Jeremy, You still selling that three blade prop STC?

And the two two blades. A different use for each.

Jeremy makes a great point, and one that's often overlooked by pilots.

Just doing a dynamic prop balance can make a huge difference in fatigue levels.

I flew a Beaver for ~ 8 years in Kodiak, and six or seven hours in that plane, even with a good headset and earplugs just flat wore me out, while a seven hour day in the Cub, really working the plane, was far less fatiguing. In that case, the difference was probably the sound level.

Of course, if you're like me, you're so scared EVERY time you fly that there's no way you're going to go to sleep in flight....

MTV

While flying helicopters in the Army I was briefing a long night flight after an already long day of planning. I explained to some of the younger guys that they should trim the controls back so they would have to physically hold the cyclic forward to maintain level flight. This way if they fell asleep their arm would relax and the aircraft would suddenly pitch up and wake them up. They all looked at me like I was nuts, they were not going to fall asleep.......2 hours into the flight helicopters suddenly started pitching up. It was probably not funny, but I was laughing like crazy. I am sure you could do the same in an airplane, just have to make sure it is going abrupt enough to wake you up.

OK sleepy time.

I was told by this old guy - talking mid 80's years old, we were at a fly-in at the time and I was listening to hanger flying stories from a bunch of old guys.

Him and a friend were flying a older Cessna 310/320 from Nor Cal to somewhere in Colorado, I don't remember the particulars. Appearently the early Cessna twins were a fuel managment work of art. This was in the early 60s.

So anyway these two had worked a day and most the night on some work item for their business. They had a 4 am departure from Nor Cal, I believe to Colorado, said it was smooth air and they were in the mid teens, sun coming up, prop sinc working with a nice humm, Otto pilot doing his job, Things went quiet, engines quit from lack of fuel. That quiet is what woke them both up about 40 minutes past the destination. Switch tanks, boost pumps on and the figure out where you at.

Not sure how much was BS or fact, but I enjoyed the story all the same.

C ya, Bub

There was a dentist or doctor a few years back that fell asleep while on autopilot in his Comanche. Overflew his destination, ran out of gas, and the autopilot kept the airplane wings level as it coasted out of the sky. He woke up as the airplane was skidding to a stop in some dirt field.

Gump

There was a dentist or doctor a few years back that fell asleep while on autopilot in his Comanche. Overflew his destination, ran out of gas, and the autopilot kept the airplane wings level as it coasted out of the sky. He woke up as the airplane was skidding to a stop in some dirt field.

Gump

Man that's the kind of auto pilot I want is one that will pick a good field for you to make an emergency landing in.

Me Too!