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Well, there I was, enroute from Oregon to Oshkosh...departed my morning fuel stop 1U7 Bear Lake County Airport, Idaho, on Sat. July 19, 2025, hoping for KLSK Lusk Municipal in eastern Wyoming. But AIRMETs both north and south of my intended route, perhaps a convective SIGMET or two, bumpy and smoky, showers starting to fill in the gap between the AIRMETS, so I reluctantly diverted a bit north to Big Piney, Wyoming KBPI to retire for the day, even though it was only 1pm local time.
I tried the big, paved runway 31, but the crosswind was well beyond my pay grade (stiff 20 knots with no letup, 90 degrees from the right (west)). Full right rudder on short final, nose was still at least 10 degrees too far to the right. No big deal, that's what the crosswind runway is for. Advertised as "good grass," runway 26 would give me a 20-knot headwind. What could POSSIBLY go wrong!?!!*^&&$*!!
Watch this video and find out:https://youtube.com/shorts/rmSh0YQ7J_I?si=QL8gN-Jz2p-p6dhL
I'm SURE the runway was good grass when it was first built. Years of deterioration, lo and behold it was no better than a rough cow pasture. Dirt with solid clumps of grass, rough enough that even with my careful 3-point touchdown at 50 knots indicated (analyzed GPS data later, roughly 35 knots ground speed), the runway grabbed the 5.00-5's, tipped me forward, and sank about four inches of the prop into the dirt. DANG.
Both prop tips were pretty well scraped up. Worse, one of the blades was knocked so loose, you could twist, pull, push, and dance with it. (180 hp O-360 with CS Hartzell prop)
So much for joining the conga line. I left the airplane at KBPI and proceeded via Hertz, Delta, Uber, and Amtrak all the way to KOSH.
Mobile mechanic Dave Goodwin stepped up and pulled the prop, sent it off to Precision Propeller in Boise, dialed the crank (good as new, 0.0015-inch runout), inspected the landing gear and engine mount (no issues), and re-installed the overhauled prop. I flew commercially back to Wyoming in late August to visit with Dave, did some ground checks with him, then did a solo test flight in the pattern (on the PAVED runway ;--).
All seemed well, so the following morning I headed westbound and flew her back to Oregon (Twin Oaks Airpark 7S3, Hillsboro). Flew like a champ, seriously smooth with the overhauled prop on the nose.
Once back home, my regular mechanic pulled the prop and yanked the engine for transport back to Premier Aircraft Engines in Troutdale, Oregon (KTTD), who less than six months prior, had overhauled the bottom end due to fretting case halves, and re-honed the cylinders. Will someone please tell me why I couldn't have had the prop strike BEFORE the overhaul instead of just 30 hours into break-in!
In any case, she'll be a better aeroplane once the engine comes back from tear-down inspection (TDI; hoping to get the engine back by March-April, 2026). Mags will be overhauled, prop governor overhauled, new alternator - basically, every rotating item will be either new or overhauled for my next flight.
The unfortunate news is that the bottom overhaul / cylinder hone job cost me 30 thousand dollars. The better news is that the prop strike repair and TDI is fully insured ($35k). I'm paying a tad extra for the governor O/H and new alternator, but the $6k-plus prop overhaul and $20k TDI/mags overhaul are fully covered.
Now you know - I will try to remember to report back once I get airborne again. In the meantime, keep the wheels down and the prop up!
_________________
Philip Mandel
N118BC
S/N 957
Beaverton OR
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