Trike Pilots: Lesson to be learned

[Air Hog]

Have you ever thought of what will happen if a heavy object (like a camera, crash helmet or something similar) goes through your prop while flying? What will happen? Your prop is going to break in pieces.
Which direction are these pieces going to fly?
Believe it or not: Forward (because of the pusher effect) and quite obviously outward. What is in these pieces way? The wing. It will rip through the wing material like a hot knife through butter. You can just imagine the results.
Always check with your Pax that there are no loose objects like cameras etc. Make sure that they are attached to an arm with some strap or something.
Most important: Helmets!! If your Pax is a kid or someone with a small head, make sure it will not come off. They are going to browse around and the wind is going to enter on the side and rip it off with disastrous effects.
This might sound dramatic but it can and most probably has happened.

[Loco]

Hi this is a very scary thought

I think Wannabe pilot (memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=17853) had a similar incident not too long ago

Would be great if he could share he's experience

Cheers
Ant

[Tailspin]

Some examples of what I have seen...
camera
cap
dark glasses
cell phone
air filter
gloves
nav pad
maps
goggles

take your pic..make sure its secured!

Hi All

Yea i have seen some of these also go through a prop and have a small vid where you can actually hear the object hitting the prop on take off.
Could really lead to a bad day at the airfield.

Another thing that has also gone into the prop is a T-Shirt

[Hadams]

This has happened on a few occasions! Even to pilots still on the ground. Have a look at a prop when an exhaust just comes loose from one bolt!

Now the BEEEG question, how many trike pilots have their exhaust secured by a safety cable!?

my2c

[Grumpy]

Food for thought.............. A very good reminder............ Great comment/post.

[Loco]

That exhaust safety cable is top of my TODO list, can you use normal builders warehouse cable or what do you guys use?

I was also told I should put a cable on my radiator cap......

[Bundy]

Padding down the Pax for loose items is part of my pre flight..... especially if it's a hot chick! Then I sommer do it twice to "double check" If its a guy I ask him to check his own damn pockets.... haha

Seriously though, I cant agree more with what has been said. (I have lost a phone while flying.... eventually found it on the runway later! Gave myself a PK for that one!)

The helmet is especially important.... strangle the PAX if you have to, but make sure its on!

I actually saw an ingenius little safety strap that one pilot (cant remember his name or where he came from ) Just a little "carabina" clip on a short strap that was clipped into a little stud thingy on the flight suit. If the helmet ever flew off, it would not go far. Maybe I'll make myself one or two while we are rebuilding our aerie.

[Bundy]

That exhaust safety cable is top of my TODO list, can you use normal builders warehouse cable or what do you guys use?

I was also told I should put a cable on my radiator cap......

Hi Ant, I was also going to do this to our exhaust but we seem to have a long list of other things to fix now first!

I would use a special cable (stainless steel braid) with a crimped ferrule onto the exhaust bracket and run that up to a nice neat crimped ferrule on the closest exposed nut. If that makes any sense..... Just looks better than some of the other safety cable installations I've seen where the guys make all sorts of loops right around the engine frame...

[kloot piloot]

May I digress somewhat, although still on the topic of lessons and props.

The pre-flight inspection on the luff lines are as important ! If the clip that holds the luff lines goes, you will have a spider's web of thin cables falling directly into your prop. Wound up in the prop it will pull the trailing edge apart with catastrophic results. Get a cheapy step ladder in your hangar and get up there once in a while to inspect.

It is not a common failure, but it has happened. Those of you who have rigged wings will know how high the tension on that joint is. It is always under tension except when you fly.

[Bundy]

Also on the "general safety" topic....

DBP remains are now in my garage in Newlands. I started stripping her down slowly yesterday. I was quite shocked when I disconected the Earth strap from the engine frame (582 Aquilla2). I suddenly nicked my finger on something sharp... after getting a plaster, I had a closer look.

The cable loops up from the frame up to the starboard side of the motor. Its about 6mm stainless steel braided cable uninsulated (its an earth of course). The cable passes above the battery box on it way up to the motor. What cut my finger was two distinct "arc marks" on the cable. At first I was confused but then I realised how the arc had formed! During the roll over, the battery must have slipped up out of its box... this caused the positive terminal to make contact with the earth strap/frame and what must have been a hell of a spark!

This is how a fire can start ! We all know that trikes dont catch fire very easily... but here we had at least two distinct sparks.... all that was needed was a fuel source!

Go check your batteries are secure! I am also going to look for a suitable rubber boot that I can fit over the positive battery terminal to prevent this happening again. I will take a picture of the "arc marks" and post it later.

[topflight]

Also on the "general safety" topic....

DBP remains are now in my garage in Newlands. I started stripping her down slowly yesterday. I was quite shocked when I disconected the Earth strap from the engine frame (582 Aquilla2). I suddenly nicked my finger on something sharp... after getting a plaster, I had a closer look.

The cable loops up from the frame up to the starboard side of the motor. Its about 6mm stainless steel braided cable uninsulated (its an earth of course). The cable passes above the battery box on it way up to the motor. What cut my finger was two distinct "arc marks" on the cable. At first I was confused but then I realised how the arc had formed! During the roll over, the battery must have slipped up out of its box... this caused the positive terminal to make contact with the earth strap/frame and what must have been a hell of a spark!

This is how a fire can start ! We all know that trikes dont catch fire very easily... but here we had at least two distinct sparks.... all that was needed was a fuel source!

Go check your batteries are secure! I am also going to look for a suitable rubber boot that I can fit over the positive battery terminal to prevent this happening again. I will take a picture of the "arc marks" and post it later.

That is really some scary stuff Maybe you should mould a piece of plastic over the batt terminal (one that can be taken off)...almost like in your car where the positive is covered with some plastic material.

[Bundy]

Also on the "general safety" topic....

I will take a picture of the "arc marks" and post it later.