A grateful thank you to Larry Flesner and his wife for putting me (Bill
Clapp) up for the night on the way home to Georgia after an extended
Christmas vacation. I left out of Valdosta GA on Dec 17 with my eight year
old daughter Elaine on the way to New Richmond Wisconsin to spend
Christmas with my folks. We took off and headed north in N41768 and got
stuck west of Atlanta due to weather. We stopped in Anniston and got fuel
and lunch and check out the local FSS and got a live briefing. We headed
west to clear the bad stuff and then had clear sky to Effingham IL where we
stopped for fuel and the proceeded to Keewanee IL where we landed due to
darkness. On landing, while rolling out, the right rudder pedal went to
the floor. OOPS!! We skidded off the runway to the left and spun around.
We cam e to a stop and my daughter looked at me aand said "At least we are
OKAY!" I got out and found the right wheel had broken off in the ground
loop but the gear was fine. The cause of the ground loop was the right RR
pedal assy. It broke near the weld on the passanger side near the hinge
block. I pulled the plane to the FBO and luckily someone was there and we
put it in a T-hanger for overnight (35 knot winds - 5 degree below zero)
We found a motel for the night - in the morning the local A&P let me darg
the plane into a nice heated hanger where I proceded to repair the pedal
assy. The tubing RR used was 4130 but it is thin walled.. I repaired the
broken section and then reinfored it with a 45 degree tube over the hinge
block. I will replace the entire assy later with new thick wall tubing to
eliminate any more possibility of another break. After the repair and a
thorough inspection and runnup we left Keewanee and flew to Prarie Du Chein
Wisconsin where we spent the night again on account of darkeness. We
finally flew into New Richmond the following day before lunch. With 50
knot headwinds, darkness and other incidents we had 10.2 hours of tach time
from Valdosta to New Richmond. But we did enjoy out time with family and
friends. Elaine is back at school now and I am flying home. Hopefully I
will have time to visit a couple KR guys. I was hoping to visit with Mark
Jones but weather and time was bad for this weeekend. I hope to see him
later. If anybody else between Marion IL and Valdosta GA wants a
visit...let me know here at Larry Flesners. Ill be here overnight and
then be flying home tomorrow. Oh.... New Richmond WI to Marion Il.....3
hours 30 minutes... not bad. I now have 114 hours on N41768 - love the
corvair - runs smooth...glad I installed cabin heat...
Yall keep building and flying... Sun and Fun is around the corner. If
you
need a rest stop in Valdosta on the way down - dont hesitate to call
(229)834-8996 (cell phone for KR people only please) I can provide food -
couch - or room if needed. Corvair people...lots of interesting things are
about to come out of William Wynnes....I need to get back to work down
there soon.... keep you posted.
Fly safe - love your family ---Bill Clapp
