Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember (Steve Firth)
saying something like:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cdd_1203701257
Why did it collapse?
I think the explosion may have contributed to that.

Stop motion revealed a blade split first, very rapidly followed by
disintegration of the whole assembly. I suppose the rate it was whirling
around meant the slightest failure leading to unbalance would pitch
everything else over the failure limit.

That's standard on prop failure. Normally failure near the hub, followed
by blade loss, then complete disintegration as the whole thing shakes
itself to pieces.

By their very nature, windmills are fragile things. Its a bit better in
an aircraft. Smaller and hihger revving, so less effect of unbalance,
and someone in the cockpit who can shut down very fast.

Still In WW2 not a few bombers returned minus a complete engine..


I wouldn't want to live near a wind turbine, tho.