Ever sustained Engine problems?
11-12-2006, 06:39 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: Student
Posts: 79
Ever sustained Engine problems?
A while back one of the flight school’s P-92 had a loose magneto that reduced some R.P.M. Have you ever had anything similar? Engine failure, FOD, damage, loss of R.P.M etc.
CMercieca
CMercieca
11-12-2006, 06:46 AM
#2
Che Guevara
Joined APC: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,408
Lost one engine, had another go to crap pretty much. One because i was new to flying and didn't have enough experience to know to look at the ruber seal on the fuel cap. It was dry-rotted off and I lost 4hrs of fuel in about 25-35 min. Was over an airport. Second time I was in a very beatup piper Tomahawk and it started running real rough from a mag that went out. I inched back to the airport and by the time I landed I wasn't getting more than 1200rpm out of it. I think the other plugs were going bad too. I quit working for the guy after that. So it wasn't really a failure, just a butt pucker upper lol.
Important thing to remember is that airplanes will talk to you. They don't just up and fail. You get an indication first. If it starts running bad ect then don't risk it. Head on back in. NEVER EVER EVER let a school or anyone else push you to flying when you feel you shouldn't. Just to ease the decision process, if you have any issues at a flight school go back and land and they will refund the flight for MX issues.
Important thing to remember is that airplanes will talk to you. They don't just up and fail. You get an indication first. If it starts running bad ect then don't risk it. Head on back in. NEVER EVER EVER let a school or anyone else push you to flying when you feel you shouldn't. Just to ease the decision process, if you have any issues at a flight school go back and land and they will refund the flight for MX issues.
Last edited by ToiletDuck; 11-12-2006 at 06:54 AM.
11-12-2006, 07:58 AM
#3
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Posts: 136
I have had one get partial power. I was flight instructing and as the student was doing the run up I noticed the mag drop was rather large. The student was far enough along that he should have known there was a problem. When he finished I gave him a hint..."Was that normal?"
"Yes!...Altus Tower, xyz ready for takeoff."
I rolled my eyes and let him take the runway. When he pushed up the power we go something like 2000 RPM (this was in a 152 btw). I pointed to the RPM and said "Is that normal."
"Yes....Rotate!"
So we where off the ground, and I was seriously worried that the a/c wouldn't clear the trees at the end of the runway. We did, but not by more than 50 ft. As we where climbing out I started probing the student about how much power he should be able to get. Finally, I had enough. At 2000 feet (I'm not sure how we got that high, we didn't have the power to get up there, but we did) I took the airplane and limped it back to the airport.
Turns out that a float in the carb had been signed off as being replaced in accordance with an AD. The old, larger, float was still in there and was causing the mixture to run extremely lean.
Like Duck said, aircraft will almost always tell you something is wrong long before it fails on you. We had 2 very clear clues that the engine was not working properly.
Lesson to learn: I let the student continue when I knew there was a problem. I let him continue because I thought a good instructor lets a student get to a problem before he "saves" the student. The fact is a good instructor teaches a student how to stop at the first sign of a problem, not the last.
"Yes!...Altus Tower, xyz ready for takeoff."
I rolled my eyes and let him take the runway. When he pushed up the power we go something like 2000 RPM (this was in a 152 btw). I pointed to the RPM and said "Is that normal."
"Yes....Rotate!"
So we where off the ground, and I was seriously worried that the a/c wouldn't clear the trees at the end of the runway. We did, but not by more than 50 ft. As we where climbing out I started probing the student about how much power he should be able to get. Finally, I had enough. At 2000 feet (I'm not sure how we got that high, we didn't have the power to get up there, but we did) I took the airplane and limped it back to the airport.
Turns out that a float in the carb had been signed off as being replaced in accordance with an AD. The old, larger, float was still in there and was causing the mixture to run extremely lean.
Like Duck said, aircraft will almost always tell you something is wrong long before it fails on you. We had 2 very clear clues that the engine was not working properly.
Lesson to learn: I let the student continue when I knew there was a problem. I let him continue because I thought a good instructor lets a student get to a problem before he "saves" the student. The fact is a good instructor teaches a student how to stop at the first sign of a problem, not the last.
11-12-2006, 08:07 AM
#4
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Thread Starter
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: Student
Posts: 79
Originally Posted by wildcat1
I have had one get partial power. I was flight instructing and as the student was doing the run up I noticed the mag drop was rather large. The student was far enough along that he should have known there was a problem. When he finished I gave him a hint..."Was that normal?"
"Yes!...Altus Tower, xyz ready for takeoff."
I rolled my eyes and let him take the runway. When he pushed up the power we go something like 2000 RPM (this was in a 152 btw). I pointed to the RPM and said "Is that normal."
"Yes....Rotate!"
So we where off the ground, and I was seriously worried that the a/c wouldn't clear the trees at the end of the runway. We did, but not by more than 50 ft. As we where climbing out I started probing the student about how much power he should be able to get. Finally, I had enough. At 2000 feet (I'm not sure how we got that high, we didn't have the power to get up there, but we did) I took the airplane and limped it back to the airport.
Turns out that a float in the carb had been signed off as being replaced in accordance with an AD. The old, larger, float was still in there and was causing the mixture to run extremely lean.
Like Duck said, aircraft will almost always tell you something is wrong long before it fails on you. We had 2 very clear clues that the engine was not working properly.
Lesson to learn: I let the student continue when I knew there was a problem. I let him continue because I thought a good instructor lets a student get to a problem before he "saves" the student. The fact is a good instructor teaches a student how to stop at the first sign of a problem, not the last.
"Yes!...Altus Tower, xyz ready for takeoff."
I rolled my eyes and let him take the runway. When he pushed up the power we go something like 2000 RPM (this was in a 152 btw). I pointed to the RPM and said "Is that normal."
"Yes....Rotate!"
So we where off the ground, and I was seriously worried that the a/c wouldn't clear the trees at the end of the runway. We did, but not by more than 50 ft. As we where climbing out I started probing the student about how much power he should be able to get. Finally, I had enough. At 2000 feet (I'm not sure how we got that high, we didn't have the power to get up there, but we did) I took the airplane and limped it back to the airport.
Turns out that a float in the carb had been signed off as being replaced in accordance with an AD. The old, larger, float was still in there and was causing the mixture to run extremely lean.
Like Duck said, aircraft will almost always tell you something is wrong long before it fails on you. We had 2 very clear clues that the engine was not working properly.
Lesson to learn: I let the student continue when I knew there was a problem. I let him continue because I thought a good instructor lets a student get to a problem before he "saves" the student. The fact is a good instructor teaches a student how to stop at the first sign of a problem, not the last.
I seriously don't mean to be a smart ass and don't want to offend you in any way but what if you didn't clear the trees?
11-12-2006, 08:15 AM
#5
Prime Minister/Moderator
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,293
Originally Posted by CMercieca
A while back one of the flight school’s P-92 had a loose magneto that reduced some R.P.M. Have you ever had anything similar? Engine failure, FOD, damage, loss of R.P.M etc.
CMercieca
CMercieca
If you are going down the professional road, you can assume this kind of thing will happen occasionally, especially in piston aircraft.
Jets are different, they have so many systems that some minor gadget is almost always broken, but turbine engines are so reliable that you might go your whole career and never have an engine failure.
11-12-2006, 10:07 AM
#6
On Reserve
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: C-5 sit sideways
Posts: 16
Originally Posted by wildcat1
I have had one get partial power. I was flight instructing and as the student was doing the run up I noticed the mag drop was rather large. The student was far enough along that he should have known there was a problem. When he finished I gave him a hint..."Was that normal?"
"Yes!...Altus Tower, xyz ready for takeoff."
I rolled my eyes and let him take the runway. When he pushed up the power we go something like 2000 RPM (this was in a 152 btw). I pointed to the RPM and said "Is that normal."
"Yes....Rotate!"
So we where off the ground, and I was seriously worried that the a/c wouldn't clear the trees at the end of the runway. We did, but not by more than 50 ft. As we where climbing out I started probing the student about how much power he should be able to get. Finally, I had enough. At 2000 feet (I'm not sure how we got that high, we didn't have the power to get up there, but we did) I took the airplane and limped it back to the airport.
Turns out that a float in the carb had been signed off as being replaced in accordance with an AD. The old, larger, float was still in there and was causing the mixture to run extremely lean.
Like Duck said, aircraft will almost always tell you something is wrong long before it fails on you. We had 2 very clear clues that the engine was not working properly.
Lesson to learn: I let the student continue when I knew there was a problem. I let him continue because I thought a good instructor lets a student get to a problem before he "saves" the student. The fact is a good instructor teaches a student how to stop at the first sign of a problem, not the last.
"Yes!...Altus Tower, xyz ready for takeoff."
I rolled my eyes and let him take the runway. When he pushed up the power we go something like 2000 RPM (this was in a 152 btw). I pointed to the RPM and said "Is that normal."
"Yes....Rotate!"
So we where off the ground, and I was seriously worried that the a/c wouldn't clear the trees at the end of the runway. We did, but not by more than 50 ft. As we where climbing out I started probing the student about how much power he should be able to get. Finally, I had enough. At 2000 feet (I'm not sure how we got that high, we didn't have the power to get up there, but we did) I took the airplane and limped it back to the airport.
Turns out that a float in the carb had been signed off as being replaced in accordance with an AD. The old, larger, float was still in there and was causing the mixture to run extremely lean.
Like Duck said, aircraft will almost always tell you something is wrong long before it fails on you. We had 2 very clear clues that the engine was not working properly.
Lesson to learn: I let the student continue when I knew there was a problem. I let him continue because I thought a good instructor lets a student get to a problem before he "saves" the student. The fact is a good instructor teaches a student how to stop at the first sign of a problem, not the last.
I've spent some time flying that 152 out of Altus, it barely clears the trees with just me in it on a good hot day! Fun little plane though and good fun flying around there.
11-13-2006, 04:25 PM
#8
On Reserve
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Posts: 10
Flying a 2002 C-172 had power loss just after takeoff, getting about 800 RPM. After we came back and landed, we told the mx guy what happened and he shrugged it off and said it's a well know problem with the Lycoming IO-360 in the Cessna's. The problem is that it's the same exact engine as the O-360 and therefore was not designed to be injected, so what happens is that the fuel distributor sits right next to the block and gets too hot - vapor lock. All they need is a nice little heat sheild to do the trick! All you 172 drivers...watch yourself!
11-13-2006, 04:47 PM
#9
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2005
Position: Retired
Posts: 2,934
The distributor sits right on top of the block. FI engines also run very rich at idle, which is why you should always lean for taxi.
You're right about it being the same engine as an O-360. It IS an IO-360. There are dozens of variations of most piston engines. Most use a similiar block and in some cases cylinders. The differences are in things like oil filler location, carburator/FI location, valve design, etc.
You're right about it being the same engine as an O-360. It IS an IO-360. There are dozens of variations of most piston engines. Most use a similiar block and in some cases cylinders. The differences are in things like oil filler location, carburator/FI location, valve design, etc.
11-13-2006, 06:10 PM
#10
Che Guevara
Joined APC: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,408
My old instructor was on climbout and lost all oil pressure and the engine shut off. Went into the trees. You can still see parts of the plane hanging up in them after all these years. They crashed, took off running, the thing blew up as they were running way just like in a movie it was neat. This was at Waco Regional airport.
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