Skidsteer-PIO

timwinters

timwinters

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I spent all day cleaning up a couple of rather large oak trees that were struck by lightning earlier in the spring and split in half. Having a nice skidsteer (case 1845) around the "farm" is very handy and with a grapple rake attachment it makes short work of many tasks including cutting/splitting wood.

Skidsteers are also a lot of fun to operate and are quite nimble...if you know what you're doing. If you don't, the short coupled little bastards will beat you to death. One must be smooth and sometime operate it counter-intuitively to keep it from becoming a bucking bronc. It's definitely a machine that's prone to PIO. (Or OIO as the case may be).

So, that got me to thinking today.

I've never had a problem with PIO in airplanes. Is that possibly due to the fact that I was familiar with skidsteers and knew how to operate them smoothly before learning to fly?

Or is it just because the two planes that I've logged 99% of my time in, a 172 & 182, both straight tails, aren't prone to PIO?

:dunno:
 
timwinters said:
Is that possibly due to the fact that I was familiar with skidsteers and knew how to operate them smoothly before learning to fly?

Or is it just because the two planes that I've logged 99% of my time in, a 172 & 182, both straight tails, aren't prone to PIO?

:dunno:
Click to expand...
Both.
 
Now that's some productivity!
 
If I can't find a contractor to actually return phone calls, let alone show up to build fence, the guy down the road with a skid steer and an auger attachment is the only way to fly when it comes to digging post holes. He can have every hole dug around multiple acres in less than an hour. Those things are incredibly useful.
 
timwinters said:
I spent all day cleaning up a couple of rather large oak trees that were struck by lightning earlier in the spring and split in half. Having a nice skidsteer (case 1845) around the "farm" is very handy and with a grapple rake attachment it makes short work of many tasks including cutting/splitting wood.

Skidsteers are also a lot of fun to operate and are quite nimble...if you know what you're doing. If you don't, the short coupled little bastards will beat you to death. One must be smooth and sometime operate it counter-intuitively to keep it from becoming a bucking bronc. It's definitely a machine that's prone to PIO. (Or OIO as the case may be).

So, that got me to thinking today.

I've never had a problem with PIO in airplanes. Is that possibly due to the fact that I was familiar with skidsteers and knew how to operate them smoothly before learning to fly?

Or is it just because the two planes that I've logged 99% of my time in, a 172 & 182, both straight tails, aren't prone to PIO?

:dunno:
Click to expand...

I believe people who operate machinery make good pilots. After all a plane is just a machine. I think you are correct about PIO in Bobcats and airplanes. Both can be overcome and avoided if you know what to look for.
 
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PIO in a skidsteer is caused by the operator's body lurching back and forth, making his arms move the levers out of phase with the machine's motion. There are armrests on the seat, and those are for anchoring your elbows to stop that.

Dan
 
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