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Thread: OMG! The engine quit!

  1. #1

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    Default OMG! The engine quit!

    Back in the earliest days of my flight training in San Diego (Gillespie Field, ksee) at about three hours of training, doing touch and goes, my instructor suddenly yelled (in his VERY thick ex German air force accent) OH MINE GOD!YOUR ENGINE HAF JUST GONE CAPUT!!!! VAT EVER ARE YOU GOINK TO DO????? (John Pitkin might remember Wolfgang Schmidt) And he pulled the throttle back. We were on down wind abeam the numbers so I grabbed the mic. and told the tower I was doing a simulated engine out and was turning base to final NOW. Before the tower could reply I had slipped to loose altitude and was lining up for final. I know now that a slip might not have been the brightest thing to do but it worked out ok for me at that time.
    We landed and taxied to the tie down and went inside for the briefing.
    Wolfgang (my instructor) asked why I did the slip and abbreviated pattern.
    I reminded him of the stearman that had done the same maneuver the previous week at brown field because he blew a jug on the 45 to land. His reply was something about how many hours that man had behind the stick and his military experience back to the "thirty's" and I could have killed us both.
    After he quit screaming I calmly said that I knew it was not a real engine out and I simply said on the radio and did what I thought he did. And then I apologized.
    I also asked him to teach the correct way to handle the situation but in a real scenario. So the next lesson was spent practicing engine out procedures out near Guy Buchanan's Ramona Ca. homestead. (I soloed in the next lesson) His airport is VERY near some unforgiving cumulous granite (giant boulder mountains). Good place to learn.
    I guess my point to all this drivel is if you practice what we were all taught and remain calm the outcome should be better than what your fears are trying to scare you with. If you are always thinking about what the crash is going to be like you will never truly have fun flying.
    I have been behind or in front of an engine since I was 10 years old, 54 years ago, and have crashed minibikes, dune buggy's, motor cycles, cars,18 wheeler,...... and of course an airplane.
    It doesn't matter what engine you have, what aircraft you are flying or falling out of the sky with, try to remain calm, remember your training, and fly the plane as long as possible.

    Steve

  2. #2
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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit!

    I wish this site had a like button. I would be pushing it now! Well said! JImChuk

  3. #3
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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit!

    Way to go, did you and your instructor walk away? If you did you did good!
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    Paul Zimmermann
    LSRM-A
    Garland, Texas

  4. #4
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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit!

    Can I copy that picture and use it in the future if I feel the need? :-) JImChuk

  5. #5
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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit!

    Quote Originally Posted by avidflyer View Post
    Can I copy that picture and use it in the future if I feel the need? :-) JImChuk
    I copied it off of Facebook, go for it.
    Paul Zimmermann
    LSRM-A
    Garland, Texas

  6. #6

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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit!

    Paul Z, yes I have been lucky enough to walk away from every crash that I have ever had.......so far. I don't want to die "doing what I love to do". I love off roading, flying, hiking, fishing, well you all get the picture. Dying is the last thing I want to happen when I am enjoying doing something that I love. The worst motor cycle crash cost my health insurance company $34,000 for the trauma center to confirm exactly what I told the highway patrol officer, the ambulance crew, (that just happened to be the same crew that was dispatched to the plane crash), And the 3 people that stopped to help me and direct freeway traffic around me. Those 3 people all told me they thought I was dead. One witness said he quit counting when my head hit the pavement the forth time. The short version is that the front fender came loose and wedged against the tire and locked up. I had the cruise control set at 73 mph so I know I was going that fast when it happened. That speed was 22 mph slower than I usually rode through that area, in full safety gear, in 114 degree heat because of the people that were in a bad mood from their monetary losses in Vegas. That day was only 95 degrees and I wanted to enjoy the ride so I only had my helmet, work uniform. and boots on. I have lots of road tattoos now. The helmet kept me from dying but was destroyed, the whole left side was ground off.
    The plane crash was in a weight shift ultra lite trike that I was selling for my nephew. It had been in storage for 2 years and I spent a week taxi testing and looking for the reason the Rotax 447 engine wouldn't keep running. After replacing many parts including the fuel filter, twice, I finally found a small black speck in the carb needle. Cleaned the carb for the 4th time and added fresh fuel. Back out to the runway. Three high speed passes and I was ready to get airborne. back taxied and announced on the radio that this could be the time I would try it.
    It lifted off like a dream. I glanced at the airspeed indicator and it showed 65 mph. OOPS! 65mph and one foot off the ground.
    I pushed the bar forward to climb and at that speed it got real ugly real fast for me. I only had one hour of flight instruction in a weight shift.
    I was at 100 feet above the runway when the engine stopped. I'm thinking OK, I have enough runway left to safely glide down, CRAP!!!, the engine just coughed out whatever was in it's throat! OK,OK,OK, still enough room.
    Wrong! single engine fixed wing training kicked in. I could hear Wolfgang's voice saying "vat are you goink to do now"? So I pushed the "stick" forward to set up for a glide, wrong direction. I was immediately back up to 100 feet with full throttle when the left side of the wing stalled. I hit the ground with full throttle.
    The first 4 people to get to me told me not to move because i was
    "hurt bad" and they all had called 911. I finally convinced them to just help me peal the metal off of me so I could uncramp my left leg. "And for goodness cancel that stupid 911 call!"
    I walked away from that wadded up mess with only a dent in my left knee. cap from a piece of gravel on the runway.
    The cause of the engine failure you ask? Ethanol in the auto fuel ate the fuel lines and almost microscopic pieces made it past the fuel filter and waited for their buddy's to reunite at the "needle bar".

    Lesson learned-NEVER, EVER USE A DIRTY NEEDLE!!!!

    Steve

  7. #7
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit!

    Awesome........

  8. #8
    Senior Member jtpitkin06's Avatar
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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit

    Quote Originally Posted by 896tr View Post
    Back in the earliest days of my flight training in San Diego (Gillespie Field, ksee) (John Pitkin might remember Wolfgang Schmidt)

    Steve
    Wolf Czaia, perhaps?
    Retired from AA. Living in Seatle.

    John P

  9. #9
    culater's Avatar
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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit!

    Quote Originally Posted by avidflyer View Post
    Can I copy that picture and use it in the future if I feel the need? :-) JImChuk
    Here's a good one
    Attached Images Attached Images

  10. #10
    Senior Member ken nougaret's Avatar
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    Default Re: OMG! The engine quit!

    John P, is your KF flying?
    SS7 O-200 Whirlwind

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