sparrowhawk

[Ken Watson]

Anyone know anything about the crash yet? Would like to know what caused this incident. Engine configuration is similar to mine I think. Ken

[Brian]

What crash ??

[Ken Watson]

Happened near Goulburn about 2 weeks ago I think. Heard that machine was a total loss. Ken

[Brian]

Thanks Ken, no I hadn"t heard anything about it. Was that the bloke that took a brand new SH to the nationals this year? cant think of his name. I reckoned he had stiff controls or something at one stage. Glad it wasn"t a fatal!!

[Waddles]

Gents,Greg Williams rolled the Sparrowhawk after suffering a partial engine failure.The wreck is in the hands of other interested parties at the moment, but we have requested access when it is released.The engine, and EJ 25 was supplied by SH in the USA as part of the kit.Prelininary enquiries have been made from SH, USA who are most cooperative.You will be advised when the results are known.It is not appropriate to speculate on the cause of the partial failure at this time.I will be using a similar engine in my re-build for what it"s worth.Regards,Waddles.

[asra]

Waddles said, "I will be using a similar engine in my re-build for what it"s worth."Me to Allan. Thanks for the info.Aussie Paul.

[NiqueNaque]

Ozy,Don"t you fly with single ignition??You can double up with ignition and plugs but that is not necessarily the cause for the failure.Have a look at Wal"s Rolls Royce engine which failed due to the lifters being gunked up at the Bonds springs nationals.My engine failed due to push rod failure as a product of being over revved at Manilla.Your engine has failed on occasions due to lack of fuel, again at Manilla, but all as ever dutifully handled with engine out procedures.Ignorance is the main cause for engine failure, for Wal, it was ignorance of the effects of using synthetic oil in a Rolls Royce engine.For me it was ignorance of the fact that revving an EA 81 over 6k revs will damage it and cause push rod failure and engine failure, I might have rebuilt my engine after the belt slipped on the redrive and avoided the problem I have now.For yourself at the time it may have been an ignorance of your fuel situation.I"m not singling us out for treatment, just quoting us as an example. We all got down safely, you suffered the fate of merely refuelling, where Wal and I suffered rotor damage, his through the terrain in which he was forced to land, me through my stupid decision to taxi off after a perfect engine out landing in rough grassland which bought about nose wheel failure and then a flop over.Whether or not the aircraft and pilot come to grief is a product of those correct engine out landing procedures and where the landing has to be made, it is not down to the engine as they are three different types, and you might agree that they are all down to human error, and especially, pilot error.The best remedy as I know it and I"ve said it before - learn how to crash safely - by this I mean all pilots must repetitively practice engine outs, so that when it is *not a drill* it is just another landing.Cheers,Nick.

[asra]

Duel ignition has been around for many years in aircraft engines. It was not introduced because of any safety or redundant reasons whatsoever. As engine cylinder sizes became bigger it was added soley because the ignition flame took too long to spread during combustion and having a spark on the opposite side aided in efficency.

[Brian]

Personaly I do not think it is worth it at all.I will be glad to see the day come when it is mandatory that all two seeters have duel ignition.It is one thing to play around with your own neck let alone that of someone else.CAR ENGINES BELONG IN CARSI disagree totally with you there as just from personal experience [about 5000 hours] I have yet to have ignition problems. Thinking a bit, [pretty hard I know] I don"t know of anyone having ignition problems.If we had to put Lycomings or certified Rotaxes in our gyros, then the cost factor would jump enormously.

[asra]

"I will be using a similar engine in my re-build for what it"s worth."Personaly I do not think it is worth it at all.I will be glad to see the day come when it is mandatory that all two seeters have duel ignition.It is one thing to play around with your own neck let alone that of someone else.CAR ENGINES BELONG IN CARSAnd 2 strokes belong on lawn mowers, and Lycomings belong on dynasaurs.Pretty good thinking EXCEPT the motor don"t know its in an airplane. 40 ignitions are utterly useless if the fuel pump dies. or a valve collet disintegrates, etc, etc. The closer your car engine (in the plane) is to stock, the lower the risk. If all of the systems assoc with the engine are stock out of the vehicle, then you have many (sometimes millions) hours of history to give you known points of failure. Once you change any of the ancillaries, you are back to nil hours of proven service. It is generally the ancillaries that fail (or the pilot in the case of running out of fuel). It is rare for the engine itself (provided it is in good condition) to fail.In the case of Lycos, it is as Murray says.

[Mark Horan]

Car engines belong in cars.......Thats what I used to think every time I used to fly my VW powered Gyro on a hot day at 2500 feetBut then again, there was probably plenty of VW drivers who thought the motor that powered their car should have been left in an aeroplane! The watercooled, Japaneese built, short stroke VW motor that resides behind the seat of my Gyro now,sure sounds pretty. It doesnt have that cranky noise that two smokes make, it is easy to work on and is cheaper to repair than an East German snowmobile motor. Did I mention that its reliable?Sometimes I dont know why people put the statements on the forum that they do, but its Christmas, and Wos, I hope you can make better use of your hand next year.Marcus.

[rotor]

I thought the EA81 was initially designed and built as an aircraft motor ... and then subaru decided to put it in a car

[asra]

I thought the EA81 was initially designed and built as an aircraft motor ... and then subaru decided to put it in a car