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Message list:
1. [COUPERS-FLYIN] Another Coupe Lands Off Airport...
2. [COUPERS-FLYIN] Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Lost power
3. [COUPERS-FLYIN] Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Lost power
Messages:
From: Larry Snyder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Ercoupers Flyin <[email protected]>
Reply-To: Larry Snyder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Another Coupe Lands Off Airport...
Wow - yesterday two Ercoupe 415-C airplanes landed off airport. There
was the one in Puget Sound and then there was mine, near Perryville,
Missouri.
I had just picked up my plane from Cape Avionics in Cape Girardeau,
Missouri, where they had installed a new Garmin SL40 comm radio.
It's a
really nice radio, and has a special "EC" button which tunes your
radio
to 121.5 automatically. i figured I would never need that button. I
used it about 40 minutes later.
I was flying home to St. Clair, Missouri, and decided that my fuel
was
a bit low, so I diverted toward Perryville to get fuel. I was at
4,500
feet. About 15 miles out I throttled back to descend to about 2500
as I
flew in to Perryville. When I tried to throttle up a bit, nothing
happened. I worked the throttle and it did absolutely nothing. The
engine slowly went to idle. That was all I had. I was at about 4,000
feet. I set best glide speed and wanted to see how I was doing in
making it to Perryville. I descended to 2,500 feet and I was still 11
miles from the airport. So much for making it there.
I knew I had to find a spot and get it on the ground. I used my fancy
EC button and notified KC Center, and set my transponder to 7700. All
around were small fields, all surrounded by trees. But then up
ahead I
saw a huge wheat field, very long and narrow. I headed toward it,
set
up to land on it.
Unfortunately, there was a very tall cell tower in the southeast
corner
of the field. I knew there had to be guy wires, and lots of them. I
flew around that and then dived down to the tops of the wheat,
holding
it up until it slowed down and sank into the wheat.
The landing wasn't too bad, really. The ground was bumpy and uneven,
and wheat flew everywhere, but it came to a halt, the engine still
idling happily. I shut it all down and called FSS. They took my
information and advised me to call 911. I did, and they were
trying to
figure out where I was. I gave them the lat/long and while I was
talking to them, a KC-141 tanker from Scott Air Force Base began
circling the field at about 2,000 feet. This REALLY freaked out the
entire town of Perryville! Then the rumor started that the tanker had
gone down. Needless to say, they were disappointed when all it was
was
a tiny Ercoupe sitting in the middle of a wheat field.
The folks were really nice. The fire department, the sheriff's
department, the Highway patrol all showed up, took statements, looked
at my credentials. I called my insurance company, and the
investigator
flew out from KC. A mechanic from the local airport came out and
together we removed the wings, and flatbed tow truck came out and the
main gear BARELY fit on the bed, but fit they did. We trucked it over
to the Perryville Airport. Looking under the cowl, the bolt
holding the
throttle cable to the carb and the carb heat arm had fallen out.
FALLEN
OUT! The engine had just been installed three weeks ago by
Advanced Air
in Council Bluffs, Iowa, after Central Cylinder overhauled it. I
think
they forgot a cotter pin...
We could have reassembled the plane and I probably could have
flown it
home last night, but the FSDO wanted to have the option of coming out
Monday to look at it. My guess is they will not come out, and we will
send them digital photos of the linkage. I think Advanced Air may
be in
a bit of trouble.
So I managed to activate all the law enforcement in Missouri in that
area, talk to the FAA, Get circled by a huge Air Force jet, talk to a
TV station and a newspaper, all in one day. Busy day! My insurance
guy
had flown out in an A35 Bonanza, and he dropped me off home as he
flew
back to KC.
I plan on picking the plane up next Saturday. It will be
reassembled by
then, and I'm out of town all next week.
I was very blessed in this - a perfect field, a smooth landing
(relatively speaking), and lots of nice people helping. The lady who
lived in the nearest house was thinking about charging admission -
she
had hardly ever seen so much traffic on their little country road!
But when I think of the possible other outcomes, I'm pretty upset.
All
for the lack some sort of safety on a small bolt. How frightening!
So good old N99340 is still in good shape, still got my shiny new
engine and radio, and I'll still be in Terrell. Life is good!
Larry
N99340
----------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [email protected], [email protected]
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Lost power
Eliacim,
The most likely cause of engine failure is lack of fuel. When the
header
tank float starts down, land and get fuel! Some have reported that
a passenger's
leg closed the wing to fuel pump valve on entering the seat,
leaving only the
header tank to supply fuel...." But I had full wing tanks"....So,
during
final preflight, check the wing tank to header valve to be sure
it is in the on
position. It is supposed to be safetied in the on position with
thin copper
wire.
The next most ( maybe the most ) cause of loss of power is not
applying carb
heat when one closes the throttle.. The high velocity and fuel
evaporative
physics decreases the carb temp about 35 deg F. So on a warm day
65 - 70 deg F,
and high humidity, the freezing point of water is reached
quickly..causing
ice buildup in the throat if the carb,,,and the engine quits
running....
Sad about the fellow with the throttle cable bolt missing a cotter
pin........one should check these things on preflight. Glad he
made it into the wheat
field OK....I know he feels the installation folks erred, and
probably so,
but they will argue that it is the pilots responsibility to pre
flight the a/C
before every flight.....After all, it flew several hours before
failure.....maybe someone removed it....we surely put one in....
Sure am glad he made it
into the wheat field ok.
Once upon a time I installed a spring on the throttle system to
open the
throttle IF the cable broke, or bolts fell out. This was a result
of a friends
off field landing due to water in the throttle cable...it froze
open...and
instead of letting the engine run fast, he pulled and pulled until
he broke the
throttle handle/cable...now the engine went to Idle. He, too, made
a safe
off field landing, but did damage the coupe...
Fly Safe - Have fun
Harry Francis
N93530
----------------------------
From: Larry Snyder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: Larry Snyder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Lost power
I'm the guy in the wheat field. In all my training, and watching lots
of pilots preflight, I've never seen anyone examine the throttle
controls under the cowl while preflighting. I'm not saying it's not a
good idea, though. I guess I made the mistake of assuming everything
was in place and safe. I will be examining this linkage fairly often
in the future, I can tell you that. Ironically, I had scheduled
another mechanic to review the installation this week. Didn't quite
make it. The folks at the FBO where the plane is now will be going it
over quite thoroughly.
I can say that my insurance company, and the mechanic at the field
both felt the installer should be responsible. Since the plane and I
are both fine, I'm a bit more charitable.
Larry
N99340
On May 20, 2006, at 10:35 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before
following any advice in this forum.]----
Eliacim,
The most likely cause of engine failure is lack of fuel. When the
header tank float starts down, land and get fuel! Some have
reported that a passenger's leg closed the wing to fuel pump valve
on entering the seat, leaving only the header tank to supply
fuel...." But I had full wing tanks"....So, during final preflight,
check the wing tank to header valve to be sure it is in the on
position. It is supposed to be safetied in the on position with
thin copper wire.
The next most ( maybe the most ) cause of loss of power is not
applying carb heat when one closes the throttle.. The high velocity
and fuel evaporative physics decreases the carb temp about 35 deg
F. So on a warm day 65 - 70 deg F, and high humidity, the freezing
point of water is reached quickly..causing ice buildup in the
throat if the carb,,,and the engine quits running....
Sad about the fellow with the throttle cable bolt missing a cotter
pin........one should check these things on preflight. Glad he made
it into the wheat field OK....I know he feels the installation
folks erred, and probably so, but they will argue that it is the
pilots responsibility to pre flight the a/C before every
flight.....After all, it flew several hours before
failure.....maybe someone removed it....we surely put one in....
Sure am glad he made it into the wheat field ok.
Once upon a time I installed a spring on the throttle system to
open the throttle IF the cable broke, or bolts fell out. This was
a result of a friends off field landing due to water in the
throttle cable...it froze open...and instead of letting the engine
run fast, he pulled and pulled until he broke the throttle handle/
cable...now the engine went to Idle. He, too, made a safe off field
landing, but did damage the coupe...
Fly Safe - Have fun
Harry Francis
N93530
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