How safe is a SEP aircraft?
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Flyboy
It was a IO470-C
TSMOH 475 Hours !! (yes very young)
And there were no signs at all of anything wrong prior to the big bang. The engine runnup at Shoreham was fine and 60 secs later bang.
The windshield was covered in oil and also smoke in the cabin so not great views were had.
The report can be found here
It was a IO470-C
TSMOH 475 Hours !! (yes very young)
And there were no signs at all of anything wrong prior to the big bang. The engine runnup at Shoreham was fine and 60 secs later bang.
The windshield was covered in oil and also smoke in the cabin so not great views were had.
The report can be found here
Last edited by cblinton@blueyonder.; 29th Sep 2004 at 16:57.
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Like Monocock I fly something that will still fly at around 40 mph. If you manage to hit something not too solid at 40 mph it should be survivable (As Monocock has proved
).
One of the big dangers seems to be trying to avoid the ground. Drop a wing at 150 feet and you have little chance.
The BBC reporter Peter Snow and others showed you could even survive coming down in trees quite well story here.
).One of the big dangers seems to be trying to avoid the ground. Drop a wing at 150 feet and you have little chance.
The BBC reporter Peter Snow and others showed you could even survive coming down in trees quite well story here.
A generality I know, but contact with the ground while under control at landing speeds/configuration is usually non-fatal. Contact with the ground after losing control usually is.
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How old was the engine, both in years and hours?
See generally pp. 63-69 of Rules & Inspections (1987), Vol. 6 in the "Light Plane Maintenance Library" series, for a discussion of assembly defects, many quite major.
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don't fall into the trap of assuming that a new engine/airplane is essentially vice free
(Sigh) The probability of expereincing an engine failure in a twin is double that of a single engine aircraft, thats why certain twins are known locally as "Doctor Killers". You have to be very very quick if you get a failure on a twin as many of them don't fly at all well on one engine.
God forbid I have an engine failure, I do PFL's all the time and try and work out where I might go to land all the time I'm flying.
Potential catastrophic failure is unlikely to be picked up by an external inspection of an engine, but you never know. All I do is what I'm told to do, but I always try and have a really extra good look at the engine, wiring and pipework, just in case.
God forbid I have an engine failure, I do PFL's all the time and try and work out where I might go to land all the time I'm flying.
Potential catastrophic failure is unlikely to be picked up by an external inspection of an engine, but you never know. All I do is what I'm told to do, but I always try and have a really extra good look at the engine, wiring and pipework, just in case.
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Well done, Mono, even repairable. To maintain the right way up in a taildragger, you must have been doing something right; hope I have the same good sense when my number's up.
Is this the one on your Avatar?
Sunfish Usually only in that small speed range just after take-off.
The moniker you refer to is usually accorded the Bonanza. (Sorry, cbl, well done on your well-deserved award). But good thing to practice, Sunfish.
GtW You are correct, except that I think all new (Cont and Lyc) engines are tested at Factory for one hour at full chat on a dyno. From cold. To eliminate just that. Failure is more likely after maintenance. Ahem guilty, your Honour.
Tinstaafl I agree with your generality. As someone once said "Fly it all the way through the crash until you stop" or words to that effect.
DT
Is this the one on your Avatar?
Sunfish Usually only in that small speed range just after take-off.
The moniker you refer to is usually accorded the Bonanza. (Sorry, cbl, well done on your well-deserved award). But good thing to practice, Sunfish.
GtW You are correct, except that I think all new (Cont and Lyc) engines are tested at Factory for one hour at full chat on a dyno. From cold. To eliminate just that. Failure is more likely after maintenance. Ahem guilty, your Honour.
Tinstaafl I agree with your generality. As someone once said "Fly it all the way through the crash until you stop" or words to that effect.
DT
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On a point of pedantry, I think the "doctor killer" tag applies to any kind of expensive, high-performance kit which, in normal operation, is accessible to the amateur, but can easily require more skill than they have. The very high performance race-replica Sports bikes are a good non-aviation example - i've heard them referred to as "doctor killers"
The "forked-tail doctor killer" is the Bonanza - something to do with the ease of getting into a spiral dive in IMC and the subsequent ease of pulling the wings off getting out of it, if I remember...
The "forked-tail doctor killer" is the Bonanza - something to do with the ease of getting into a spiral dive in IMC and the subsequent ease of pulling the wings off getting out of it, if I remember...
Last edited by Evo; 30th Sep 2004 at 07:52.
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What is an "amateur"? Is this context, it is somebody who has had the standard PPL training, plus differences training with an instructor who should be familiar with the type.
There is no proper way to get training for a high perf plane, other than to be extremely lucky and find an instructor who is really current on the type.
This is the problem Cirrus found (in the USA). Now they have more training in place. I think that if their sales were high in the UK (presently they are insignificant) they would have to run their own training with their own instructors. The standard of instruction in the UK as a whole is appalling and no good for people who move up to something like this.
In the USA they have fresh PPLs, coming off the usual C150 spamcan training done by an instructor who has never gone past the crease on the chart, who go out and buy a new plane. It's no wonder a few of them plummet...
I don't think the Bonanza (a 1950s design) is somehow amazingly slippery - any 150kt plane is slippery and will go rapidly out of control in IMC if wings aren't kept level.
I fly a 150kt plane and after several years I am still well cheesed off with the standard of "instruction" I could find at the time.
There is no proper way to get training for a high perf plane, other than to be extremely lucky and find an instructor who is really current on the type.
This is the problem Cirrus found (in the USA). Now they have more training in place. I think that if their sales were high in the UK (presently they are insignificant) they would have to run their own training with their own instructors. The standard of instruction in the UK as a whole is appalling and no good for people who move up to something like this.
In the USA they have fresh PPLs, coming off the usual C150 spamcan training done by an instructor who has never gone past the crease on the chart, who go out and buy a new plane. It's no wonder a few of them plummet...
I don't think the Bonanza (a 1950s design) is somehow amazingly slippery - any 150kt plane is slippery and will go rapidly out of control in IMC if wings aren't kept level.
I fly a 150kt plane and after several years I am still well cheesed off with the standard of "instruction" I could find at the time.
Jet Blast Rat
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How much were you willing to pay for instruction? Most PPL instructors will have very little experience themselves at above 120 kts. If you approached a more experienced instructor, it is likely (today) to cost around £70 per hour, but it is a specialised business!
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SC
Fair point, but the reality was that I could not find one at any price.
I would guess that total UK annual sales of new 150kt planes is now fewer than the # of your fingers
Secondhand will be more of course, but as they get older they get cheaper and the pilots are less likely to want to pay for specialised training. Also a 15-20 year old plane is likely to have very basic avionics which don't (on the face of it, anyway) really need much explanation.
The market isn't there for advanced instruction.
Fair point, but the reality was that I could not find one at any price.
I would guess that total UK annual sales of new 150kt planes is now fewer than the # of your fingers
Secondhand will be more of course, but as they get older they get cheaper and the pilots are less likely to want to pay for specialised training. Also a 15-20 year old plane is likely to have very basic avionics which don't (on the face of it, anyway) really need much explanation.
The market isn't there for advanced instruction.
Jet Blast Rat
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If you know anyone else looking, they should try going to a commercial school. They should be able to offer someone capable. The alternative I would suggest would be to find a CFS-trained (i.e. military) QFI.
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I think all new (Cont and Lyc) engines are tested at Factory for one hour at full chat on a dyno. From cold. To eliminate just that.
