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aerial scattering

hotrod180

FRIEND
Port Townsend, WA
I got cornered into agreeing to help an in-law aerially scatter his father's cremains.
I've heard horror stories about this, so my preferred plan is to load pops into a paper sack,
and just chuck him out the window- sack & all.
But that's not very sentimental, so I doubt the son will go along with this.
Option two is to load pops into that same paper sack,
trail a hose well aft out the window, and vacuum him out.
Thoughts?
 
I got cornered into agreeing to help an in-law aerially scatter his father's cremains.
I've heard horror stories about this, so my preferred plan is to load pops into a paper sack,
and just chuck him out the window- sack & all.
But that's not very sentimental, so I doubt the son will go along with this.
Option two is to load pops into that same paper sack,
trail a hose well aft out the window, and vacuum him out.
Thoughts?

I used to do it as a commercial enterprise with the Howard. I had a tube from the back seat that exited under the airplane and an extension that went about a foot and a half down. It would still get all over the belly and the tailwheel.

You don't want to release asses anywhere with a high pressure area on the outside of the airplane, and nowhere near a window. It will blow back into the airplane and make a real mess. For something like a Cub, I would suggest making up a PVC tube that you can put the ashes in with a gate valve that can be opened remotely. Put the ashes in the tube and let it extend well below the bottom of the airplane out the left window. When over the appropriate site, open the gate valve and let the ashes out. When done properly, it is a nice event and can provide some closure. When it goes wrong, everyone is pissed and you have a real mess to clean up.
 
You didn't expect me to NOT make a remark, right? Web
 

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After reading a bunch of horror stories on this issue,
came up with this system:
Cut a strip of fabric about 5’ long, 18” wide.
Lay the fabric out on a table, place a pile of ashes near one end, fold the sides over and roll the whole thing up like a burrito.
Put a teather of sorts on the other end to attach to your wrist.
Once over the desired spot, grasp the “burrito” firmly and hold it out the window at arms length.
release grip and it will unfurl in the breeze, ashes will take flight well behind the cabin and clear of windows. Reel in the piece of fabric, best not to let it go least it hangs up on tail.
Disclaimer: use your sensibility! I did this in a Cub at low speed. fabric teathered to your wrist at high speed may very well take your arm with it.
You will still end up with ashes covering tail feathers, but at least not inside.
Good luck and Godspeed to your deceased friend..
 
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We built a PVC tube that clamps to the jury strut and has a removable top cap and a release latch on a hinged bottom.

You fill the tube with the ashes and clamp it in place. Run a string from the release latch to the rear seat if you have a loved-one who wished to assist. (At minimum a co-pilot is recommended as the drop zone is usually somewhat specific and it takes a little effort to fly slow and look good in the day of video cameras everywhere.) Its nice to have a second set of hands.

When the time is right, pull the string. Gravity and air speed take over.
No messing with towels or issues like The Dude experienced.
And zero damage to leading edges of tail surfaces or strained muscles.

Its actually a very simple build. I can go dig it out and take a picture if anyone needs a visualization.
 
I've used a paper sack with weight and cremains inside. One fold of the sack top. Drop throw it and the weight plus wind soon empty it if the height AGL is sufficient. One wanted to feed the fish in his favorite lake so I landed there and he did.

Gary
 
We built a PVC tube that clamps to the jury strut and has a removable top cap and a release latch on a hinged bottom.

You fill the tube with the ashes and clamp it in place. Run a string from the release latch to the rear seat if you have a loved-one who wished to assist. (At minimum a co-pilot is recommended as the drop zone is usually somewhat specific and it takes a little effort to fly slow and look good in the day of video cameras everywhere.) Its nice to have a second set of hands.

When the time is right, pull the string. Gravity and air speed take over.
No messing with towels or issues like The Dude experienced.
And zero damage to leading edges of tail surfaces or strained muscles.

Its actually a very simple build. I can go dig it out and take a picture if anyone needs a visualization.

I built very similar, but with a PVC gate valve (knife valve) in place. Attach to jury, ran a length of 550 into the cockpit through the window. OP checked great with corn meal.
 
I have had the privilege to do this a few times.
In the link in post #2 I told a little of how I make the device . I am now adding streamers to help with seeing the departure
dw
 
My wife and I scattered my aunts ashes from a plastic Folgers can taped to the jury strut. With advice from another pilot we attached a rope to the lid and had some lath taped to the Folgers plastic can so the lid and rope wasn’t banging around. We added a lot of glitter for effect and the spreading went great. Funny part was we were walking to the the airplane and dropped the earn, oh ****, scooped up auntie, glitter and sand and got on with business. We agreed that auntie was laughing at us as hard as we were. Stuff happens, I think someone said life is hard wear a cup! And laugh often!
 
I've done this a few times. I put the plastic ash bag inside a grocery type paper sack, tie a 30' cord to the top of the bag, stab the bag a few times with a pocket knife, fold the top of the paper sack and staple shut. Tie the other end of the cord to something sturdy inside the a/c, and put the sack in the assistant's lap keeping it upright at all times. Once over the drop area, put the a/c in a bigazz right slip, have the assistant toss the whole shebang out the right window. The slip will cause the sack to angle away from the tail. When the sack reaches the end of the cord, the sack will rip away and the plastic bag will tear and distribute the ashes. When empty, retrieve the cord, say a few words, and enjoy the rest of the flight. I've always used this method and never had even a spot of ash in or on the a/c or occupants. It helps to fully brief the assistant and any passengers before commencing flight. Easy-peasy.
 
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Best I have ever participated in was watching part of a buddy's cremains get shot out of the yacht club's old signal cannon, they had it aimed upwind so I watched from a distance.
 
Thanks for the tips & the links.
I'm going for as easy as possible, so the bag on a string or vacuum hose approach is looking like the way to go.
 
When I ran Jasper Co Airport we had a couple that were every week visitors. They brought an older friend name Ed who would rent our Grumman Cheetah and flew well into his 90's. When he passed they decided to scatter his ashes out of their Lynx. It was a very hot Sunday afternoon and they slid back the canopy and stuck the coffee can out and needless to say ended up with a lot of Ed back in the cockpit. A fair share of Ed ended up in the wife's blouse including her bra. We all decided that Ed couldn't have picked a better final resting place.
 
Here is a tube that I built for a gender reveal. The design came about after reading all of the horror stories about spreading ashes.
I installed one on each side of the plane.
The valve is a 2" PVC gate valve, and the tube is 6" PVC with a slip on lid with some set screws to keep it on.

My copilot and I opened the valves to allow the powder to disperse.


Spreader Tube.jpg
 

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