The small Continental engine are simple and historically extremely reliable;
provided they are have flown regularly and have been well maintained.
Engine compression check is somewhat helpful, but far from a complete picture.
Oil analysis at each oil change is also helpful for spotting potential wear
issues before they become engine failures.
However there are no 'guarantee's.
Dan Hall
CNO
----- Original Message -----
From: heavensounds
To: Ercoupers Tech Talk ; jh
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 8:07 PM
Subject: Re: [ercoupe-tech] ercoupe crashes
Jim
Let me reassure you that there is nothing inherently riskier in the Ercoupe
engine than in the engines of other small general aviation airplanes.
1. The engine in the Ercoupe and its derivatives is the Continental C-75 /
C-85 / C-90 family which is very common and used in many airplanes, including
the Cessna 150 (if you include the O-200, which is indeed part of that engine
family). There should be nothing special in the Ercoupe to make it's engine
more prone to failure than any other aircraft with a small Continental. Any
small Continental which is well maintained and run frequently SHOULD have
better reliability than one that is not. But there are no absolute guarantees.
That is true about any aircraft engine!
2. May I suggest that compiling a list of Ercoupe accidents by itself gives
an incomplete picture of the risk? Are 39 crashes in 5 years too many, or too
few? We don't know if we don't compare with other airplanes. Perhaps comparing
the Ercoupe 5 year accident list with a list of accidents in the last 5 years
for other popular small airplanes will help understand whether the risk is
specific to Ercoupes, or common to general aviation.
The members of this forum can offer a lot of information and guidance about
how to maintain your Ercoupe and reduce risks. However, most of that advice
will be applicable to any general aviation airplane.
Best regards
Eliacim
N87071
----- Original Message -----
From: jh
To: Ercoupers Tech Talk
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 9:24 PM
Subject: [ercoupe-tech] ercoupe crashes
While searching for an Ercoupe to buy, I've become concerned about the
level of engine maintenance and repair, and about what seems like a
"rash" of accidents in the last few months. So, I studied the NTSB
database to try to get a handle on the real situation. Here's what I found.
There have been 39 investigated Ercoupe crashes in the last 5 years. I
picked that time span because it matches, roughly, the time that the
Light Sport rules have been in effect.
Of the 39 crashes, 5 had fatalities, totaling 8 people.
Of the 39, 38 were in 415 models. 15 were the result of engine failures,
3 of which had to do with items that the NTSB blamed on AP error.
Anyone have thoughts about how to make sure one's engine doesn't quit?
Jim H.
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