Tales from the Log of the Ruptured Duck
- Thread starter Kayak Jack
- Start date
Thanks, Jon. Me too! I have some local flights planned, then some cross country trips. Albeit, a cross country trip in an ultralight is not going to be like in a faster plane. Cruising at about 55-60mph isn’t exactly a barn burner pace. But, it IS scenic. Flying along country roads, I ought to be able to keep apace with cars. But along interstates, I have little to no chance of that.
SOME OF THAT GOOD SOD
When I fly the Wabbit Hunter out to other fields, it has to be parked and nailed down. The plane will weigh only about 400 pounds - with fuel - and wind can easily move it around In unpleasant ways. There are several tie-down kits on the market; I chose “The Claw”. Their ads proclaim it to be the best on the market. After looking around at the various offerings I pretty much believe it.
The heart of their system is a folding, metal tripod. Each leg is about a foot long, hinged at one end to the a 2” center fixture. In use, the tripod unfolds and lies flat on the ground. At the outer end of each leg is a hole to accommodate a 3/8” diameter, foot long nail. The hole is angled inward so that the nail doesn’t go in pointing straight down. All three nails go into the ground pointing at the imaginary center-point lying directly beneath that center fixture. The assembly describes an imaginary cone In the sod, about 2’ in diameter and 10” deep. The nails angle down along the sides of that Imaginary cone. They are firmly held to that inward pointing angle by those holes at the outer ends of each leg. Affixed to that center fixture is a steel ring. That’s the tie-down point for the rope.
When properly rigged, pulling up on that rope meets with tremendous resistance. Because the nails are securely held to that inward-pointing angle, they don’t simply slip straight out. Instead, pulling upwards will try to dislodge the entire cone-shaped chunk of dirt and sod. Resistance is a combination of both dead weight, and the cohesiveness of root structure. Their ads claim up to 1,200 pounds of total resistance. The Claw kit includes three of these triangular assemblies, so that figures out to about 400 pounds for each tie-down point.
Since I plan to be sleeping some times in a tent under the wing, I don’t want the bird to to be doing any slip-sliding around.
In the Air Force we had concrete parking ramps for our aircraft - it’s known as the flight line. Buried in those ramps are steel rods that are affixed to underground heavy weights called “dead men”. Civilian air fields for general aviation sometimes have such tie-downs, but not always. What they DO always have is sod, lots of sod. The Wabbit Hunter will be using some of that sod.
When I fly the Wabbit Hunter out to other fields, it has to be parked and nailed down. The plane will weigh only about 400 pounds - with fuel - and wind can easily move it around In unpleasant ways. There are several tie-down kits on the market; I chose “The Claw”. Their ads proclaim it to be the best on the market. After looking around at the various offerings I pretty much believe it.
The heart of their system is a folding, metal tripod. Each leg is about a foot long, hinged at one end to the a 2” center fixture. In use, the tripod unfolds and lies flat on the ground. At the outer end of each leg is a hole to accommodate a 3/8” diameter, foot long nail. The hole is angled inward so that the nail doesn’t go in pointing straight down. All three nails go into the ground pointing at the imaginary center-point lying directly beneath that center fixture. The assembly describes an imaginary cone In the sod, about 2’ in diameter and 10” deep. The nails angle down along the sides of that Imaginary cone. They are firmly held to that inward pointing angle by those holes at the outer ends of each leg. Affixed to that center fixture is a steel ring. That’s the tie-down point for the rope.
When properly rigged, pulling up on that rope meets with tremendous resistance. Because the nails are securely held to that inward-pointing angle, they don’t simply slip straight out. Instead, pulling upwards will try to dislodge the entire cone-shaped chunk of dirt and sod. Resistance is a combination of both dead weight, and the cohesiveness of root structure. Their ads claim up to 1,200 pounds of total resistance. The Claw kit includes three of these triangular assemblies, so that figures out to about 400 pounds for each tie-down point.
Since I plan to be sleeping some times in a tent under the wing, I don’t want the bird to to be doing any slip-sliding around.
In the Air Force we had concrete parking ramps for our aircraft - it’s known as the flight line. Buried in those ramps are steel rods that are affixed to underground heavy weights called “dead men”. Civilian air fields for general aviation sometimes have such tie-downs, but not always. What they DO always have is sod, lots of sod. The Wabbit Hunter will be using some of that sod.
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;-) and LOL! No, but that would sure fit my rabbit escapade, wouldn’t it. No, what it really refers to is Bugs and Elmer. Googleize Either “Be vewwy vewwy quiet”, or “l’m hunting WABbits!”
View the two or three little video skits
I named the Ruptured Duck in honor of a North American B-25 twin engine bomber, flown with Jimmy Doolittle’s Raiders, in 1942 against Tokyo. Men, now all gone, who fought and died to inspire our Nation
I named the WABbit Hunter in honor of Mel Blank, a kind hearted man who spread humor and laughter among two or three generations of us mischievous little rapscallions.
View the two or three little video skits
I named the Ruptured Duck in honor of a North American B-25 twin engine bomber, flown with Jimmy Doolittle’s Raiders, in 1942 against Tokyo. Men, now all gone, who fought and died to inspire our Nation
I named the WABbit Hunter in honor of Mel Blank, a kind hearted man who spread humor and laughter among two or three generations of us mischievous little rapscallions.
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Then how about this because of the plans name. Have Elmer Fudd and the sides of it like the pin up gals on planes in WW 2. He could be stalking with his trusty double barrel shotgun like he's sneaking up on Bugs.
Exactly! I plan to have a friend - the one who did the nose art on the Duck - put Elmer and shotgun on the vertical stabilizer for me. There just isn’t any surface area up front on this semi-naked plane. It’s open, bare tubular framework all over the fuselage. Only the wings and empennage (tail) are covered: making the only vertical surface area available is the vertical stabilizer, in the rear. So, instead of nose art, it will be tail art.
By the way, the color won’t be green. Though that was an optional choice, I bypassed it. The colors will be bright flourescent orange and bright fluorescent yellow. First, it doesn't have enough metal to form a reliably strong radar return. Maybe a weak return from only a few miles out? That is passive. Second, it also is not actively transmitting an electronic signature because it has no transponder.. So I want it to be as blatantly visible as possible. Not only will the colors be in bright fluorescent colors, it will also be flashing bright strobes from the wingtips.
By the way, the color won’t be green. Though that was an optional choice, I bypassed it. The colors will be bright flourescent orange and bright fluorescent yellow. First, it doesn't have enough metal to form a reliably strong radar return. Maybe a weak return from only a few miles out? That is passive. Second, it also is not actively transmitting an electronic signature because it has no transponder.. So I want it to be as blatantly visible as possible. Not only will the colors be in bright fluorescent colors, it will also be flashing bright strobes from the wingtips.
Better to be seen then to be not seen and the bright colors are the best way to go. Paint a 747 green but a small plane bright is a whole lot better , top , bottom and sides.
One exception , if you are going to use it smuggling in single malt scotch , light blue on the bottom and camo on the top.
One exception , if you are going to use it smuggling in single malt scotch , light blue on the bottom and camo on the top.
I’ll probably just continue to buy my single malt from a local store. ;-) Four hours of fuel wouldn’t quite get me across the far, blue water.
YAW - AND A SHORT PIECE OF STRING
This is all going to be old hat for other pilots. So, they have some options. (1) not read it all, and go do something useful. (2) read it and offer corrections or supplementary information. (3) read it and chuckle at what a simple mind thinks is worthwhile doing while penned up in isolation.
Once a plane gets off the ground, it’s in a three dimensional world. To help visualize that 3 dimension vehicle, get a ball point pen and draw two, little pictures on your palm. Or, on paper if you're a neatnik. Your first little picture can be the outline of the left side of an airplane, with the nose pointing to your left, to be conventional. Next to that, a little picture of looking straight down on an airplane from directly overhead, again with the nose pointing to the left. On the first picture, draw a thin, horizontal, straight line through the length of the fuselage from nose to tail, extend out the ends a bit beyond the nose and tail. Nice! That line is the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. The plane rolls left and right around that axis like a wheel and axle. Now draw a similar vertical line, straight up and down at right angeles to that longitudinal axis. Place it where the wings would be. Extend it just a bit above and below the silhouette, so the ends stick out a little bit. That is the vertical axis, and the aircraft yaws (turns) left and right around that axis. Again, like a wheel and axle.
Time to move on to the second picture. Again, draw that longitudinal axis the length of the fuselage, plus a little bit beyond both ends. And, draw a line across from wingtip to wingtip, extending the ends a little bit. That line through the wings is the horizontal axis. The plane pitches nose up and nose down around that axis.
When a plane flies, it rotates around all three axes. Sometimes around only one at a time, sometimes around two, and sometimes all three at the same time. Mankind developed and evolved on solid ground, operating in only two dimensions. Flying in three dimensions takes us out of our natural element, into territory that can be uncomfortable. Man was never intended to fly. Sorry bout that, but it’s a fundamental, biological truth. Maybe that’s why having the ability to fly has been a dream of mankind that is older than dirt? Could man ever evolve into naturally being a three dimensional critter? Probably no time soon. Only about one in 300 people are pilots, and that’s not enough to sway much geneology.
Almost all of the time, it’s best to have the longitudinal axis lined up pointing straight ahead, in the direction you want to go. If the plane is aimed at, say, to the left or right of straight ahead, it is “out of trim”, and doesn’t feel right inside the pilot’s head. Our ears are telling us that we’re heading in a different direction that what our eyes are telling us. That’s confusing. Part of learning to fly is learning to recognize and handle such confusing signals. The more aerobatically you fly, the more of those confusing signals you deal with. I try to not press the edges of the flight envelope. Instead, I tend to fly that wrinkly, narrow crease right down the middle of the envelope. I also try to stay near the middle of the sky, avoiding the edges where there are obstacles like tall buildings, towers, trees, rocks, towers, etc.
So, when the plane is out of trim relative to the vertical axis, yawing out of line with the flight path, and your head and the seat of your pants tell you that something is wrong, how does the pilot figure out (1) what’s wrong, and (2) what should I do about it? About here, OldBuffPilot Andy is jumping up and down, waving his hand in the air, and hollering, “I know! I know! “. It’s such an elementary situation to an experienced pilot that he does it automatically, without even thinking about it. “Step on the ball!”
And, of course, he would be right - if the plane was equipped with a slip indicator. A slip indicator is kind of like a carpenters’ level, only different. The glass tube in a carpenters’ level is straight. The glass tube in a slip indicator is an arc, cruving upwards on the ends, and the center is the low spot. And, instead of a bubble, the slip indicator has a steel ball. Different, but similar.
If the plane is yawed to the right, and out of line with the flight path, the ball will be to the left of center. “Stepping on the ball” means to step on the rudder pedal on the side where the ball slid to. Yawed to the right, ball slid to the left, corrective action is to step on the left rudder pedal. Simple, every pilot knows it. And almost every pilot does it.
Almost every pilot; not all. There’s an even more simple slip indicator than that tube and ball - a piece of string. And Andy knows about it. We also have (at least one) a Certified Flight Instructor on here, and he’s familar with a yaw string too.
Most single engined aircraft have the engine up in front, and the prop is pulling the aircraft through the air. It’s called a tractor configuration. The propellor is producing a strong air current called prop wash. On a single engined plane, that prop wash flows straight back over the nose cowling. BUT, the Wabbit Hunter is a pusher. The engine is behind the cockpit, turned around with the prop on the back of the engine, blowing the prop wash back. The only airflow over the nose is the slipstream. Air flows over the nose naturally - not forced. So if the plane yaws, say, to the right, the slipstream will continue to flow straight back, but the plane isn’t pointing straight into the slipstream. It’s at an angle to the right.
If you take a short piece of string, tape it to the nose of the plane where it’s easy for the pilot to see, we now have what is known as a yaw string. It will follow that off center flow of air when the plane is yawed. When flying straight, not yawed, the string flows straight back, centered. With no prop wash to overpower the slipstream, the yaw string is deadly accurate. So, on the windscreen of the Wabbit Hunter will be - - - a simple, little piece of string, a yaw string. It will be one of the primary flight instruments.
As an aside, a yaw string indicates in the reverse of the steel ball in a slip indicator. When the yaw string is off center, say, to the right, you don’t step on the string. The proper corrective action with a yaw string is to “step on the blank side”.
This is all going to be old hat for other pilots. So, they have some options. (1) not read it all, and go do something useful. (2) read it and offer corrections or supplementary information. (3) read it and chuckle at what a simple mind thinks is worthwhile doing while penned up in isolation.
Once a plane gets off the ground, it’s in a three dimensional world. To help visualize that 3 dimension vehicle, get a ball point pen and draw two, little pictures on your palm. Or, on paper if you're a neatnik. Your first little picture can be the outline of the left side of an airplane, with the nose pointing to your left, to be conventional. Next to that, a little picture of looking straight down on an airplane from directly overhead, again with the nose pointing to the left. On the first picture, draw a thin, horizontal, straight line through the length of the fuselage from nose to tail, extend out the ends a bit beyond the nose and tail. Nice! That line is the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. The plane rolls left and right around that axis like a wheel and axle. Now draw a similar vertical line, straight up and down at right angeles to that longitudinal axis. Place it where the wings would be. Extend it just a bit above and below the silhouette, so the ends stick out a little bit. That is the vertical axis, and the aircraft yaws (turns) left and right around that axis. Again, like a wheel and axle.
Time to move on to the second picture. Again, draw that longitudinal axis the length of the fuselage, plus a little bit beyond both ends. And, draw a line across from wingtip to wingtip, extending the ends a little bit. That line through the wings is the horizontal axis. The plane pitches nose up and nose down around that axis.
When a plane flies, it rotates around all three axes. Sometimes around only one at a time, sometimes around two, and sometimes all three at the same time. Mankind developed and evolved on solid ground, operating in only two dimensions. Flying in three dimensions takes us out of our natural element, into territory that can be uncomfortable. Man was never intended to fly. Sorry bout that, but it’s a fundamental, biological truth. Maybe that’s why having the ability to fly has been a dream of mankind that is older than dirt? Could man ever evolve into naturally being a three dimensional critter? Probably no time soon. Only about one in 300 people are pilots, and that’s not enough to sway much geneology.
Almost all of the time, it’s best to have the longitudinal axis lined up pointing straight ahead, in the direction you want to go. If the plane is aimed at, say, to the left or right of straight ahead, it is “out of trim”, and doesn’t feel right inside the pilot’s head. Our ears are telling us that we’re heading in a different direction that what our eyes are telling us. That’s confusing. Part of learning to fly is learning to recognize and handle such confusing signals. The more aerobatically you fly, the more of those confusing signals you deal with. I try to not press the edges of the flight envelope. Instead, I tend to fly that wrinkly, narrow crease right down the middle of the envelope. I also try to stay near the middle of the sky, avoiding the edges where there are obstacles like tall buildings, towers, trees, rocks, towers, etc.
So, when the plane is out of trim relative to the vertical axis, yawing out of line with the flight path, and your head and the seat of your pants tell you that something is wrong, how does the pilot figure out (1) what’s wrong, and (2) what should I do about it? About here, OldBuffPilot Andy is jumping up and down, waving his hand in the air, and hollering, “I know! I know! “. It’s such an elementary situation to an experienced pilot that he does it automatically, without even thinking about it. “Step on the ball!”
And, of course, he would be right - if the plane was equipped with a slip indicator. A slip indicator is kind of like a carpenters’ level, only different. The glass tube in a carpenters’ level is straight. The glass tube in a slip indicator is an arc, cruving upwards on the ends, and the center is the low spot. And, instead of a bubble, the slip indicator has a steel ball. Different, but similar.
If the plane is yawed to the right, and out of line with the flight path, the ball will be to the left of center. “Stepping on the ball” means to step on the rudder pedal on the side where the ball slid to. Yawed to the right, ball slid to the left, corrective action is to step on the left rudder pedal. Simple, every pilot knows it. And almost every pilot does it.
Almost every pilot; not all. There’s an even more simple slip indicator than that tube and ball - a piece of string. And Andy knows about it. We also have (at least one) a Certified Flight Instructor on here, and he’s familar with a yaw string too.
Most single engined aircraft have the engine up in front, and the prop is pulling the aircraft through the air. It’s called a tractor configuration. The propellor is producing a strong air current called prop wash. On a single engined plane, that prop wash flows straight back over the nose cowling. BUT, the Wabbit Hunter is a pusher. The engine is behind the cockpit, turned around with the prop on the back of the engine, blowing the prop wash back. The only airflow over the nose is the slipstream. Air flows over the nose naturally - not forced. So if the plane yaws, say, to the right, the slipstream will continue to flow straight back, but the plane isn’t pointing straight into the slipstream. It’s at an angle to the right.
If you take a short piece of string, tape it to the nose of the plane where it’s easy for the pilot to see, we now have what is known as a yaw string. It will follow that off center flow of air when the plane is yawed. When flying straight, not yawed, the string flows straight back, centered. With no prop wash to overpower the slipstream, the yaw string is deadly accurate. So, on the windscreen of the Wabbit Hunter will be - - - a simple, little piece of string, a yaw string. It will be one of the primary flight instruments.
As an aside, a yaw string indicates in the reverse of the steel ball in a slip indicator. When the yaw string is off center, say, to the right, you don’t step on the string. The proper corrective action with a yaw string is to “step on the blank side”.
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While our governor in Michigan demonstrates how government can be a detriment, I see many people demonstrating how to enjoy freedom. Ultimately, freedom is having the ability to choose - to choose what YOU want.
The last couple of cays, I’ve chosen to go bike riding. Not record breaking rides, just enjoyable rides through some Great Lakes countryside. Yesterday, Charlie and i rode a little over 12 miles on the Meijer Heartland Trail. Today, I rode 8 miles on the St. Charles Trail with my 19 year old Granddaughter.
Charlie is the best trail partner I have ever found. He fits with me better than anyone else. Knowledge and skill wise, he ranks among the best. He is one heck of an outdoorsman. It’s the way we work together that tops it all off. My Granddaughter is very special to me. Continually, since she was 3 years old, she has been driven to learn. She learned to read, be a Girl Scout, ride bike, kick a soccer ball with accuracy, wend her way through the woods and underbrush, go on extended canoe trips, learn Spanish, math - all her school subjects, and to be a charming young lady.
So, the last couple of days have been spent being with two of my favorite people. They were my choices. I have enjoyed these days. I will remember these days. Thanks, God.
The last couple of cays, I’ve chosen to go bike riding. Not record breaking rides, just enjoyable rides through some Great Lakes countryside. Yesterday, Charlie and i rode a little over 12 miles on the Meijer Heartland Trail. Today, I rode 8 miles on the St. Charles Trail with my 19 year old Granddaughter.
Charlie is the best trail partner I have ever found. He fits with me better than anyone else. Knowledge and skill wise, he ranks among the best. He is one heck of an outdoorsman. It’s the way we work together that tops it all off. My Granddaughter is very special to me. Continually, since she was 3 years old, she has been driven to learn. She learned to read, be a Girl Scout, ride bike, kick a soccer ball with accuracy, wend her way through the woods and underbrush, go on extended canoe trips, learn Spanish, math - all her school subjects, and to be a charming young lady.
So, the last couple of days have been spent being with two of my favorite people. They were my choices. I have enjoyed these days. I will remember these days. Thanks, God.
Glad you had time with your Granddaughter. Grandchildren are one of the few good things about growing old.
Thanks, JD. You’re sure right about that. Young sparks of Life - running all around the place!
Saw deer (four of them a bit closer to my front bumper than I wanted), others while on the bike, turkeys (big ones), mama goose and 5-8 poults, and more chipmunks than we wanted to.
Saw deer (four of them a bit closer to my front bumper than I wanted), others while on the bike, turkeys (big ones), mama goose and 5-8 poults, and more chipmunks than we wanted to.
Time sure does pass, Joey. Just a couple of weeks ago, she was only 3 years old. sigh
Grandkids trump everything.
Grandkids trump everything.
Grandkids are God's reward for you not killing your own kids when they were growing up!
I find it hard to believe that we have a 27 yr old grandson. Even harder to believe that our kids are 47, 49 & 50.
We must have started when we were ten!Today, Charlie and I geezered our bikes through 17.9 miles of the Meijer Heartland trail. A few highlights of the ride included a few feeding deer, a running squirrel,, a chocolate ice cream shake, talking with other riders on a bridge over a stream, and getting back to the vehicles and off the bike. These rides add Life to my years, and years to my Life.
It’s a good deal.
It’s a good deal.
Thanks Andy. Truth is, that I kinda need someone to prod my lazy ar$e along. Charlie does a good job of that. Sometimes, my git up and go, just got up and went.