It’s coming up on the 4oth Anniversary of the first human to walk on the moon. It must have been literally amazing to see that happen on television. Today, we take space travel as a sort of ho-hum event, unless there’s a tragedy. Otherwise, it’s just another day at the office. Nonetheless, space exploration remains a dangerous, and at the same time, adventurous business that attracts some of the greatest minds on planet earth. I salute these brave and intelligent souls. They have more guts and brains than me. It’s one thing to get there; something else entirely to get back.
If you’re interested in checking out the restored tapes of the first moonshot, go to: http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html. They have a great website at NASA, full of info, photos, and videos. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
This is one operated by PENNSTAR, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. I’ve seen these helicopters in action. It’s impressive. The pilot’s fly in all kinds of weather and have to land at the sites of car wrecks, train derailments, even other plane crashes. This is difficult duty to say the least. Then there is the pressure of flying with someone’s life in danger, which adds more pressure to an already stressful task.
The proven design still flies, which is testament to Piper’s philosophy. Today, most people refer to planes of this configuration as “tail draggers,” meaning that there is a small wheel at the tail which sits lower than the nose. Truthfully, the correct term is “conventional” gear as opposed to “tricycle” gear. Well, this may be an esoteric digression here at The Bent Page, but I just wanted to set the record straight. And here’s a look at the power plant that pulls this craft through the sky.
It only takes four, air-cooled cylinders to do the job as this is a very light airplane. The cylinders are exposed from the cowling to promote cooling. These engines typically operate for about 2000 hours before requiring an overhaul. Then there is the cockpit.
As you can see, only the basics are here. You have an airspeed indicator and an altimeter, a tachometer for the engines along with oil temp and pressure. There’s a compass to point the way and a turn and slip indicator which is that curved, clear tube in the center with the black ball in it. The turn and slip indicator lets the pilot know that he’s flying in a coordinated fashion (or not) and this is an important concept in flight. If the aircraft is uncoordinated, it is slipping or skidding just like a car on ice. The problem is, in certain adverse conditions a slip or skid can lead to a spin and spins can end in tragedy. Hence the simple yet highly effective device.
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