Rain-Monkey: Awfully loud; is the engine still running?!

Sounds like it at the end, yeah. I would think shutting it down would be best practice here, but then, I'm not a pilot.

martissimo: Thunderboy: Rain-Monkey: Awfully loud; is the engine still running?!

I would guess (guess should be bolded), that it provides power to a few other nice functions much like in a car

Not much. Just the vacuum pump for the directional gyro and attitude indicator. Not needed for a severe clear day like what is in the video. Everything else runs off the battery.

And the engine WAS off. What you're hearing is wind noise. It's really loud in an airplane cabin because there's not much soundproofing because it's too damn heavy. That's why most of us now wear headsets, many with noise cancelling features. Go drive down the highway in a 70's or earlier era car at 100mph and hear how loud it is in the cabin.

An engine without a propeller would probably not run, or if it does run, it would run very roughly. The propeller is acting as the engine's flywheel. Propellers are heavy.

Also, contrary to the article text, the left seat guy wasn't the guy flying, The right seat guy was the guy on the controls. Left seat guy was aiding in finding a landing spot, securing the cabin, and propping the doors open so they don't get jammed if the fuselage gets crunched. He was probably also the guy who cut the engine and turned off the fuel.

Though I didn't see the right seat guy sweating, providing a counterexample to the joke. "The big fan in the front is to keep the pilot cool. Want to see him sweat? Turn off that fan!"

--Carlos V.

Hmm. I'm looking at the end of the video, wishing they had taken off the cowl to figure out what let loose.

The obvious parts are the starter ring and the propeller. The alternator belt is on the starter ring, that might have caused the rip and sticking-up part of the nose cowl as it whipped around. From the look of the nose bowl, it's misshapen and the oil dipstick door is open it must have shook pretty badly before they shut the engine off, or as the prop was falling off. There are scrapes on the cylinder head.

Curious.

--Carlos V.

These guys sympathize.

It's a farking Cesnna, it's a powered glider. Nothing impressive about this at all.

I liked the part where nothing interesting happened and we are supposed to imagine everything.

Man, that chick was way skinnier than the Mexicans I see around here.

So every time a pilot remembers his or her training, responding calmly and intelligently to a bad situation, we're going to call it a "Sully" now?

Luckily he channeled this inner Sully:



Instead of this one:



Or this one:



Or this one:

Heron: So every time a pilot remembers his or her training, responding calmly and intelligently to a bad situation, we're going to call it a "Sully" now?

It is an interesting inversion of the former definition of "sully" "to make soiled or tarnished : defile"

If there hadn't been a real life Sully, it would almost fall under newspeak.

This guy sullies his flying career by landing the plane safely after the front fell off.

How did you sully your flying career?

From the look of the cowl I was wondering if they hit the rock or something on landing. It seemed like there was only damage on one side.

It would be interesting to know what happened. Wonder how high the motor reved if it suddenly lost the prop.

NBSV: From the look of the cowl I was wondering if they hit the rock or something on landing. It seemed like there was only damage on one side.

It would be interesting to know what happened. Wonder how high the motor reved if it suddenly lost the prop.

A 172 still steers on the ground and has brakes. Hard to believe they hit the rock dead on, though that was my first reaction as well.

I suspect before the prop comes off it firsts is rotating asymmetrically and then wildly off axis, thus scraping the cowl.

buckler: What do you do when you're turning, you've got twenty degrees and you're stalling out, and it's 24 miles to the beacon, there's a cut in the sky and the warning's out?

You die?

I don't remember the prop falling off in commando

Yeah, the prop probably struck the cowl during the time it was falling off. Kinda scary thinking of it coming through the front windscreen.

Anyway, props to you pilot with big nuts. Real American Mexican hero.

I hope the senoritas showed el capitan their gratitude.

If it ain't Boeing it ain't going.

boobsrgood: I love dubstep. Not because it is especially innovative or interesting, but because of the effect it has on boring people. It makes them shiate themselves out loud, not unlike the subject of hipsters or OWS, it is an invaluable tool for helping me learn who needs disappearing from my personal auditory filter.

Do you find yourself out of step with the conversation A) All of the time, B) All of the time, C) All of the time?

So the girls had plenty of time to expel the 40 balloons of heroin they had crammed up their chochas?

So... the front fell off? How is the rest of the environment (new window)?

Dude better have gotten laid that night.

The phrase "Ay Chihuahua" comes to mind.

littlebeartoe: I liked the part where nothing interesting happened and we are supposed to imagine everything.

Hush now, the boys are having fun being Airplane Flight Engineers