So, having a pusher entails this kind of work more often than you would like. The folks, like Andy, and opted to use a piano hinge (or Dzus fasteners) instead of cowling screws get less of it than I do, but you still get some. We’re still not sure what hit us.

We (with the help of Duane at the factory) think it was something from the runway that bounced off of the copilot main gear, struck the bottom of the wing outboard of the tire, rebounded and was sucked in by the prop. They didn’t think anything struck by the prop would move that far forward and outboard, especially on a moving airplane. I know it hit me either at rotation or shortly thereafter, because on my last takeoff right about then I noticed a ‘stumble’ in the engine. I thought perhaps it was hot fuel vaporizing since it was a hot day and my 3rd circuit, but now I’m confident it was the prop slowing down just slightly as it hit this object.

I did a FOD sweep on the runway, and it’s not surprising since it was over a week ago (before Airventure) that I hit it, but I wasn’t able to find any likely suspects. However, I did find a different large piece of metal on the runway (AFTER I test flew the prop repair), which goes to show that it really isn’t hard to find large metal objects on the runway. Yikes.

JB Weld and flox filled, prior to sanding to shape. Beforehand I filed all of the sharp edges off to avoid any stress-risers…	Damage under copilot wing aft of strake, and outside of the tire/pant. It was a sharp cut with a large “breakout” of filler. Note that either 2 pieces hit, or it bounced and “flipped up/in” to the wing…
The object struck so forcefully it popped paint and filler off the top side of the wing as well	Largish/heavy piece of metal
Appears to be a tractor or wheel end cap of some sort….

Posted By: Brett Ferrell
Thursday July 30th, 2015 at 10:04 PM

Categories: Maintenance
Tags: Maintenance MT Propeller Repair