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RV-8 Down in SC (8/21/17)

Flandy10

Well Known Member
The Falcon RV squadron out of PTC launched a 6+1 formation to KCUB to join EAA Chapter 242's solar eclipse party. This would be an exciting day--little did we know :eek:.

Nearing the halfway point I hear on our enroute frequency:

-"Threes got an engine failure".

Lead: "seriously?"

Reply: "Greese is engine out".

Being the +1 of this formation, I'm 1 mile in trail watching this all unfold.
N628GR had suffered a catastrophic case failure with engine seizure and was deadsticking from 7500ft into rural SC. We were flying above a scattered layer, so the entire flight disappeared quickly as they followed him down. The next few minutes were very tense.

Then the call comes up-- Down safe. Relief:) He had deadsticked onto a small county road surrounded by trees and rough fields--safely--not a scratch.

Now how do you help someone in an area you're not familiar with- a very smart young man in another plane used Foreflight and a map program to find the county road and call 911. When the call dropped, 911 replied with a text, he sent back the location via text. Help was on the way.

Before continuing to KCUB, I made one last pass and saw that two police cars and fire trucks were on the scene--He was in good hands. Meanwhile, one squadron member diverted to Augusta, picked up a rental car, retrieved our downed airman and passenger, and I stopped at KDNL on the way back to return all members to base before the day ended. Mission accomplished.

N628GR was transported via flatbed and now sits tied down at S19 unharmed except a severely cracked engine case.

Greese did a fabulous job! See photos on pg2.
 
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Safe Engine out Landing.

Just very happy this had a great outcome thanks to the skill of the pilot & a dose of good luck.
 
I read this anticipating bad news and was pleasantly surprised there was a good outcome. Replacing an engine is not a cheap or fun job but is the best possible outcome in this situation. Nice piloting skills and support from those traveling with him.
 
Greg Reese

This is my old bird so I'm glad Greg and his passenger are alright. Also glad the bird is ok too. Greg is an excellent pilot and if anyone could get that bird down without a scratch, it would be him.
Good news indeed! Thanks for the post.
 
if i ever have to put a plane down on a road it would be in a rv with its short wing span. great job done. best plane out there for so many reasons. :)
 
WOW Greese---SOOOOO glad you are ok, and excellent job on getting the bird down. UH, is the warranty out on the Titan engine?
Tom
 
Relief

I read the title: RV-8 down in SC and I felt my stomach tighten up. Oh no...not again. Not another RVer down. Then to my delight, I read how professionals handle an in-flight emergency.
Well done gentlemen!
 
Nice job Sir! My wife likes it better down low cause she feels it's safer, I'll show her this.
 
Greese did a fabulous job! There are photos of the landing location, but I don't have them. I'll try to get someone to post.

Ok... Here are some pics from my airplane...
Perfect departure from FFC with Don Roberts leading a six ship & two more in trail. Greg is the leftmost yellow airplane...
6%20ship%20to%20KCUB.JPG


30 miles northeast of Augusta enroute to Columbia, SC... Greg's engine case cracked, followed by engine seizure.
Greg was unable to make it to the nearest airport and did a beautiful job putting it down on a narrow rural road surrounded by trees and rough fields.
Yes... the name of that road is "New Hope" ! Not a scratch on the airplane or crew.
New%20Hope.jpg

Don and the remaining flight circled overhead and identified the road intersection for help.
GReese%20Job1.JPG

The second car to arrive at the scene "happened" to be an off-duty 911 operator. She quickly coordinated EMT, police and a tow truck....
and in the span of an hour they had Greese's airplane on a flat-bed tow-truck being escorted by police cars to the nearest airport.
GReese%20Job2.JPG


Great airmanship on Greg's part (Sully has nothing on you!) and superb formation integrity and support from Don's flight. Lots of lessons learned...

Well done everyone....
 
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I hear that the ECI response was less than stellar. Very disappointing!!!

I have never heard of a good response from ECI. Someone has to have had a good response. Would love to hear from someone that ECI stood behind. Seen too many ECI failures that were were not stood behind.
 
OFF TOPIC, but perhaps useful, give the recent Photo Follies.

When I use a Chrome browser, Bob's photos are not displayed. I can use the quote button, and the photo link address is there to see.

When I use Firefox, the photo is displayed. The link address is identical.

When I use Internet Explorer 11, the photos are not displayed. Again the link address is identical.
 
Had to open this in Mozilla Firefox to see the pictures.

Bob's pictures really make the story come to life. Great job!
 
Might not want to blame the case just yet. Hopefully we'll soon see some photos of the internal bits.

Looking at the case crack image, it appears that the connecting rod hit the case. (download image and enlarge)

Cannot wait to see images from inside the case.
 
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I think it will get some of your attention when you hear the root cause--
Tom

...and that may be tough to determine...which came first, internal failure or external case failure...case separation certainly would affect internal clearance specs...a good case should be able to withstand internal failure...

In any event, metal failure internal or external, can be attributed to aging, that's why Lycoming won't overhaul an old engine. I think the cut off is 22 years.

Just like me, at age 78, some parts are beyond salvage. :)
 
New ECI IO-371 engine with less than 500 hours. Crankshaft is in 2 pieces and one counterweight is no longer attached to it. Either the crank broke first or the counterweight flange on the crank broke first----#4 rod is in 2 pieces (I am guessing it broke after the crank). ECI doesn't seem to care what failed and why.
 
I'm sure Greg will chime in here, but like Jon said, the big thing that holds the rod things is in 2 pieces :eek:

Greg said it definitely got his attention.

Tom
 
The good ole what came first chicken or the egg.

Obviously something broke, and the dominos started going quickly. If a weight came off, that could surely set things in motion. Are Lycoming counterweights bolted on? (not a Lycoming engine expert, but built many engines)
 

Looks like classic fatigue beach marks on that crank. Unless there are other indicators, it would appear that this is the root cause of the failure. A crankshaft should be an infinite fatigue life component as designed. If this is a first use crank, then some serious discussion with the manufacturer would be in order to openly discuss the cause and possible participation.

The next question is why fatigue - where did it start, was it a bearing root radius issue, was the bearing/rod touching where it shouldn't, were the roots rolled, total hardened, induction - so many next step (in the diagnostic journey) type questions.
 
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. If this is a first use crank, then some serious discussion with the manufacturer would be in order to openly discuss the cause and possible participation.

Unfortunately, the mfg apparently has no interest in even looking at the pieces. They were contacted several times about the failure and the only response was that they would offer another engine at retail price.
 
Unfortunately, the mfg apparently has no interest in even looking at the pieces. They were contacted several times about the failure and the only response was that they would offer another engine at retail price.

Maybe another letterhead. Is it the 9.6 Cr?

PM sent
 
Unfortunately, the mfg apparently has no interest in even looking at the pieces. They were contacted several times about the failure and the only response was that they would offer another engine at retail price.

Is ECI still in business? I thought they sold.
 
Are Lycoming counterweights bolted on?

Pendulum absorbers, not counterweights. And no, I don't care what some fool called them when they wrote the parts manual. A pendulum absorber can also be a counterweight, but it is not in this crank configuration.

There are several styles of pendulum absorbers. This type hangs on two pins. The bushing ID's are larger than the pin OD, which allows the mass to rock back and forth when the crank vibrates torsionally. The relative diameters determine the damped order. See an engine design text for the math.


Looks like classic fatigue beach marks on that crank.

Yep. Good eye Bill.
 
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