Ben R
Well Known Member
I posted a similar thread in the classifieds explaining why I was looking for a mount...hope I'm not breaking the rules but I wanted to share with everyone else what happened to me yesterday.
I had just began taxiing from my hanger yesterday when my -6 came to an abrupt stop in the grass not 15 feet from the hanger apron. I got out to see what was going on and my left tire was stuck in a very small hole (just big enough for the tire to fit into). My landing gear was bent rearward. I removed the cowling to find that the engine mount was broken in 3 places at the gear attach fitting. I was taxiing at a walking speed since I had just left the hanger. The grass had been recently mowed and I never saw the hole. It was so shallow that the wheel pant wasn't even damaged. I would imagine that there were some hairline cracks in the mount and this was the straw that broke the camel's back, but I can't say for sure. I've never landed the plane hard but I am the third owner.
I've owned the plane for about a month now and it tears me up that its going to be grounded for a while. I'm hoping Van's still sells the mount as I don't think this one could be repaired. I've posted some pics (maybe I did it right).
The moral of the story...be sure and take a few extra minutes to inspect your mount anytime the cowling is off (a hard lesson learned for me). If this had happened on the runway while landing, the end result would have likely been very different.
I had just began taxiing from my hanger yesterday when my -6 came to an abrupt stop in the grass not 15 feet from the hanger apron. I got out to see what was going on and my left tire was stuck in a very small hole (just big enough for the tire to fit into). My landing gear was bent rearward. I removed the cowling to find that the engine mount was broken in 3 places at the gear attach fitting. I was taxiing at a walking speed since I had just left the hanger. The grass had been recently mowed and I never saw the hole. It was so shallow that the wheel pant wasn't even damaged. I would imagine that there were some hairline cracks in the mount and this was the straw that broke the camel's back, but I can't say for sure. I've never landed the plane hard but I am the third owner.
I've owned the plane for about a month now and it tears me up that its going to be grounded for a while. I'm hoping Van's still sells the mount as I don't think this one could be repaired. I've posted some pics (maybe I did it right).
The moral of the story...be sure and take a few extra minutes to inspect your mount anytime the cowling is off (a hard lesson learned for me). If this had happened on the runway while landing, the end result would have likely been very different.