Kermit Weeks has close call with Stopwith Pup

[Jimbo357mag]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWsca10FuUw

quote> Kermit Weeks Hangar
Published on Jun 6, 2018
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This Sopwith Pup update starts with the planes first taxi run, moves into the final rigging, and concludes with it's first flight . . . a very eventful one, to say the least . . . as the engine cowling comes off during a low pass approach, hits the engine, gets shredded, and takes out a part of the wing and center section. Kermit Weeks successfully lands the plane and walks away uninjured, to inspect the damage with his maintenance crew. Big Wow indeed! <end quote

The 1st flight with the cowl incident starts at 15:00. Sometimes your lucky.

 

[caryc]

It's a shame that one little fastener caused all that damage. The man was talking about a crosswind affecting the plane because it has so much diehedral. I know what diehedral is because as a kid me and my Dad built some radio controled and free flight models. Some of the free flights even had polydedral. But my question is why does that biplane have diehedral? What actually does it accomplish? Maybe one of you pilots can explain that.

I don't think I'd have the guts to start that thing by spinning that prop like that. Somehow, it just doesn't seem like a good thing to do. :shock:

Thanks Jimbo, that was a neat video.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Jimbo, thanks for the post. I have met Kermit a few times and he is a good guy. He has done some incredible thins in his life.


Cary,
The dihedral does the same thing as in your RCs. It make the plane more stable. My Starduster has 1 1/2 degrees in the lower wings and 0 in the top wings.
As far as hand propping a plane it is safe if done properly.
A lot of the planes I flew didn't have starters so had to be propped.

 

[caryc]

Jimbo, thanks for the post. I have met Kermit a few times and he is a good guy. He has done some incredible thins in his life.


Cary,
The dihedral does the same thing as in your RCs. It make the plane more stable. My Starduster has 1 1/2 degrees in the lower wings and 0 in the top wings.
As far as hand propping a plane it is safe if done properly.
A lot of the planes I flew didn't have starters so had to be propped.

Thanks Jim,

I didn't say that hand propping a plane is not safe. I just said I wouldn't want to do it. :mrgreen:

I guess I'm reminded of my old chopped Harley days and the kick starter. After ripping off all the stuff we didn't like, including the spark retarder, I had friends that almost got their leg shoved up their you know what trying to start theirs. Never happened to me though. You just had to remember to follow that kick all the way through to the bottom. :wink:

 

[bogus bill]

Whats the statute of limitations on stupidity? Over fifty years ago I soloed in a Luscombe. They didn't have a starter. I was brand new soloed. I was a member of a club of mostly Lockheed pilots and we had three planes, the Luscombe, a 150 and 170 Cessna`s.
Anyway I gassed up. There was no one around to "twist her tail" for me so instead of looking around for a stranger to do it I decided to do it myself. I cracked the throttle a little too far, swung the prop and had to run maybe ten yards to catch it! I wish I had a video of that one. I had done the same many times before but the tail was chained. There wasn't a chain or chocks at the pump, or I hadn't seen it.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

You just had to remember to follow that kick all the way through to the bottom. :wink:

Yup.

I have a funky knee that was the result of my XLCH teaching me that lesson.

:wink:

 

[bogus bill]

I owned two kicker Harley's, a 1963 and a 1964. I had no trouble with either but I also owned a couple Royal Enfield`s 750cc. I had the Enfield kick the heel off my boot, another time the kicker came around and cut a hole in my boot and really got me!
Knew a guy who broke a arm cranking a tractor.
In 1960 I was fire fighting in the National Park Service. I was working the heliport and saw a pilot gassing up a Bell G-2. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He was gassing it up with a Jerry can with the engine running and trying to be real cool trying to light his cigar on the fire popping exhaust!! I and another guy grabbed up extinguishers and ran for the unreal scene. Sure enough it exploded and he threw the gas can on the ground and the chopper was in a field of fire. We hit it within a few seconds and instantly got it out. I don't think it damaged the chopper at all and none of us said a word about it or reported it.