We got a rare treat today when driving back from the river ramp at Mulege. You pass by the Serinadad airstrip so whatever aircraft is parked there
is readily visible.
Today I did a double-take when I spied these 5 ultralights in front of the Serinadad entrance. What a hoot these are to fly! I recall a rally back
in the day... down the Baja Highway..a dozen of these intrepid flyers wound their way from Tecate all the way to Cabo..stopping frequently to party
hardy and refuel.
'Killer' Caine fell off one on takeoff at Santispac..but that was par for the course on most of Killer's wild adventures.
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All Mexican registered ultralights.
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Then..for more fun, the 4 amigos went kayaking in the river...practicing their rolls.
Have a blast, guys!
[Edited on 4-21-2010 by Pompano]desertcpl - 4-21-2010 at 03:31 PM
i flew one many years ago,, its a blast,, but didnt look anything like these,, I bet they are really funtoneart - 4-21-2010 at 03:38 PM
Yup! I saw them. I sure would like to fly one. I did get a ride in an experimental stunt plane a couple of months ago and we flew over the Bahia de
Concepcion, the Mulege River and the town itself. Did a couple of rolls too. (Urp).tripledigitken - 4-21-2010 at 03:38 PM
Question for the pilots out there. These Ultralights use both 2 bladed props and 3 bladed props, what are the advantages of one over the other?
Thanks in advance for the answer.
Thanks for posting these Roger.Pompano - 4-21-2010 at 04:02 PM
Ken...Same principle as the props on your fishing boat...whether an outboard, inboard, cargo mega-ship,....or submarine like some of my older
models turned out to be...
"The Number of Blades
The number of blades has a small effect on the efficiency only. Usually a propeller with more blades will perform slightly better, as it distributes
its power and thrust more evenly in its wake. But for a given power or thrust, more blades also mean more narrow blades with reduced chord length, so
practical limits have to be considered here. The chord length can be increased while decreasing the diameter to keep the power consumption constant,
but a diameter reduction is usually a bad idea in terms of efficiency, as long as the tip mach number or tip cavitation is not an issue."
This paragraph was lifted from a section about the design of propellers. I flew quite a few experimental model planes in my club Up North, plus a
couple stints with various metal flying contraptions that fell to earth frequently.
It gives some insight into the effect and impact of efficiency resulting from the number of blades.
It's usually all about power v.s. speed...meaning how fast can I go with a full load?Bob and Susan - 4-21-2010 at 05:13 PM
these birds must be pretty scary to fly
kind'a like a motorcycle in the sky
they took a tour of the bay this morning
then at 11:30 flew south
capt. mike - 4-21-2010 at 05:31 PM
for me - as i had a 2 blade for 9 yrs and converted to a 3 blade in 2006:
1. less vibration, way smoother
2. better thrust - shorter take off roll and faster climb and more acceleration
3. less noise
4. better ground clearance shorter blade lengths
i would never go back to a 2 blade and would love a 4 blade MT composite prop if they made one certificated for my airframe and engine combination.
3 blade is not as fast in cruise due to higher drag - but its negligible at 2-3 kts.LancairDriver - 4-21-2010 at 07:59 PM
Mike- ML's 210 that was ripped off at the Serenidad a few years ago had a new 4 blade MT prop on it. He really liked it.Smoother but not much faster.
Since it stands out like a sore thumb on a 210 I bet the thieves removed it. Maybe find it at some swap meet down there. They go for about 15K so they
ain't cheap.capt. mike - 4-22-2010 at 05:03 AM
yeah, i saw ML's 210 when he put that prop on. it did look wierd.
have you seen his new P210? very sweet ride.
the MT props do not have one for PA 24s but that's ok, my new McCauley simply rocks!
see ya in Baja George. headed back in 2 weeks.Pompano - 4-22-2010 at 07:02 AM
Thanks for the explanation. I guess the question is why would the guy use a 2 bladed prop, economics?
Kencapt. mike - 4-22-2010 at 08:27 AM
yes, that and as a function of how the aircraft was originally certifcated. most SEL single engine land - and twin piston designs began as 2 blade.
some went to 3 blade, many did not. 3 blade might have been an option because of problems with the 2 blade as happened on mine.
now if you REALLY want to get deep....talk about fixed pitch vs contant speed props, i.e. controllable, adjustable pitch in flight.
that's where hi performance starts, along with retractable gear and 200 + HP.tripledigitken - 4-22-2010 at 08:32 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by capt. mike
now if you REALLY want to get deep....talk about fixed pitch vs contant speed props, i.e. controllable, adjustable pitch in flight.
that's where hi performance starts, along with retractable gear and 200 + HP.
On an ultralight?
That's the ticket!oldlady - 4-22-2010 at 08:34 AM
I love the "bees" comment. Went to Oshkosh a couple of times; they would swarm. First time that's exactly what I thought they looked and sounded
like bees. Thanks for the memories...hadn't thought about that in a long time.akmaxx - 4-22-2010 at 06:07 PM
These guys were low and slow over Dolphin Cove. What fun.
