A dumping of snow

[lee-wave]

About 4- 5 inches of snow fell last weekend in Surrey.   The following day I went for a walk to check out the Jab.   Poor old thing has not flown since Sept 2020.  With the thingy going on we all wonder when will we get airborne again.... no one seems to know.  

 

 

 

 

[old man emu]

Oh to be in England,

Now that Summertime is HERE!

[onetrack]

I hope you've got some kind of permanent warmth being applied to that engine, to prevent corrosion buildup.

Oil largely drains off surfaces over a few months, and those surfaces lose any protective oil coating, thus allowing corrosion to start.

Even just a couple of permanently-lit 100W incandescent globes situated in the enclosed engine bay, will produce enough heat to reduce corrosion-inducing, wide temperature ranges, and moisture/condensation levels.

[Bruce Tuncks]

That poor little jabby! I dunno how fiberglass reacts to that cos I've never seen it before, but I sure would prefer to see it in a hangar.

[spacesailor]

The one at Bundaberge didn,t look very good after being left in our sun for a period of time.

I wonder what became of it !.

spacesailor

 

[facthunter]

Moisture and freezing cracks  rocks. ICE expands . Otherwise Icebergs would to the bottom and not float. And that would change a few things.Nev

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

And that would change a few things.

I reckon there would be Titanic changes.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Yep, ice would be bad and sun is too.  I reckon its a downside of fiberglass, that and the poor crushing strength.  Not to mention the sanding dust killing you.

A Jab shouldn't be kept outside, says me. It's bad enough at fly-ins, but that is not for too many days a year.

[kgwilson]

One of the benefits of Aluminium is it doesn't mind hot dry sun but give it a damp environment and airborne pollutants along with connection to other metals especially ferrous based ones and you have problems. That's why all the aircraft boneyards are in the desert. Fibreglass doesn't like either. Both need protective coatings.

[planedriver]

You are probably at Redhill. I know it well.

Just keep the Jabby away from my nephew who flys his models not far away. 

[lee-wave]

On 04/02/2021 at 11:07 AM, planedriver said:

You are probably at Redhill. I know it well.

Just keep the Jabby away from my nephew who flys his models not far away. 

Not at Redhill. Parked on a private strip near Effingham.  There is a Jab powered Easyraider in the background. 

[Jerry_Atrick]

In Somerset, we haven't had the snow other parts of the country have had... In fact, we have had bone-dry gin clear days hovering between -3 and 1 degree. We have had mornings that, although cold, of almost no frost. Perfect flying weather (with the appropriate attire). Pity I am back to renting aircraft, as we are in lockdown, and I can't rent one.

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Jerry_Atrick

[old man emu]

5 hours ago, lee-wave said:

Effingham

Lee-wave,

This is a family-friendly forum. Please avoid using obscenities when describing foodstuffs.

[lee-wave]

On 14/02/2021 at 10:12 PM, old man emu said:

Lee-wave,

This is a family-friendly forum. Please avoid using obscenities when describing foodstuffs.

Nice one 😁....it happens to be the village where Barnes Wallis hung out.  He is buried nearby...

[planedriver]

So do you know what happened to "Little Nellie" out of curiosity?

It's probably worth a lot more than it's build cost these days, if it's still around somewhere.

Edited February 16, 2021 by planedriver

[lee-wave]

7 minutes ago, planedriver said:

So do you know what happened to "Little Nellie" out of curiosity?

It's probably worth a lot more than it's build cost these days, if it's still around somewhere.

Your thinking of Ken Wallis of autogyro fame ..... Barnes Wallis was the Wellington bomber (geodetic), bouncing bomb (dambusters), tallboy bomb (Tirpitz) designer.  

[planedriver]

Thanks lee-wave, of course you are correct. Just goes to show that great Aussie wine can confuss your fuzzle box late at night.

Wing Cdr. Ken Wallis lived up on the east coast in Norfolk I think. 

[lee-wave]

The latest government guidelines to the resumption of GA.   With luck should be back in the air by early April....

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-general-aviation/coronavirus-covid-19-general-aviation

 

 

[jmal]

Managed to coax the old girl into the air again last weekend...and it was wonderful.   Engine sweet as....flew for a half hour at almost full throttle staying close to the strip in case of any problems, but there were none.   

Will be heading over to Dunsfold (Top Gear) for circuits tomorrow Sat. Airfield is earmarked for development but for the next few years its available for GA with PPI.

Pubs are also open....so life is all good again....

[F10]

Seeing that Jab with all that snow on it.....wonder how many negative “g’s” it was pulling! Snow can be pretty heavy! I remember reading an article the Brit CAA wanted a builder to test to destruction, one complete built wing of a Fisher Flying Products Horison II, because despite Barnes Wallis and the brilliant Wellington, they didn’t believe the geodetic construction was acceptable. So, poor guy, he had to build a complete wing, mounted it inverted on a wall, and they started loading sandbags on it. When they got over 7g, it suffered a partial failure of the rear spar. The aircraft would never be able to fly fast enough, to get close to that kind of g loading.

[facthunter]

Bit of a co-incidence you mention the Fisher Horizon 11... I owned the only one HE  (Michael Fisher) personally built just before He sold the Company  which became Fisher Flying Products subsequently. I think it was initially Fisher Aero Corp.. I can check it up if you need to confirm any details. Yes the wings are geodetic and of wood (spruce) and very light and stiff. and CLEVER.   I checked the load carrying aspects of the airframe and reinforced the carry through on the rear spar as the location of the strut behind the doors applies extra compressive load there. Nev

[lee-wave]

10 hours ago, F10 said:

Seeing that Jab with all that snow on it.....wonder how many negative “g’s” it was pulling! Snow can be pretty heavy! I remember reading an article the Brit CAA wanted a builder to test to destruction, one complete built wing of a Fisher Flying Products Horison II, because despite Barnes Wallis and the brilliant Wellington, they didn’t believe the geodetic construction was acceptable. So, poor guy, he had to build a complete wing, mounted it inverted on a wall, and they started loading sandbags on it. When they got over 7g, it suffered a partial failure of the rear spar. The aircraft would never be able to fly fast enough, to get close to that kind of g loading.

The factory built ULD is rated at +8 -3.5 g.   I reckon the weight of snow would have applied <  - 1.5g maybe 2 g max.   Question.. why, in most aircraft, is the positive g limits greater then the negative g limits ?   

[Marty_d]

16 minutes ago, lee-wave said:

The factory built ULD is rated at +8 -3.5 g.   I reckon the weight of snow would have applied <  - 1.5g maybe 2 g max.   Question.. why, in most aircraft, is the positive g limits greater then the negative g limits ?   

I guess you're always far more likely to pull excess positive than negative.  Reefing it too hard into a turn or pulling out of a dive will load up positive g, whereas not many people do a severe bunt or outside loop.

At -3.5g I'd be pushing around 350kg upwards against the seatbelt.  Fairly unlikely unless you're in a Pitts Special or similar.

[lee-wave]

I have to qualify my previous comment.....every object on the surface of our planet is subject to 1 g so my estimation of a max of 2 g that the weight of the snow produced is inclusive of the gravitational acceleration constant.

 

 

 

 

[facthunter]

Negative "G" is particularly unpleasant  to most people and the force having to be transmitted by the limited area of the seat belt is much more obvious than being forced into a fairly comfortable seat that has a large area. You can also burst blood vessels in your eyes and brain. Your body is not built for it.  With high positive "G" the blood may drain from your brain which is only a temporary problem in most instances. A "G" suite helps there or lying prone. . Nev