Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 00:24:04 -0400
From: Finn Lassen <finn.lassen@verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Joe Hull's OSH Trip - Part 2
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Wow! I guess I can consider myself fortunate. When I lost my 
in-the-cowling muffler I was over an airport only a 1-hour drive away 
from home.

You definitely need expansion joints. Tubes sliding within tubes, or 
some other type of flex joints.
The thermal expansion/contraction simply kills those short runners.

Finn

Joe Hull wrote:

>My trip to Oshkosh, summer of 2006 - Part 2
>
>I happened to land in a great little town - Hyannis, Nebraska, population
>287 (maybe including pets!) and not close to anywhere. But I hadn't been on
>the ground more than a few minutes before a rancher named Dean drove up and
>asked if he could help. He suddenly became my liaison and repair
>coordinator. Even though it was Sunday he got a hold of a guy (Gary the Vet)
>who had one of the 3 hangars on this little airfield and I was able to work
>on my plane inside the hangar out of the blistering sun. He also provided me
>with the one size of metric wrench that I hadn't brought with me so I could
>get what remained of the exhaust manifold off the engine!
>
>I was also given the name and home phone numbers of the hotel owners and a
>couple of people who worked there because the hotel isn't open on Sundays
>and I'd have to get someone to come and let me in and give me a room. It was
>an OK little hotel - the only real issue was that it sits about 150ft from a
>very busy railroad line and because this little town has a street that
>crosses the tracks the trains have to blow their monstrous horn whenever
>they come through. You guessed it, the hotel is right about the spot where
>the train lets off it's huge blast!  So, at 1AM, 2AM, 3AM, 4AM... I jumped
>out of bed and dove for cover only to remember that we weren't at war - it
>was only a train.
>
>My new rancher friend also gave me the name and number of a local welder and
>again, even though it was Sunday, he returned my call within a couple of
>hours and came out and got my exhaust system and took it away and welded it
>all up in about an hour. He also welded up all the spider cracks that
>emanated from each of the two the main breaks in the exhaust - an excellent,
>excellent welding job!
>
>While the welder was welding up my exhaust I cut, pried, and ripped the
>melted wiring apart. My first thought was to cut out all the exposed wires
>and splice in some new wire that actually had insulation. However, everyone
>I talked to in town said they didn't think there was any wire close to the
>size I needed in the town. There was a "Rancher Supply" store - plenty of
>barbed wire - no wire for electronics for sure. I'd have to go 60 miles to
>the closest "big city" (population 9000) to find what I needed. But I also
>needed a soldering iron and shrink tube. So, after pondering my options, I
>decided that since the wires themselves were intact - all I needed as some
>insulation to keep them from shorting on themselves or the engine. So I
>carefully wrapped each one of the 12 or so wires in electrical tape and
>high-temp silicone rubber tape (which I had brought along just in case). 
>
>I reassembled everything by about 8:30 or 9PM Sunday night and ran the
>engine for a half-hour at different settings - especially full throttle.
>Everything seemed OK so it was time for some scrumptious dinner from the
>same place I where I enjoyed a fabulous lunch - the BP gas station mini-mart
>next to the hotel (did I mention it was the only thing open).
>
>Now I was ready to fly out the next morning - which direction? Oshkosh or
>home? Given that this is the second time I have had cracks in the exhaust it
>was a no-brainer. This exhaust system is apparently only good for between
>20-30 hours of use before some part of it fails. So home to Seattle it is.
>
>But here's my main concern (aside from the exhaust system) - my engine and
>prop combination aren't the most efficient.  I was full of fuel when I
>departed Cheyenne and because of the altitude at Cheyenne (6200ft) and
>temperature it took about 6000 feet of runway to break ground - and then I
>climbed VERY slowly. So, I've burned about 12 gallons getting to Hyannis and
>I'm now a little lower at 3700ft and on a runway that is 3975ft long.  There
>is a hill maybe 100ft high off of one end that has a cemetery on it (local
>joke about pilots saving the grave diggers time by planting themselves). Off
>the other end is a pasture and then some more rolling hills.  The previous
>day the prevailing wind (maybe 10-15kts) was coming from the cemetery
>direction - not good. 
>
>I did some calculations, based on prior performance, and estimated that I
>should be able to lift off somewhere in the 3000 foot range - as long as the
>altitude remained the same (for non-aviators: when it's hot the altitude
>that the plane "sees" is higher because the air is less dense - i.e. takes
>more runway to take-off). So a very early morning departure was planned when
>it was cool - also hoping that the wind at 6AM would be calm and I could
>head for the pasture and not the cemetery - if you know what I mean ;-)  I
>had to wait until 6AM too because the hotel doesn't open until 6AM and when
>I "checked-in" they essentially just gave me two keys (one for the outside
>door and one for the room). I had to pay them before I left - couldn't skip
>town without paying!  
>
>I made the long drive (about 3 blocks!) to the airport in the pickup truck
>that was loaned to me by the hanger owner. At 6:10AM I pushed the plane out
>and did a pre-flight to make sure field mice hadn't taken up residence where
>they shouldn't. I called the FAA Flight Service Station on my cell phone to
>file a flight plan from Hyannis, Nebraska to Casper, Wyoming (about 285
>miles) with a route that happened to go over several larger airports along
>the way!  As I hung up with FSS an older, gentleman rancher pulled up in his
>pickup and got out for a chat. It turns out he was the guy who originally
>built the airport 40 years before. An interesting guy! I thanked him for his
>foresight in placing an airport exactly where I needed one and then asked
>him to go the end of the runway and get ready to call in the cavalry if I
>got hung up on the barbed wire at the other end.  He assured me he would and
>we said good-bye.
>
>At 6:30AM I started the engine up and took the plane to the edge of the
>grass on the end of the paved runway and ran the engine up and leaned it for
>best power. Then it was off the brakes and on to counting runway lights -
>was that 5 or 6 or 7 - I can't count lights at a time like this! (for
>non-aviators: runway lights are typically spaced at 200ft and counting them
>can tell you how far you've gone and how much runway is left). By about
>mid-field I was up to 54kts and accelerating - only 16kts more and I can
>lift off. Sure enough, with about 700-800 feet left I came off the runway
>and began a slow climb. A gentle left turn so I didn't skim the hills on the
>other side of the pasture and I was on course to Casper, Wyoming.
>
>The flight home was as uneventful as the flight had been coming out - well
>up until Hyannis, Nebraska that is. There were 5-10kt headwinds most of the
>way so it wasn't quite as quick a trip - plus I kept the engine running rich
>so the exhaust was cooler - so I didn't have the same power setting as the
>trip out. 
>
>Stats:  Miles traveled out - 1340, average speed 184MPH (with two landings)
>	Miles back - 1295, average speed 175MPH (with two landings)
>
>Now it's off to design a different exhaust system - using different
>material! Oh, and back to work! Since I'm not at Oshkosh what else is there
>to do!
>
>Joe Hull
>Cozy Mk-IV N31CZ (65 hrs - Rotary 13B NA) 
>Redmond (Seattle), Washington
>
>
>
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