By Eugenia M. Kenyon
On a trip back from Louisville, KY, one time, in a 65-hp Cub, we had a terrific headwind, ran low on gas and made an emergency landing in a field in Carter County [Kentucky] near the highway, U.S. Route 60. While we were discussing strategy, a Crown gasoline truck driving through stopped and we filled up on gas and came on into Ashland, KY. Once in a while, it made a peculiar noise, but it worked.
Commentary by Ronald W. Kenyon
This event was recounted by my late mother, Eugenia M. Kenyon, in a letter dated February 9, 1962, addressed to Tom Hamer, Aviation Editor of the Huntington, WV Herald Dispatch.
This event was recounted by my late mother, Eugenia M. Kenyon, in a letter dated February 9, 1962, addressed to Tom Hamer, Aviation Editor of the Huntington, WV Herald Dispatch.
The "65-hp Cub" would most likely have been the Piper J-3 Cub that my father and mother ferried from the Piper factory in Lock Haven, PA to Ashland, KY on New Year's Day in 1939. This is the aircraft in which they crash landed near New Matamoros, OH, as described in the blog entry "Hang on, Honey, I think we're going to crash."
Whether it's a 65-hp Cub flying at 1,000 feet or a Boeing 777 flying in the lower stratosphere, headwinds can considerably reduce an aircraft's speed and increase its fuel consumption. For example, a flight eastbound from Washington, DC to Paris in a 777 takes 7 hours 15 minutes. But a westbound flight from Paris to Washington takes 8 hours 20 minutes. Flying time for the same distance is one hour greater going west because of the prevailing westerly headwinds at high altitude. My father had correctly calculated that, under normal flying conditions, he would have had sufficient fuel to reach Ashland Airport.
Aircraft fuel is not the same as automobile gasoline. Each is formulated differently for each type of engine. Small private aircraft such as Piper Cubs were equipped with air-cooled engines, whereas almost all automobile motors are water-cooled. In the United States, aviation fuel--avgas--is rated 100 octane, contains low levels of tetraethyl lead and is dyed blue. Automotive gasoline--mogas--is now formulated without lead and is produced in various octane ratings. The automobile gasoline enabled the Continental engine in the Cub to function, albeit inefficiently, thus the "peculiar noise."
U.S. Route 60 is a trans-continental highway extending 1,670 miles [4,300 kilometers] from the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia to western Arizona. It traverses the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Carter County, Kentucky was formed on February 9, 1838, from portions of Greenup County and Lawrence County. It was named after Colonel William Grayson Carter, a Kentucky state senator.
Carter County, Kentucky was formed on February 9, 1838, from portions of Greenup County and Lawrence County. It was named after Colonel William Grayson Carter, a Kentucky state senator.
No comments:
Post a Comment