----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
What would we have to put on a 337 in order to make the mod to get the
wings to 'auto-rotate' in
case of an engine failure? ;-)
Bob Saville
Larry Wilkins wrote:
> ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following
any advice in this forum.]----
>
> When I was learning to fly, in a Piper Colt, I had the occasion to ask
my
> instructor about the glide slope characteristics of the plane. His
> response, and it applies directly to the Coupe, was, " It has about the
same
> glide slope as a 1200 lb. cook stove".
>
> Larry
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ken Doyle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 5:52 AM
> Subject: RE: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Ercoupe crash info...long
>
> > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following
any
> advice in this forum.]----
> >
> >
> > John,
> >
> > Thanks for forwarding Charlie's note about Fred and his coupe crash.
We
> all
> > wish Fred the best. Based on Fred's coming up short, and my own
practice
> > with dead stick landings, I am reminded how quick the coupe will come
down
> > and how little it will glide. If you haven't done any dead stick
landings
> > lately a little practice would be in order.
> >
> > Charlie brings up an interesting solution to the "vapor lock"
discussion.
> I
> > don't know that his analysis would apply to the Alon, but it might.
His
> > solution to the problem, lowering the nose, describes my recent
experience
> > too. Does anyone have sleeves on their fuel lines? It would be worth
> > checking.
> >
> > Hope to see you all in Mason, Michigan for the Nationals.
> >
> > Ken Doyle
> > Springfield, Mo
> > Alon N5477E
> >
> >
> > ______________
> > I picked this up from the gyrocraft board to which I subscribe.
> >
> > Regards,
> > John
> >
> >
> > We've lost two pilots to fatal crashes from my hangar row over the
last
> > couple years and almost had a 3rd one Saturday. Guy and his wife fly
an
> > Ercoupe hangared across
> > the row from me and 2 over. He's known as "Capt. Fred" and does a
public
> > access airplane show on Sunday evenings. We've been neighbors for at
> > least 15 years. He's
> > kind of an over-weight cornball who wears a leather jacket and a long
> > silk scarf while he's narrating and interviewing and even a leather
> > helmet and goggles in the shows
> > intro and closing. He's like an affable nerd and his wife is
constantly
> > getting awards for working with Girl Scout groups, etc. and getting
them
> > interested in aviation.
> >
> > I get cornered once in awhile on Saturday mornings when she has a
group
> > in her hangar and they want to look at different aircraft. They all
want
> > a photo of themselves
> > sitting in the gyro, so I have to make sure they all get in and out
> > safely without breaking any wires or scratching anything. We're
talking
> > groups of 50 or more. I gripe
> > about it, but I love it.
> >
> > Fred did a show on me a few years ago and I got slightly P.O.ed. We
did
> > about 3 hours of air-to-air shots and Fred used about 3 minutes of
them,
> > if that. He's a big ham
> > and likes talking and yakking about all his trivia knowledge instead
of
> > showing the planes in action.
> >
> > Anyway, my hangar partner Bill is a retired Southwest Airlines jet
> > mechanic, and now that he's retired, he does annuals, repairs, etc. on
> > the field and for a large flight
> > school. He's an A&P and A.I. (or I.A. I can never get it straight).
Fred
> > and Anna's Ercoupe needed an engine rebuild, so Bill sent it a little
> > north to a guy that has a good
> > reputation for rebuilding aircraft engines. Bill got the engine back
> > after about 5 months (!) and $8,000 worth of work and parts. He had
> > everything rebuilt, like the mags,
> > starter, charging system and had a new fuel pump put on. Bill then
redid
> > all the 50+ year old baffling with new, both the rubber and aluminum
> > sheet portions.
> >
> > I took a "Wannabee" for a ride Saturday a.m. and noticed that Bill and
> > Fred were there and running up the engine. We went for about an hour
> > ride and when we came
> > back, they were still running up the engine. My passenger offered to
buy
> > breakfast, so we left the field and went to IHOP for some food. We
shot
> > the baloney awhile and I
> > drove him back to the airport to get his car. I then went to buy a
small
> > light for my gyro, and when I pulled in at the airport, I noticed the
> > usual contingent of about 8 to 10
> > airport rats standing around as when someone is doing a first flight
or
> > something. I parked and walked up to the group and asked what everyone
> > was watching.
> >
> > I was then pointed to look at the east end of the runway to see Capt.
> > Fred's Ercoupe laying on the adjacent freeway just past the
thresh-hold,
> > upside down. I then noticed
> > all the flashing lights and that the Mercy-Air heli was parked there
on
> > the freeway. Just then, Bill drove in. He was at the scene and said
Fred
> > was pretty banged up, but
> > managed to crawl out by himself. They life-flighted him to Sharp
> > hospital, where later we found out he had damage to his spleen and
some
> > other possible internal injuries.
> > Bill said his face was like a piece of raw meat as was one of his
arms.
> > Fred never did install shoulder harnesses in his plane, so that lap
belt
> > was just a pivot point to slam his
> > face against the panel.
> >
> > No word so far on the cause. Fred was up about an hour and a half,
> > supposedly running the engine at full power and circling overhead. The
> > story gets a little muddled here.
> > Some say that Fred did stay over the field and just misjudged when the
> > engine quit and overestimated his glide range. Some others said that
he
> > wandered away from the
> > field, as much as several miles, against Bill's advice.
> >
> > I could see that Bill was upset, but then he started shaking
> > uncontrollably and started having crying jags. It was sad all around.
> > Fred's wife, Anna, was watching him come
> > in through binoculars and saw him crash. There's an evergreen nursery
on
> > the east side of the freeway, and Fred's wheels caught the chain-link
> > fence and it pretty much
> > stopped him, but flipped him upside down onto the freeway. Luckily,
> > there was a break in traffic.
> >
> > Hopefully he'll pull through O.K. Bill said that when he crawled out,
he
> > asked for Bill, and when Bill showed up in a minute, Fred said: "The
> > engine stopped! It just
> > stopped!" The weather wasn't conducive to carb-icing, in fact it is
> > extremely rare in this area, due to the desert-like conditions. If the
> > fuel pump was not working, the 6
> > gallons in the header should not have been enough for him to stay up
> > that long, especially at full power. There is also a bobber gauge
right
> > in front of the pilot's nose. If that
> > thing goes down a 1/2 inch, any Ercoupe pilot would notice it
> > immediately. The 2 wing tanks are joined and the fuel pump merely
pumps
> > fuel up to the header tank, where
> > it garvity-feeds to the carb and the excess flows back to the wing
> > tanks.
> >
> > I have one idea, but don't know if it's valid. When I bought one of my
> > Coupes, the engine had just been rebuilt and they forgot to put the
> > fire-sleeve back on the short hose
> > that feeds the fuel from the header to the carb. It passes right next
to
> > some exhaust components. On hot days, I started having my engine
> > sputter, especially on climbout.
> > Putting the nose down would usually clear it. Winds up it was
> > vapor-lock, and it cleared with the nose down, as there was enough
> > pressure to overcome it. In a climb, that
> > fuel line was almost horizontal. After installing a short piece of
> > fire-sleeve, the problem never appeared again.
> >
> > I asked Bill if there was a fire-sleeve on that hose, and he said
there
> > wasn't one. I'm guessing that previously, with the baffling all broken
> > and ratty, there might have been
> > enough air to keep it cool. After Bill redid all the baffling, maybe
> > there wasn't enough airflow around that hose and vapor-lock took over.
> > Apparently it didn't clear when
> > he was nose down like mine would, but with new, efficient baffling,
> > maybe it kept enough heat in where that wouldn't overcome it.
> >
> > No one knows for sure where the engine exactly quit. I talked with the
> > Mercy-Air pilot, and he said that Fred got a "Mayday" out a little
> > before he crashed. He was on his
> > way in when the tower asked him to loiter awhile, as they had a plane
in
> > distress. The pilot said in a few moments he asked where the plane now
> > was and was told it
> > crashed onto the freeway. They got there and landed within a minute,
as
> > they were hovering or circling on the other end of the field. Pilot
said
> > that was the very first time
> > that he was ever the first one on a scene. Fred's plane had all 3
lanes
> > blocked, so he was able to land right next it.
> >
> > Anyway, that's the latest from "Charlie" row at Gillespie Field, CA.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > MACINTOSH®...because everything else is just a peecee.
> > WINTEL...the cubic zirconium of computers.©
> > "What a man has honestly acquired is absolutely his own, which he may
> > freely give, but cannot be taken from him without his consent."
> > - Samuel Adams (1768)
> > "A true man, like a true horse, runs with his own breed."
> > -From KIM by Rudyard Kipling
> >
> >
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