knew doing a power-off/engine loss was going to be part of my day, but I really thought it was going to be simulated rather than an actual.

>.... I suppose the same type of scenario could happen on
> any prop type huh?













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