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 Previous Item - A new way to do water landings
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A Nice November Day |
|  Next Item - A normal day gone very very bad
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Dan Nickens - Oct 11,2003
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Nice Day(s)<br /><br />It was the kind of weekend that makes all you folks move here in the first place. Blue skies, white clouds, no problems.<br /><br />No problems? If you believe the news media, there are big problems. Big problems with how we count our votes in Florida.<br /><br />Ha! The joke’s on the rest of you. In this part of the country we know it doesn’t matter who is president. We would just as soon not have one for the next four years. Having tricked the two bozos that want the job into going to court, we figure this election won’t be decided for the next eight years. By then it will be obvious that we’re better off without a president or any other political chads.<br /><br />On Saturday it was a little cool. Temperatures hovered just below 80 degrees F. The brisk wind (5 to 10 mph) made a heavy surf on the lakes of at least 1 to 2 inches.<br /><br />Despite these adverse weather conditions, the X61 squadron resolutely headed for Lake Minneola and our favorite hamburger joint. Ann Ladd joined our crusty crowd. She at least provided the appearance of respectability.<br /><br />That thin veneer was quickly lost. A waitress came over and asked if we gave rides. Col. Gracy quickly responded that we only offered rides to passengers who weigh less than 140 pounds. The waitress was clearly insulted. Anyone could see that she easily met that criterion. Jon and I just covered our faces or looked away. Ann backed away from the table.<br /><br />With a huff, the waitress explained she wasn’t asking for herself. A woman sitting at the bar wanted to know. Cool! Only I didn’t see any ladies at the bar. At least none that could ride in my airplane.<br /><br />That didn’t deter the Colonel. He located the lady, who would have met his weight restriction except she was dripping in diamonds, and proceeded to invite himself over for dinner. The inquisitive lady lived on the other side of the lake. She pointed out her house. He said his only interest was the food. Yeah, right.<br /><br />Jon and Ann got out of the place quickly. I had to wait around to make sure the Colonel didn’t get into any more trouble. We made a low pass for the entertainment of the locals and then headed north.<br /><br />Jon radioed to tell us that an impromptu fly in was in progress at X61. Bruce Bennett and Jim Shadoan had successfully survived their respective landings in the OrlandoTriangle. We had to see it to believe it.<br /><br />Jim risked bringing his classic Ercoupe into the wilds of the Bob White airport. Its bright blue paint out shined all the collective Seareys we could park around it. Even AOPA recognized Jim’s airplane with a photo shoot in one of their issues.<br /><br />Four Seareys, a Buccaneer, and an Ercoupe attracted the attention of the airport owner. He drove up and asked why these airplanes were sprawled across his taxiway. In response to whatever lame explanation was offered, he just shook his head and replied, “Seareys are like kudzu. Let’em get started and they’ll take over.”<br /><br />Col. Gracy told him “it’s just like when the camel gets its nose under the tent.” I’m sure the Col. would know. He was exiled by the Air Force to Iran late in his career. They are known to have camel jockeys in that country.<br /><br />Earlier in the week the Russian Pelican arrived at the nearby Orlando Country airport (X04). It didn’t take much persuasion for the group to depart in mass to see the latest amphibian.<br /><br />Having an airplane based at X04, I briefed everyone on the crosswind landing we were sure to experience. The pavement at Orlando Country is about as wide as a Mayberry sidewalk. I assured everyone that it was almost impossible to make a good landing. Jon drove over to watch us land. He said my prediction came true with the exception of Jim. His Air Coupe made a perfect landing. Maybe rudders are a bad thing.<br /><br />The Searey crew studied the new Russian immigrant in detail. Pictures of the airplane on SOS Lite do not do justice the twin seaplane. The airplane is built like a tank, has room for 3 or 4 people, and has full span flaperons. The fact that there were two engines had Col. Gracy swooning with desire. The Diamond Lady’s dinner invitation was completely forgotten.<br /><br />Jim had picked up a prospective Searey owner at another local airport: Gator Airpark (3FD4). I hadn’t had enough excitement for the day so I offered to take the passenger back there.<br /><br />Gator Airpark was having a fly in. Fortunately we didn’t get hit with the bags of flour raining out of a sky filled with ultralights.<br /><br />Hugh Cunningham was one of the targets (I mean spectators). He had to inspect my Searey. Hugh is the former owner of the Stingray that visited all the continental states. He is now having a Searey built at the factory.<br /><br />Noting that Col. Gracy was not in attendance, he broached the topic of exhaust systems. I showed him my modified go-cart exhaust, explaining in detail how every part that could come off is now secured by bolted tabs.<br /><br />Hugh just shook his head. “What about the welded plate?”<br /><br />“The welded plate?”<br /><br />“Yeah. The plate that holds the two pipes together.”<br /><br />“Well, it’s welded. That won’t come off.”<br /><br />“Mine did. The plate cracked completely off and went through the prop.”<br /><br />Bugger! It’s back to the drawing board. Again.<br /><br />Hugh said he is putting one of those fire-breathing turbos on his airplane. Not satisfied to be gigged on the exhaust, I engaged him in a “discussion” of Searey speed limitations.<br /><br />“Why bother with a turbo? You can’t fly the Searey any faster anyway.”<br /><br />“It’s safe to fly in the yellow arc if conditions are smooth.”<br /><br />“That’s not what the FAA regulations say. The yellow arc is ‘for inadvertent, momentary overspeed only.”<br /><br />Hugh went on to tell me about encountering extreme turbulence in his Stingray when trapped in a storm. “Turbulence is everywhere,” I agreed. “Crossing the wake of another airplane has produced 10g on recording g-meters.” <br /><br />“Yeah, you’ve got to slow down in mountains or where turbulence is expected.”<br /><br />“I’ve had severe turbulence occur completely unexpectedly while in a rapid descent in clear air over smooth ground.”<br /><br />“Fortunately the Searey slows down rapidly.”<br /><br />“It does have a lot of drag, but too many people think you can just pull the nose up to slow down in turbulence. All that does is add loading to the wings at a time you may least be able to tolerate it.”<br /><br />“There’s probably some margin built into the speeds.”<br /><br />“Nope. There’s no margin at all. It’s just a calculation. The turbulence speed is simply a multiple of the stall speed and the square root of the design load factor. With a design load of +3.8 and a clean stall speed of 45 mph, it works out to be about 85 mph. If the calculations are correct, the wings will stall before anything on the airplane breaks. At 85, it will take 4g to stall the wing. At 120 mph, it will take more than 7g.”<br /><br />“I think I’m getting a headache. Isn’t it time for you to go? You’ll have to fly over the yellow arc to get back by dark.”<br /><br />He had a good point. At maximum structural cruise speed I encountered no turbulence and made it back to the barn just as the sun set.<br /><br />Copyright 2000 Dan Nickens<br />
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