RE: Engine failure

[jim cooper]

I've only had to land once in 50 years due to engine problems. The 220 hp Cont. on the Stearman gave up and as luck would have it, I was on the eastern shore of Maryland and landed in a cut corn field with no problems. Yet.....I always remember this and often think of the moving parts of my current 1946 T-Craft and always wonder if it will quit. I am VERY careful of keeping plenty of fuel in it, oil changed, etc. etc. How many of YOU have had a 65 hp cont. quit in flight and why? Thanks, JC

[M Towsley]

Re: Engine failure

Didn't happen to me but my friend had a 65 in his Fly Baby lose oil pressure a couple of weeks ago. He landed at a nearby airport and ultimately found the oil filter covered in metal. It looked like metal confetti. He showed me a picture, unbelievable. I think a piston ring let go and then more metal was made after that. I will have to ask him again as to what he found wrong.

[Howard Wilson]

Re: Engine failure

Once in an Aeronca Chief. 80+ degrees, very humid. On downwind carb heat on, abeam the numbers power idle, clearing every 30 seconds or so, On final saw I'd be a hair low, so pushed in the throttle and cough... dead. Bounced off the top of the dike just before the runway and plopped onto the end of the runway (Carroll Co/Westminster Md. before it was paved.). rolled about 100'. Carb ice, no doubt. Pushed it off the runway let it sit for a minute and it started right up and ran fine.

[3Dreaming]

Re: Engine failure

I had a valve seat come loose and take the head off a valve. It ran very rough, but it was still running. I landed on a road, and we hauled the airplane to the airport. I have had the gears in a mag shear some teeth causing it to run poorly. Switched to the good mag and flew to the airport. We found an oil pressure problem like Marty described before it happened. During an oil change I pulled the screen only to find it completely covered in metal and starting to collapse. It was a piston pin plug that had come apart grinding into little pieces.

[jmvolpp]

Re: Engine failure

Flying N44305 home, after purchase, from Illinois in February 2006, the engine stopped twice - once on final for a fuel stop midway and again on final upon reaching home base. Thanks to this forum, I turn the mixture screw out 1/2 turn each winter and back in in the spring - in addition to the tried and true policy of not reducing power to idle thrust until the runway is assured.

Mike V.

[flyguy]

Re: Engine failure

Fremont airport, CA. southeast edge of San Francisco Bay, (1982?) BC12-D with 85 HP carb. My first Taylorcraft; it was a piece of junk, what did I know.

I was making a low pass and as the speed dropped towards 110 or so I advanced the throttle and nothing happened. I was over the middle of the airport and I immediately pulled up steeply and turned the speed into altitude; couple hundred feet or so, I didn't check.

Looked straight ahead, industrial development area plowed up, big holes, lots of earth moving equipment. Looked down, dike at end of runway and a pickleweed-filled-nature reserve area, maybe 800 feet across.

Put it into the hardest slip I have ever done in a Tcraft; scared the construction guys, they thought I was out of control and about to crash.

Plopped down nicely and thought about hidden logs or debris as area is flooded during winter, duh, applied brakes.

Problem was mouse-turd-sized piece of gasket sealer in tip of vertical feed pipe in carb. We took it apart and cleaned it on a blanket right there and I flew out without any further problem. Needless to say we overhauled the carb and replaced the gaskets (without any sealer.) That is how I learned it was modified to 85 specifications.

Flew it for one year and it didn't manage to kill me.

Darryl

[M Towsley]

Re: Engine failure

I spoke with my friend today about his making metal. Apparently the oil ring broke apart and then beat itself into submission at the wrist pin area of the piston. Lots of aluminum but the cylinder apparently looked fine.

[crispy critter]

Re: Engine failure

I would tell the story of my engine failures but I really don't want to type that much tonight. I honestly think I could write a book about them all,lol.....not really funny at the time but glad I can laugh about them all now.

[freightpilot27]

Re: Engine failure

i guess I have been lucky. (at least with the small continentals)
8000 hours total time 4 engine failures. 2 were PT-6's, 2 were Lycoming IO-540's
One- 1999. fuel boost pump failed and engine driven pump was worn- not strong enough to pump enough fuel for more than idle power. just after takeoff Single engine piper lance P.O.S. freighter.
Two- 2 weeks later. the connecting rod let go and punched a huge hole in the side of the case. just after take-off. same airplane/engine. But the boost pump worked great.
three- 2003. turbine blade failed and destroyed the engine. PT-6 Beech 99 P.O.S. freighter
four- 2007. fresh overhaul PT-6. mechanic failed to tighten an oil line. pumped all the engine oil out during climb. precautionary shutdown but the damage was done. Beech 1900C P.O.S. freighter.

[jim cooper]

Re: Engine failure

ATTN: Howard Wilson!I flew at Westminster also. Got my license from Vick Whitway, later killed in a Luscombe Stationwagon at an airport just below Westminster (Maryland) At that time it was a grass strip and the Kibler brothers Construction co. kept an SNJ, A T-6 and a Cub there and flew them quite a bit! In those days quite a few people used to hang out there including a very active glider club. (Late 50's into early 60's.) Great memories. Vick was killed by water in the gas as I remember, it died on takeoff. I also flew alot at York airport, Thomasville, Pa. Oscar Hostetter owned this airport and owned two tandem T-Crafts that I rented alot. The T-Craft I now fly, he bought new as a dealer in 1946! Small world! The Civil Air Patrol had a 108 hp. Super Cub (ex GI issue) that I flew alot too. 7.00 per hour. In the 80's, Jack Pogue, who was the FBO at Westminster annualed my Stearman and later worked on my 195 Cessna. He died in a Pitts at Martin State Airport airshow. Probably medical. JC

[flyguy]

Re: Engine failure

Come on Kevin, give us a few of the "better" ones.
DC

[crispy critter]

Re: Engine failure

I was barely 18 years old and lost an engine on an 0200 powered clipped wing J3 once just as I was about to kick the rudder in the very top of a hammerhead. Airplane slip backwards and as she started to fall gently thru the engine came back suddenly and was still at full throttle causing the airplane to snap and twist violently out the bottom,hard enough that it twisted the fuslage about 10-20 degrees just in front of the horizonals! After 3 long right hand circles of the airport using pretty much full left controls I was able to hit the runway with it but was fast enough and crooked enough(it took at least 90mph to maintain a controlled slight right turn)that I couldn't keep it on the runway and over the bank,thru a fence coming to rest with the oily side up!

About a year later I lost the engine on my dads 48' C170 taking off out of Combs field in east ky....you have to know the airport and area to understand the full detail of this story. The airport is located in the Little Sandy river valley with surronding hills in every direction,you fly the valley going in and out either direction.Taking off to the north you cross a subdivision with the river right off to one side then turns under you. It requires an imediant 90* right turn on take off over the sub division followed closely by a 90* left turn then you can pretty much climb straight out. It was a warm day in may,humidity was unusually high,absolutly no sign of air moving at all,we just topped off with gas and follwing the last turn on climb out and about the same altitude as the tops of the surronding hills the engine starts to surge violently then quits! No sputter,no warning,it surged hard a couple of times and just QUIT! Hospitol,school,houses,& buisness was the only thing infront of me and behind between me and the airport. I knew if I turned around I could at least get back closer to the airport before accepting the only option I had and that was to ditch it into/threw the tall trees lining the narrow Little Sandy river(it was that or try to mush it into the side a mountain that you can't even walk up).After making a 180 I hugged tightly aginst the hill trying to straighten my line to the runway as much as possible all while trying everything I knew to get it to fire just one time,even a hickup,anything because I was close,I was soooo close that I already knew that if it wasn't for one row of very large two story houses setting off the end of the runway directly between it and me that could at least make it to the overrun on the outside of the airport fence,probably catch the fence and put us on our back but that was a hell of a lot better then the tree lined river....we can easily walk away from a little nose over,but we would be damn lucky to survive the impact into the trees on the river banks,not to mention the 70-100' fall from the tree tops down into the river itself..that option was not to save our butts but just simply not to kill anyone else. Anyway,from where I was setting there was no way,no way I could clear the houses, all I need was enough to simply clear the carb one time like we do on a long power off decent,just a burp,hickup,anything, but I couldn't get it. I told my friend Doyle who had been so calmly observant to what was going on(ultralight pilot and used to be crewchief on a C130),I told him we couldn't make and we have to put it in the river. He calmly replied,looks like our only option to me too. Just as he said that I feel the tail push,you know that feeling like when you catch a slight unexpected tailwind that creates a little thermal like affect on short final and it tends to screw up your perfect approch,that was it! That's what we needed!! I glanced down the runway just enough to see the windsock standing straight out and straight down the runway on our tail! Doyle again calmly asked,"is it enough?" I said its enough to give it a shot. I fixed myself on clearing the houses,nothing beyond that mattered at the time,after clearing the roof of the last house I knew we made it,I cleared that house by less the a foot the way it looked! There was a 4' woven wire fence at the end of the runway with a single strand of barbed wire along the top of it. I hooked that single strand of barber wire with the tailwheel as I flooped it into the grass just short of the end of the runway. The airplane rolled to a stop when the mains chalked themselves against the end of the pavement(or beginning of the pavement). There was 200' between the fence and the pavement and I never touched the brakes. The barbed wire was still hooked to the tailwheel and hadn't broke,it had pulled it loose from the the posts all the way around the engine of the runway. When I finally looked back up a the windsock it was dead limp and never moved again all day,not even a wiggle....go figure. I truely feel there was a third passenger with us that morning.

There's a couple of them anyway. My dad just arrived and I'm going to head out and help him work on the same above mentioned C170....it hasn't flown since that day but hopefully will be ready to fly by the end of this month. Pics were taken about a month ago.

[Howard Wilson]

Re: Engine failure

Hi Jim, I pm'd you.

Jack was towing a banner for me with his Huskey back in (1990)? Nice guy and very talented pilot. I've flown the Citabria over at Fallston w/ Duane W. We should start another thread about old local flying haunts. h

[waltermrich]

Re: Engine failure

That was a well written story, Thanks, perhaps you were blessed

[paulnuss]

Re: Engine failure

I had the A-65 engine stop on my Taylorcraft once. A student of mine was flying at the time, I was in the right seat, flying along straight and level with cruise power about 1000 ft agl. I thought she pulled the power back, when I looked she hadn't. I took the controls, turned towards a farm field we had just passed, slipped hard to scrub off altitude, and landed in short hay without problems. It turned out the bail wire holding the gascolator together had pulled out of the white-metal top casting, which had fractured. The gas leaked out, and/or the engine sucked air, and quit. A new top casting for the gascolator, and very extensive safety-wiring to hold the bail and glass in place even if the casting breaks is now standard procedure!