Spreading Ashes

tbienz

tbienz

Well-Known Member
A friend of mine was recently killed in a paragliding accident. He was an avid outdoorsman and extreme sports afficionado which unfortunatly has caught up to him this year. His family asked if I might help them spread his ashes over a high mountain valley near here where we have done lots of hiking and climbing.
I know that spreading ashes in a light plane can go very poorly when done improperly (possibly regardless of how it's done). I tried a search of this site and came up with nothing. I'm assuming you enter level flight and skid the plane tail left creating negative pressure on the door side, then have passenger/family member move urn out and behind back of door, then open to allow ashes to escape.
There may be much more to this than I've surmised. If anyone has personal experience about what works best, please advise. Thanks.
 
D

dogday

Active Member
Saw one episode of "Ice Pilots NWT" where ashes ended up blowing back in a person's face while scattering ashes from the back door of a DC3. After seeing how badly things can go wrong doing this, I would recommend a test run with sand / sawdust to ensure the operation will go as desired.
 
bumper

bumper

Well-Known Member
As long as one is not doing it for a living, the paper bag approach works okay. Make small hole in bottom of bag, insert cord into open bag and through hole in bottom. Tape and or paste end of cord to bottom of bag with a couple of back and forth paper or tape reinforcement to secure secure cord well. Cord should be about 20 feet long.

Put ashes in bag and roll up bag. Then wind cord around bag. Tie end of cord to strut near door.

Over target, throw bag downward. It will unwind and the bag will tear apart as it unwinds fully. Most or all of bag should tear away. pull in cord if desired or cut it free.
 
trapper

trapper

Well-Known Member
I have also done the deed before. trust me if not done properly you will be wearing them
 
Ksmith

Ksmith

Active Member
What you need is a Venturi mounted on the strut and a siphon hose into the cabin. We make a sandblasting arrangement similar to this for our pressure washers.
 
windriver flyer

windriver flyer

Member
I have done this several times, some with great success and some not so great. The best way I have found is get a 1 gal ziplock bag get the good one with the zipper transfer the ashes form the bag in the earn to the ziplock most will fit if not you might need two ziplocks. Have the passenger open the left rear window open the ziplock a inch or two and pinch off the opening while still in the cabin, they might need to unbuckle to do this hold the ziplock out the window and behind the open window release the opening in the bag and the venture effect will suck the ashes out. Good luck.
 
bumper

bumper

Well-Known Member
The venturi effect with the hose mounted further out on the strut should work. I've read and heard of various rigs like that. It would be prudent to test with some innocuous material such as sawdust before attempting the real thing.

The problem with cremains is that they are abrasive. Besides the fine ash there are small bits of bone and hard particulate. Besides making a heck of a mess if you have a tube come loose or your super-suck venturi rig or an accidental container spill in the aircraft, if this material streams back to impact the rear of the plane, you may be doing some touch up paint work. I would not risk just dumping it out the window.

I have dumped ashes for family and friends several times. A rolled up paper bag works fine when dumping in water. When there's a need to scatter over land and in a broader area, the bag and cord method works. If I was tasked with a number of flights, I'd rig up a venturi vacuum rig.

Years ago there was an ol' boy who advertised ash scattering and flew out of Livermore, CA. When he passed away, upon opening his hangar, they found his Cessna tucked in the hangar, hadn't been flown in years, all surrounded by stacks and stacks of boxes. Another storage container was also full of the toasted dearly departed, but otherwise unscattered remains.
 
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