Page 27 - EAA78.Newsletter.Archives.(February.2017-July.2021)

CHAPTER CHATTER, EAA Chapter 78 4

ceiling of the cabin, or what was left of it, and the Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your
violent shaking tore off his helmet. Cold air, minus-40 Aircraft Engine Parts?
degrees Fahrenheit, blew into the cockpit.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the violent shaking
stopped. Hall unbuckled his seat belt, slipped through
the cockpit door, and began falling at about 20,000 feet
as he pulled the cord on his parachute.

“I opened my chute immediately, which could have
been fatal,” he wrote. “As my chute opened, an engine
with a section of wing came by from above. I can still
see that engine clearly in my mind. The prop was
feathered and the engine was running.”

As Hall floated high above the Cascades’ snowcapped
peaks, he felt “awed by the destructive disintegration of
that aircraft and my survival. There were small, light
pieces of aluminum, fabric, and insulation floating Ground Effect: What Really Happens
down all around me. In any direction, I looked, it was When You Get Close To The Ground
like confetti.”

Hall was soon on the ground. With his parachute rolled
up under his arm, he stuck out his thumb and hitchhiked
home.

Few have been so lucky.

Here is one preflight inspection item that should NOT
be overlooked, especially if you own a Piper with this
type of stabilator. The whole surface is held on by 2
small 1/4 inch bolts, so it's a critical area.
How Adverse Yaw Affects Your Plane