Mike Patey's "Turbulence" Becomes Part of EAA Collection

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Burt Rutan used to say that donating airplanes to a museum was the cheapest storage method in existence! He was a huge fan!

[@snower13]

But ask him about Voyager...

[@iTotallyJuust]

For those wondering about the tail, when Mike built the plane, he permanently fused the wings to the fuselage to allow for more fuel and systems (from what I recall seeing previously) meaning the wings cannot be unbolted from the airframe. Only other method to get it there was fly it which would defeat the purpose of this decision. That would be my best guess after viewing his series.

[@GaryMCurran]

Thank you for this reply. It should be pinned. Great answer.

[@KevinSmithAviation]

So sad to see Turbulence being put to rest, but great that it will be in a museum for all to see. Mike, you are a true ambassador for aviation, your legacy will live on forever.

[@munkfish101]

Anyone notice at 1:30 the canopy come down on the dude in the cockpit 🤣🤣 Beautiful looking aircraft 💥👌🏻

[@GlideYNRG]

Looks like it's Mike too.. 😁

[@mylesspear]

Sad to see her go, but glad she’s going to a good home. She’ll make a great addition to the museum!

[@1Doodadd]

What a GREAT TAX write off

[@longez83dave]

Wow, I didn't see that coming. I hope this is indicative of Ballistic Racer moving a bit closer to the front burner?? Good on you for donating it Mike. Dave Adams, Race 83

[@DznByLimbo]

Sucks to think this plane will never be in the sky again. Cant wait to see the next build 😁

[@shawnengstrom3906]

Sad because I wanted to see it flying again.

[@VanlalchhanhimaRalte]

Nice! Happy customizer.

[@richardconnoly]

And the 2.5 million dollar question remains (unless I missed it): What caused the P&W Canada engine to fail? Every GA pilot should study and review Mike's video of the event, his emergency management, and his subsequent safe landing.

[@bradgriffith4231]

The videos I've seen from "experts" all seem to point to improper startup procedures from previous owner. I'm not a turbine guy buy I'm pretty sure there's a certain startup procedure, same as there are on piston race car engines. Get the oil circulating & pressure up before fuel & ignition, easy idle until things warm up a bit, etc. 99% of wear in an engine occurs at startup.

[@martinmatola688]

@@bradgriffith4231 on the PT6A-42A that is installed in the Piper Meridian (pretty much the same engine) you turn on the ignition, spin up the engine until you get sufficient % of the gas generator rotations (usually above 13%, but it can go all the way to approx 16%) and then introduce fuel. After that you monitor the interturbine temperature, it must not go above 1000°C and only for 10 seconds. If you introduce the fuel too soon - hotstart, if you do not have sufficint battery voltage to get the RPM high enough - hotstart, and so on... Of course you monitor the oil a verify that oil pressure starts to rise when the engine starts to rotate.

[@trytolookbusy]

By nature turbine engines, need to have a lot of airflow so they don’t cook the inside of themselves. It may have had some hot starts where things go to high and cook the bearings or some of the fan wheels with the exhaust.

[@Rick_Dunaway]

I agree, what was the "Failure Mode" ???

[@F1fan007]

You’ve just given us a great reason to go visit that museum for the first time. I’ve always wanted to see Turbulence in person. I am stunned at how you built Turbulence to fly that fast reliably and as a fast way to go from point A to point B…..and set records occasionally!! Brilliance is dripping all over that airplane!

[@outlawraceparts8686]

Mike is a constant source of inspiration for me. A big heartfelt thank you to the EAA and the Patey family.

[@andrewprideaux9937]

It always felt sad seeing it in a hanger with no engine. Now I will miss seeing it. Will have to go to OshKosh to see it now.

[@GaryMCurran]

Wow. What a heart Mike has. All the work, time, effort and money that he put in Turbulence, and then making the decision to abandon all of that and donate it to the EAA. I would have loved to have seen Mike bring it back to flight ready status, but his airplane, his decision. Although it will never fly again, so many more people are going to be able to admire it at OSH now, so it's in a good place. Good on ya, Mike. Now, I'll be looking forward to a Transsonic Draco! lol

[@nickr5658]

Awesome to see Mike donating it, still tragic they cut the tail off. A Glider composite expert could probably re attach it but I’m sure no one would risk it on a bird this fast. Was really looking forward to seeing it fly again. One of mikes coolest projects.

[@Doubie.]

You would also have to fix all the shrapnel damage from the engine explosion on the wings I’m assuming that’s why he made the decision because it wasn’t worth fixing the wings mixed with him being way more gun shy about racing/flying since Creighton died

[@agentcrm]

Mike has done a lot of composites work, so if he really wanted to I'm sure he could re-attach the tail. But it would be very hard to make that an invisible join.

[@ThisPartIsAndrew]

Perfect example of form meeting function 0:42 might just be the most badass looking turboprop in the entire history of aviation

[@elosogonzalez8739]

Makes sense. The airplane was in Illinois since it's engine failure going to Oshkosh 24. Mike needs more space in hangars and more hangars for his projects. I want to see that Albatross project! Draco X will be as impressive, but something new will really be a special project. C'MON MIKE!!!! BACK TO WORK!!!

[@RealRickCox]

I was an;e to see "Turbulence" up close just before the engine blew. That plane is/was the nicest Lancair I've ever seen. Earlier this year, Mike told me he was likely going to donate it because a new engine was $750k and the tax write-off he'd get from donating it would be hard to turn down. I'm bummed we won't see Turbulence back in the air, but I'm excited to see what Mike builds next.

[@bobroberts2371]

I'm betting that selling the plane would have generated more $$ than any sort of tax write off but we will ignore that for now. . .. .

[@RealRickCox]

@@bobroberts2371 Not according to Mike. Roughly half of the value is in the engine... and it was blown. The amount of a write-off he got was (roughly) 5x the value of the plane as it was when he handed it over.

[@bobdiederich7087]

Awesome Mike, thank you.

[@b1pig]

Cool move. Puts the plane in a position to be admired by many others.

[@bradmoyer9737]

Well done, it will inspire possibilities in the eyes of those that see it.

[@pilotmiami1]

Bravo. THENKS

[@hadleymanmusic]

Who now has the Arup s4? I saw it in the Dallas area when I was 9 in 1973 at a private museum at a small single strip airport. It had an entrance lobby before you went into the main reception area. The Arup was in a new addition round cinder block room.

[@bundysax]

I dont understand how you could give up such a rocket ship, that thing must have been a blast to fly.

[@JohnVHRC]

Thats a shame, how did @1:30 feel, ouch!

[@JustPlaneSilly]

That had to be a tough decision. However, I suspect Mike has more records to brake and more planes to donate to museums. Part of his journey is creating these art pieces.

[@elstevobevo]

Mike, you did not run this by me first!

[@MichaelMacco]

Makes sense for a year end gift from a tax perspective. Went from a net expense to a net positive. Though I’d have loved to see it fly again.

[@w1sconsinjohn455]

Looks more like the Weeks hangar than the museum.

[@TheLabLimited]

Must be something about that number 32......

[@txkflier]

Was the shrapnel damage semi-repaired?

[@RealRickCox]

When I talked to Mike in September, he said it hadn't been repaired. Between the cost of a new engine and those repairs - it made a lot more sense to donate it than to fix it.

[@coltons4436]

Dang shame such a beautiful aircraft will never fly again

[@Philsilva06]

this is sad to see it retire....

[@RadDadisRad]

Is it that expensive to put a new PT6 in it?

[@JasonHam41]

Man it’s so sad it got cut up for transport. 😢😢😢

[@topgunm]

Why in the world did they make it unflyable (forever) by cutting off the tail!? That's crazy (even if it's 99% certain that no one will fly it again).

[@jacksaloman9513]

Exactly

[@2005StangMan]

In short, liability. He's done so much to that plane that is experimental that he probably doesn't want to deal with the headache of selling it and having someone potentially blaming him if something goes wrong.

[@topgunm]

@@2005StangManEAA should have transported it without chopping up the plane. They could have made a rig to transport it on a semi, or had someone transport it under a helicopter (Dave with his Blackhawk - it would make for some good YT content for him). It probably wouldn't have been flown again regardless, but they basically removed a lot of the "magic" by making it unflyable. Liabilities would be easy to handle with a contract.

[@agentcrm]

The wings have been molded into the airframe, so they can not be unbolted. So the only other way to transport it would be to fly it there. Which meant buying and fitting a new engine, doing any other repairs.

[@Ripper13F1V]

I loved Turbulence. =( But I'd like to see Turbulence II new, improved, call it T2. =)

[@daveblankenbaker5882]

I was under the impression you sold that plane!

[@FredWhosDead]

Very mixed emotions about this decision. Definitely awesome to have one of Mikes babies being preserved, but she is going way before her time. I think it is too soon. However it will be nice to meet Mike, busy cleaning her, when I go visit.

[@colin2718]

Other than making it easier for transport, is there a reason why they had to cut the tail and make it unflyable?

[@nolacross704]

It sounds like the only reason was for transport. If Mike dosent want to fly it again I doubt anyone else will. He’ll just build a faster one

[@ASalishFalcon]

welp time to build a faster one

[@raybobuzz]

About a million bucks to replace the engine in that is why Mike probably donated it?

[@RealRickCox]

He told me $750k... plus the costs of fixing the damage to the airframe.

[@RaceMentally]

I never realized it but your plane looks like mine. Lol

[@user-dg7sy8cz3b]

Some people just loan Ferrari’s to museums. Mike, upstaging everyone again!

[@notj5712]

I thought he sold it a long time ago?

[@jamesnichols7507]

What Mach number is 385 knots at his normal cruising altitude?

[@cyclingbutterbean]

Depends on the calculations used. .577 to .598. It is going to vary depending on the temperature.

[@airhammer6203]

Fighting the waves has come to and for it's namesake "Turbulence". Rest well, quake of the skies. AH...

[@SOCALAVIATION2K]

That’s a lil disappointing that this never went to Reno

[@zachansen8293]

Was there ever a root cause on the engine exploding?

[@57guyro]

how above a LX7 next time?

[@Wingman77tws]

Wow that is sad, I thought the plane was still OK and just needed a new engine?? Why did this happen?

[@Gmoney_72]

RIP

[@Sukanoops]

Hope he’s not turning into the car KZbinr equivalent where they buy build sell buy build sell

[@rocketbob]

Sucks that the cost of a new PT6 determined its fate. With all the advances in 3D printing, materials, and machining I don't get why we can't have more affordable turbine engine options.

[@PeteLarson-wq7uu]

Lawyers

[@owensparks5013]

I'd rather see it fly once in a while on youtube than see it dead in a museum. Is there more to the reason behind deliberatly making it unflyable? Terms of an insurance payout, perhaps?

[@dasvader_1]

It's totaled for insurance so they have to make it unflyable by structurally compromising the airframe.

[@MikeKobb]

nooooooooooo!

[@ShaneCateriny-i9l]

My wife and I have been separated for 3 weeks. Haven’t seen my children in 3 weeks. I’ve been in tears every day since. I don’t know why I texting this other than I met Mike once at Oshkosh. When I saw that he donated this I broke down again. His kindness made me realize I have to be a better husband and more emotionally available to my wife. If you’re a man, wake up and quit being so manly that you can’t be a man. I’ve been humble so much the past 3 weeks. Mistake after mistake. All on me. I’ll take ownership. I wasn’t being the man I could have. And I’m making steps to change that. Live your wives. Even when you think they are wrong. Own it and serve them. I didn’t and I’m making a choice to love and serve her. I love you Stef and I’m sorry for the pain I have caused you.

[@jaredm4444]

just goes to show how much money he has to throw away.

[@sophiejaysstuff4026]

Some other reason? Not the engine......

[@owntor1]

🙄Please spare us, EAA.

[@bryanmaxwell7332]

How’s he pay for all this …????

[@MichaelMacco]

He is a serial entrepreneur. Founded multiple businesses.

[@Captndarty]

What a waist to donate something of this value. You’ll never come out even with the tax break.

[@dasvader_1]

Why a waste? It's his plane to do with what he wants to do and now aviation enthusiasts can now go see it. I'm sure it's not about the money. As they say, make your dreams big enough to allow others to fit their dreams inside. Some kid/student is going to see that plane in the museum and decide he or she can do better and motivate them to pursue their dream. Good call Mike, cheers to you.

[@Captndarty]

@ wasteful to just throw away a 1/4 million dollar airframe. I’m sure they could’ve found a bigger vehicle to transport it with making it permanently unflyable so as to be resurrectable a decade when people are bored of looking at it. 👎🏻

[@topgunm]

@@Captndarty exactly. Pisses me off. It could have been "yeah, all it needs is an engine".. now it's "Even if we wanted to, it can't fly again."

[@agentcrm]

@@Captndarty The only other way to transport that aircraft is to fly it. The wings are molded into the cockpit. By the time it's flyable again it's the best part of a million dollars.

[@jacksaloman9513]

What a waste

[@redbaronmodeling]

How is this a waste? The engine blew up on him which is a major and costly repair and he has other projects he wants to get done. It also is everything the EAAs mission is about. I feel this is a fitting end for this one off plane.

[@jacksaloman9513]

Because it was still a perfectly good aeroplane. It's not like it had some major structural damage or major corrosion. And I have to lol when you mention cost and the Pateys

[@redbaronmodeling]

@ again it seems he wants to move on to new and better projects and reselling it will be hard as a buyer has to get a whole new PT-6. Also the lance air is already a notoriously difficult plane to fly now strap an even more powerful engine on it. Also dude still has a budget like the rest of us his is just bigger.

[@jacksaloman9513]

@okay dude

[@SQK1261]

It's his plane, and he's free to do whatever he wants with it. Now, thousands of people from all around the world will have the opportunity to see it up close at their next visit to Oshkosh Air Venture. Now, Mike can get back to work building a better, faster version.

[@charlesburkholder9110]

Such a shame

[@duaneadrian6337]

Sad.

[@wayneco]

Seems like they could have simply thrown it on a flatbed and NOT cut the tail off. Very sad that it was decided to do that to the plane simply to shoehorn it into a box van.

[@Kraigthecanadian]

Its likely oversized to try and transport in one piece to air lift it would likely be a insane cost and likely there was a legal reason for making it unflyable lots of times something seems stupid but to protect someone from legal issues they needed to do it

[@agentcrm]

How, the wings can't be unbolted.

[@user-ok1sf4km7w]

Waste of a good aircraft!