Joined the "engine out" club into C59, all are safe

Well the short version: cruise flight leaving Oshkosh for Marion IL KMWA, 10,500 ft msl, just entering the boredom of cruise portion of the flight, enjoying the view of Milwaukee passing to the 8 o'clock position and maybe 30-45 miles out.

Pop, WTF, mixture full rich, 5 seconds later, pop pop boom, engine noise is VERY loud, a bit rough, pulled power to idle and told passenger we were landing NOW. Passenger starts spotting airports very close while I pull power and put it into a steep decent (thoughts of fire at 10 k no fun) and start the nrst function on the 496. Pick a field that's only 4.8 out and tune up the ctaf and start announcing. Turns out to be C59/Lake Lawn in Wisconsin which I guess is in or very near Delavan. Engine is still popping and sounding VERY angry so I shut her down around 8500 msl. Only real challenge is loosing altitude and ending up in a good position to turn final. I chose to circle directly above as it gave me a chance to REALLY look for traffic and keep the security of the strip close I suppose. Passing 3k I chose 36 vs 18 based on the winds at OSH and moved out to short final position over a lake and still circling close. With full flaps it didn't take much time so I headed for the runway, felt high, did one s-turn out and back and set up. Touched down about 1000 ft down the 4400 available and nailed a decent 3-point given the aft cg loaded up for Oshkosh. Deep breath, push over to tie downs. All over in well under 3 minutes I'd guess (passenger says the VSI was 2500 or pegged while he was watching it).

Of course I pick a place with NO hangers and thus NO maintenance! Could have picked a better field I guess but with thoughts of fire or worse dancing through my head it was a no brainer (probably literally) to go for the very closest.

Quick look: no oil leaks, oil on dipstick looks new with no grit, chunks, or other signs of internal carnage. No tools and more importantly no time either. My passenger needed to be back in Myrtle Beach from Marion by early Sunday evening while towing a large trailer. His plan was to leave Marion by 1300 which would have happened with our 180 kt ground speed. It was 1100 by the time we got tied down.

With immense luck and great service by the concierge at the Golf Course/Resort across from the field we had a rental car by 1130 (they close at 1200!! and God only knows how far the next option would have been) and were headed south maybe 50 minutes after touch down. WOW.

I would have loved to pop the cowl but the chance I could have fixed the problem and gotten my buddy on the road earlier than by driving were extremely slim. I would have needed to find/buy tools, diagnose the cause, and fix it with parts found at Lowes. Not likely so we cut our losses and made for the border (Illinois that is).

Glad you're OK. Please keep us posted as to the diagnosis when able.

Well done

Glad to hear you flew the plane, trusted the training and got her down. Interesting to hear what you find and how you get er fixed in the stix.

Good Piloting.

The good: maintained airspeed even though it took huge trim changes when I dropped flaps. I was holding noticeable forward stick and it was trying to slow below 80 mph before trimming for the full flaps configuration (aft cg, no thrust I guess). Good CRM, got my buddy scanning for traffic and helping as much as he could from the back. Didn't crash or damage anything/anyone other than the itinerary (figures I go engine out when I've got a decent tailwind and am making my longest non-stop XC as of yet). Landed 1/4 down the runway, not too short, not too long, good margin for error. Managed to find a frequency and transmit even though NOBODY was there. Foursome strolled over from breakfast at the resort just after tying down so at least I found one pilot to vent too, nice Tiger too..

The Bad: didn't run a checklist. Didn't shut off fuel or electric (guess it didn't feel like we were headed or a crash landing). Used electric to transmit but should have still shut it down when field was made. I would like to say I left the fuel on to keep a restart possible if we came up short but the truth is very much that all I cared about was making the strip just right and just as fast as I could (which I did manage but it's no excuse). I could have had a better idea as too my location and options but in the GPS world with airports everywhere I was just flying fat and happy with a general idea. Big maybe but maybe I'd have picked a better field for services if I was following my location more closely and knew what was around.

As far as the plane, my guess is an exhaust manifold cut loose from the head or fractured near the head. Mag check on the ground showed no difference left to right, no oil leak, started easy just very loud. Time and money will tell.

Anyone have a good RV AnP in Southern Wisconsin? Troy Grover from Indy has agreed to look at it but if someone closer is available I'd like to at least get the cowl off to get an idea on parts and extent of the injury?

Thanks and be kind with any criticism, I layed it out for all to learn and do better next time for you and yours.

Any landing you can walk away from is a good one Grant, and any EMERGENCY landing you can walk away from with the airplane tied down on an airport is a GREAT one!

I've done the emergency landing thing with no oil pressure and managed to put that one on an airport as well - altitude is always your friend.

Hope the problem turns out to be minor - good luck, and thanks for a great and detailed report!

Paul

Sounds like you handled it pretty darn well. Your airplane, and more importantly you and your pax are okay!

Looking forward to the engine debrief-

Joe

You turned an emergency into an almost routine landing. Can't get any better than that. Considering how things might have turned out if a good landing site wasn't near enough, the hassle of repairing the plane is pretty minor.

Planes can be fixed.....live to fly another day.

I'm giving my 3 month old a bottle at this moment and he's smiling up at me as he falls securely off to sleep in my lap. Very little else matters at this moment as life gets a little refocused if you know what I mean. Not really a near death experience but still forces one to accept the risks involved just a little deeper than maybe yesterday.

The only question is how much money it'll take to get the -4 up and home.

I'm hoping for a cheap exhaust nut/bolt/seal but it'll be what it'll be.

Thank you all very much for the kind words

Grant, just want to add my attaboy to the list. A very noisy, angry engine puts your heart in your throat (had a 150 do that to me a long time ago, so I know what you went through and can empathize, as I'm sure many out here do).

You flew the airplane first, assessed and handled the emergency, made a plan and stuck with it to a very successful conclusion. Very professionally handled...in short, VERY well done!

Thanks for the detailed report, and along with the others, I hope the diagnosis and fix goes easy and well.

Nice work, Shipmate!

Cheers,
Bob

wow!!! so far my only engine out has been simulated!! but sounds like you did a great job!!

best of luck with the engine repair, i am very interested in final outcome, and the engine debrief!!


and please take the time to enjoy what has been given to you: The gift of life, and the joys of family!!


keep hammering away on your -8!!!

Grant - well done - the primary aim of a forced landing is for the occupants to walk away, the secondary no damage to aircraft or property, and you achieved all!

A thought for discussion, as you asked for, NOT a criticism.

and put it into a steep decent (thoughts of fire at 10 k no fun)

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All over in well under 3 minutes I'd guess (passenger says the VSI was 2500 or pegged while he was watching it).

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The Bad: didn't run a checklist. Didn't shut off fuel or electric (guess it didn't feel like we were headed or a crash landing).

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I'm an airline pilot, and one of the things being drilled into us now is "time" when handling problems / emergencies. Assessing and communicating "time available", and acting accordingly. You did assess time as "short" since you were fearful for a fire... but conversely, as you analyse, did not shut the fuel off. An alternative approach might have been to shut off the fuel the moment you decided to close the engine down, or earlier if you felt fire was a possibility? Fuel Shut off, in an engine cowl with 100K+ of (cold) airflow, gives a (possible) fire not a lot of chance to continue... You now would have had all the time in the world to run immediate checks (Aviate), pick absolutely the best field (Navigate), and ensure people were aware of your plight (Communicate) in case things did not turn out well. Then plan the Forced Landing... think restart options (sounds not viable). Also brief Pax for what to do on/after landing etc...?

Big maybe but maybe I'd have picked a better field for services if I was following my location more closely and knew what was around.

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Would be icing on the cake, as we say, but with the engine shut down... best/closest airfield for landing has to be #1, as you did. Factoring in "maintenance" really adds some factors probably best left until later (as you did).

Again, a big well done - too many Forced Landings end up with damaged aircraft, or a lot worse

The Bad: didn't run a checklist. Didn't ........l

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Not really, you assessed priorities and flew the plane, had a good outcome, no bad there.

You did good, walked away, it doesn't get any better than that.

Roger that Andy 100%. From 10.5k I could have had well over 10 and maybe 15 minutes. In my mind the fire risk would have been from escaping exhaust gases and pulling the mixture and shutting down were enough in my mind (feeble as it was at the moment) but I really didn't know what was wrong and absolutely should have had the fuel shut off to completely eliminate the risk, same with electric.

In my mind it was quite clear that we were not continuing the flight and slowing down the decent to pick a better field seemed a little greedy (plus I didn't know how I would have judged a "better field" from the air other than picking a towered field (Lake lawn looks pretty big from 10k and it never occurred they'd be a strip and nothing else). We have a saying in my field that the enemy of good is better, meaning that knowing when to accept good enough will save you a lot of grief when trying for better frequently leads to major problems. Slowing down the process to run a checklist would have been worth it though.

My biggest weakness as a pilot is checklists as I get complacent flying simple machines where a checklist seems like overkill. In a stressful situation like this though running a checklist would have been exceedingly helpful. Could have even gotten my pax involved reading it too while I flew.

If this happens again I will take a deep breath and run a checklist, hopefully.

I will at the very least be reviewing emergency procedures in the near future.

Grant, although it's all to easy to armchair-fly this situation, I'd also like to add my congratulations on a job well done. Only thing I'd like to add is that in your description of the sounds "pop,pop, boom", you stated that the engine was "a bit rough". Probably with all that noise my first thoughts might be the possibility of fire, but your engine was still making good power, just a bit rough and very noisy. Fires occur when fuel lines rupture and spray fuel around hot engine compartments, but with the line ruptured the engine wouldn't be making power without that fuel. Fires from a broken exhaust stack are another concern, but if that was your thinking with the associated noise, then it might have been prudent to simply pull the mixture so the combustion process (and the hot exhaust) has been halted. It's also a good idea to try each magneto independently in case one of them has completely messed up the timing. If the windmilling engine still has good oil pressure, then the engine could still be called upon to deliver power if you needed a little to get you to a suitable runway. To completely shut down your ONLY power-producing engine would be a tough call for me to have to make. However, I could also be a crispy-critter by now if I was wrong! Again, glad you're safely on the ground and that this was only an inconvenience.

captainron said:

Fires from a broken exhaust stack are another concern, but if that was your thinking with the associated noise, then it might have been prudent to simply pull the mixture so the combustion process (and the hot exhaust) has been halted.

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This was what I was thinking and when the engine continued popping and being angry at idle in the decent I pulled the mixture somewhere around 8.5-9k and was gliding the rest of the way.

Mag check might have been another good thought (BTW on the ground it ran exactly the same right or left mag, easy start, very loud, probably right side of engine is problem area).

Engine restart was definitly possible if I came up short, I knew it would make power for at least a little while but had no idea how much more damage was being done by continued opperation or how much risk to safety was associated with running it.

Thanks for the input

Cheers

Critisism?

grantcarruthers said:

T.....
The Bad: didn't run a checklist. Didn't shut off fuel or electric (guess it didn't feel like we were headed or a crash landing). ........

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Shame-Shame.

But you did all the important stuff right, like making the runway with margin and in control, which is why you have the luxury of second guessing your performance under pressure.

sounds like you did a great job to me. I hope I do as well if my motor ever quits.

I've often wondered how in the world anyone would have time to get out a check list in a crunch like that. I know I wouldn't.

I did read about a pilot (AOPA mag I think) that had his checklist reduced to flash card equivalents. He lost his engine on climb. His wife ran him though the cards gliding back to the airport, which they made with no problem. That seems like a good idea, but I haven't done it yet.

I've decided in advance that turning off the power is an optional last step if I have the presence of mind, after I've done things I need to do with the electrical, like lower flaps and communicate position with ATC.

One reason I get flight following is so someone knows where I'm at if the motor stops. Sometimes on a short flight I don't actually call them up, but I tune the frequency so that in an emergency I can talk to them. Emergency response time can be life or death if all doesn't go well.

Congratulations!

and you did an excellent job!

and by excellent job i also mean your critical debriefing of the events! It's what makes you a better pilot and converts "just an experience" to a "learning experience". Plus sharing it allows a lot of us who fortunately weren't in that situation yet to learn from it.

one thing i might add, as an air traffic controller, and i know it kind of conflicts with shutting down power and such, but there's the transponder code 7700, which will make you clearly stand out on everybody's radar, regardless wheter you talk to us or whichever altitude band filters are there.
i don't know wheter i myself would put it in if i was gonna shut down electricity, there's better things to do.
but another thing i'd certainly done was declare mayday on 121.5. and after a hopefully successful landing cancel it again. By your accounts there was enough time for that and this really reall helps. Plus the frequency is monitored all over the place and it's also being recorded for replay. This doesn't apply for some "small" CTAF frequency.

Again great job! And go flying soon, the best way to keep confidence up and keep things in perspective before you start overrating the risks associated with it. Awareness is a good thing though.

And in retrospect there's always 1000 things you could have done differently. I myself have a similar "near-crash" experience from more than a year ago in a long-ez. not overpowered in the first place, lost power on takeoff on one cylinder due to a crack, very hard to identify (even in retrospect) until the runway was too short and i was barely climbing. after a few minutes, the expanding metal closed the crack and power came out of nowhere. carried on (not the typical get-homeitis) which and a few other things i definitely would not do again today.

hope you get it fixed soon!

bernie

Safety

My take away from many of these stories is how important a GPS with NEAREST is. When flying in unfamiliar area having immediate acess to distance and a/d info is such a huge benefit. Frees one up to fly the plane, not search for maps and look for symbols. When you can get a fancy GPS with terrain and lots of features for as little as $600, how great is that.

Cheers.

Holy cow, glad everything was Ok. Altitude and a "nearest" function on your GPS were big friends, ones that I like to take along when I fly too.

TODR

Good Job!

Grant, you did almost everything right. Great job planning the descent and getting down safely.

To the comments from the armchair quarterbacks here- respectfully, you weren't in the pilot's seat. What runs through your mind with the engine doing this WHILE you navigate and aviate is hard to say. Grant had valid concerns based on the info he had, maybe a rod through the case and a real chance of an oil fire. I'd have shut it down too most likely. You rarely have the time or presence of mind to start experimenting with ideas to diagnose the problem in flight.

If you think about calling on 121.5 fine but it's of little value if this distraction causes you to lose control or forget to do something more important. You are on you own for the next few minutes once the engine stops and nobody can help you fly the plane. Calling Mayday would be last on my things to do over land especially if I had concerns about fire and ignition sources.

Getting it down safely is #1, you can apply the lessons learned once on the ground. This experience will be very valuable and will shake off a good bit of any complacency you had before.

Thanks for sharing and we can all learn something useful from this.

rv6ejguy said:

Grant, you did almost everything right. Great job planning the descent and getting down safely.

To the comments from the armchair quarterbacks here- respectfully you weren't in the pilot's seat. What runs through your mind with the engine doing this WHILE you navigate and aviate is hard to say. Grant had valid concerns based on the info he had, maybe a rod through the case and a real chance of an oil fire. I'd have shut it down too most likely. You rarely have the time or presence of mind to start experimenting with ideas to diagnose the problem in flight.

If you think about calling on 121.5 fine but it's of little value if this distraction causes you to lose control or forget to do something more important. You are on you own for the next few minutes once the engine stops and nobody can help you fly the plane. Calling Mayday would be last on my things to do over land especially if I had concerns about fire and ignition sources.

Getting it down safely is #1, you can apply the lessons learned once on the ground. This experience will be very valuable and will shake off a good bit of any complacency you had before.

Thanks for sharing and we can all learn something useful from this.

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I agree with Ross 100%, you did a great job handling the situation and locating a suitable airport. The company I worked for had a caveat with regard to using checklists - use them - unless a greater emergency exits. Pilot judgment always prevails.

My engine shutdown at 10,500 some years ago was while on VFR flight following. The ATC guy was a great help in that when I landed at Auburn, Alabama there was a fire truck standing by plus about 6 local guys in pick ups....it was sort of a parade down the runway....I was mighty glad to be there and see all the company.

The best part about your performance is you flew the airplane. So many guys in such a situation clutch up and forget the most important part of quickly accepting the fact you are going down and, as Bob Hoover says in one of his books, that the airplane must be flown into the crash as far as possible.

Good Job!!

Anyone know how to get the flight data out of a 496? The track is just about as I remember so at least my recollection is within reason of the GPS track. What I'm really curious about is the vertical profile. How long was this event and how long till we landed after shut down? All purely for curiosity and maybe to see how close my memory is to the truth. We all know how time compresses and distorts under pressure.


Thank you all for the feedback as it helps me and everyone else prepare for the next engine out (which is why I started this thread in the first place). There are a million things you could do or try in a situation like this and all the suggestions have considerable merit. Every situation is different though and having all these options thought out before the event helps us to pick a couple of good ones for the time remaining in flight.


Take aways

1, "nearest airport" is a great function and takes care of 90% of the navigate task along with frequency databases so you might get to talk to someone in the pattern or on the ground who may be of help by getting out of the way, calling wind data, or 911 for that matter.

2, always consider 121.5 and 7700. I didn't utilize them as I had the runway made and feel the greatest thing ATC can do for you is help you get to a suitable runway. I also have a single com and wanted to announce on the ctaf rather than 121.5 since my chosen vertical path gave me time for a single frequency. As far as 7700 I must confess that there was at least a slight question in the back of my mind that maybe I had done something dumb to cause this and I didn't want to invite federal scrutiny when I felt reasonably sure I had a safe landing made. As far as I know I did nothing to cause this but if I had botched the landing then having help on the way in a short time would have been invaluable. I should have put safety first and dialed up the transponder just in case we needed help. My transponder is a little cumbersome so time constraints and focus on "aviate" played a significant role in this decision also.

3, get good and stay good at slow flight, always maintain the ASI in your scan no matter what and anytime you feel stressed make it your primary and frequent reference in the cockpit, set your trim and then don't override it without checking the ASI.

4, have emergency procedures thought out and practiced ahead of time. I really like the 3X5 note card idea (finding a section/column on a laminated 8X11 sheet won't work as well under stress, better to have a dedicated sheet to look at so there aren't irrelevant distractions on the page. I may also placard my panel with 121.5 and 7700 just so they're right in front of me as reminders and to eliminate delay or confusion.

5, luck can be a beautiful thing, this didn't happen at 500 agl over the lake after departure from 09 at OSH (500 agl is the required departure altitude until 5 miles out on a heading of 150 which is over the lake). Shut down would not have been considered of course

7700

flyvans.com said:

one thing i might add, as an air traffic controller, and i know it kind of conflicts with shutting down power and such, but there's the transponder code 7700, which will make you clearly stand out on everybody's radar, regardless wheter you talk to us or whichever altitude band filters are there.
bernie

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Both myself and my RV are VFR only, so being a clever sort of guy I programmed 7700 into the VFR button on my transponder. The idea being that I am always on 1200 and if I had an emergency I could just push the VFR button without having to fiddle around tuning to 7700 during a high stress situation. All went well till one day, about 15 minutes after landing I got a phone call from Search and Rescue who were putting search planes in the air, asking if I knew anything about an aircraft squawking 7700 that disappeared off the radar screens in the vicinity of my home airstrip. A mad rush to the hangar and with a sinking feeling in my heart, confirmed the transponder innocently displaying 7700. In retrospect I must have accidently hit the button with my hand during turbulence. I called ATC, profusely apologizing but they were very relaxed about it all and said it was a valuable real exercise for them. They also said it was a good idea to have 7700 stored. I have left 7700 programmed for the VFR button but have installed an aluminum cover over the button that must be bent back before it can be pressed and I also always check that 1200 is displayed before turning the transponder OFF.

Fin
9A Australia

Finley Atherton said:

(snip) In retrospect I must have accidently hit the button with my hand during turbulence. I called ATC, profusely apologizing but they were very relaxed about it all and said it was a valuable real exercise for them. (snip)
Fin
9A Australia

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Don't feel too bad. I recall a story a few years ago about a student pilot on his long cross country (one of the requirements for a US PPL). He was eastbound at 7500' when the center controller asked him to "squawk altitude." He dutifully put 7500 into his transponder and responded affirmatively when ATC asked him to confirm that he was squawking 7500.

Imagine his surprise when he was met by armed law enforcement on landing....

Good Job

Good job Grant!! I had that happen once, I remember thinking... fly the plane.
All turned out well in my case to, the Farmer who owned the field I landed in even fed me and gave me coffee.

Near C59

Hi Grant,

Anyone have a good RV AnP in Southern Wisconsin? Troy Grover from Indy has agreed to look at it but if someone closer is available I'd like to at least get the cowl off to get an idea on parts and extent of the injury?

I live near C59 and could take a look under the cowl if you would like. My RV6A is hangered about 10 miles from C59. I was in Delavan this evening and saw your airplane sitting on the ramp.

Let me know, I could take a look after work tomorrow.

Skid

Well Done!

Good job. What went wrong with the engine?

Yukon said:

Good job. What went wrong with the engine?

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I think he said an exhaust pipe broke, John...same thing that brought me down in Alabama some years back.

Don't know the cause yet, Just talked to Troy Grover (AnP/ RV Assist center in Indy) and it sounds like he's made time in his schedule to drive up for a look today.

Christopher Checca (n468ac on VAF) also graciously offered to fly down from Northern Illinois and pick me up in Southern Illinois and take me up Tuesday to take a look.

So one way or another I'll be able to update on the cause very soon.

I'm fairly certain it's exhaust related with a header off a head or an exhaust fracture close to the head based on how loud it got. Other possibilities certainly exist.

that would be my guess

I blew an exhaust pipe off the muffler in a Maule several years ago on climb-out. Big racket - bad (burning) smell in the cockpit. I pulled power and returned to the runway, shutting the engine down on roll-out. Got out and found the exhaust pipe hanging by it's support spring sticking out of the cowl flap. You description sounds similar.

Thats funny!

flyeyes said:

Don't feel too bad. I recall a story a few years ago about a student pilot on his long cross country (one of the requirements for a US PPL). He was eastbound at 7500' when the center controller asked him to "squawk altitude." He dutifully put 7500 into his transponder and responded affirmatively when ATC asked him to confirm that he was squawking 7500.

Imagine his surprise when he was met by armed law enforcement on landing....

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That was an excellent chuckle to go with my morning coffee..

Frank

Way to be open and honest.

Grant, way to be a wonderful example to others. You had a nasty situation that could have ended much worse, you did your best and came through it alive. You put your experiance out there for others to judge and accept suggestions gracefully. These are awesome habits that make you a better person and a smarter pilot.

Thanks for sharing,

Steve

I appreciate your openness

Grant,
I appreciate your honesty in revealing what you did - and didn't do - in an emergency. We all become better and safer pilots by sharing and learning. Emergencies force each of us to discover if we can successfully join our empirical knowledge (learning by doing) with academic knowledge (learning by studying) and walk away.

I see a very supportive community of RV flyers and builders and it inspires me to want to join the group.

Grant nice job getting on the ground in one piece.... BTW you aren't by chance related to the Kel Carruthers that used to be Kenny Roberts crew chief are you?

rvator9a said:

Grant nice job getting on the ground in one piece.... BTW you aren't by chance related to the Kel Carruthers that used to be Kenny Roberts crew chief are you?

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Unfortunately no relation that I'm aware of. I'd manufacture one if I could.

GAWD I wish I had an in with the Roberts' gang, as you can tell I'm into bikes from the avatar. I'd love to go play at his ranch in CA and peak into his garage. Ought to be some cool stuff in there.

Update: there is no update. CB's held Troy at bay Mon/Tues and Tomorrow looks better for weather.


Anybody think a stuck exhaust valve would create these symptoms? Still pondering the possibles?

grantcarruthers said:

Anybody think a stuck exhaust valve would create these symptoms? Still pondering the possibles?

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Doubtful... the engine would be much rougher, and there probably wouldn't be all the noise. If you suspect a stuck exhaust valve, examine the push-rod tubes carefully.

Exhaust system failure most likely starting at #3 flange and then damaging some other associated parts on the other side of the crossover and a hanger. No casualties other than the exhaust system thankfully.

Pics to follow in a day or so

Ordering a new system as soon as I have the right info to place the order.

Thanks to all who have offered help, it is greatly appreciated.

Sorry I came across this thread too late. I'm at the next airport up the road (57C) and I'd be glad to help. I have all the tools you might need, plus the services of an expert A&P who loves to tinker on homebuilts.

If you need anything give a call, 414-915-9173.

PS- be sure and check out the breakfast buffet at the Lake Lawn Lodge while you're there- it's fantastic!

For what it's worth, nomographs can be very useful in an immediate action emergency when you're IQ goes to near zero as pretty much everyone's does!:

"Glide, gear, grass--prop, trim, top--boost, bilge, bitch" worked just fine in the T-34 years ago. I still remember it, but not what I had for lunch yesterday! Just make up your own that fits your airplane and make it rhyme a bit to make it easy to remember. Something simple, like: ?Two (or three) to the rear---gas, squawk, batt---land where you?re at?. When all else fails, go on automatic...At least you'll get the most important things done.

Regards,


Lee...

logansc said:

For what it's worth, nomographs can be very useful in an immediate action emergency when you're IQ goes to near zero as pretty much everyone's does!:

..

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Sounds like pretty normal instrument flight when ATC throws you a curveball..

Quick update.

I tried hosting the pics and was unsuccessful. Not really much to see other than a complete separation of the #3 flange. From what I could tell from the picture it looked like the weld just never really formed much of a bond. The entire weld came off clean on the flange and the pipe looked mostly intact with a slightly rough edge.

Exhaust appears to have been a Pullman (unsure of spelling as he no longer makes exhausts for reasons now clear to me at 240tt on the system)

Replacing with a Vetterman 4-pipe at his advice as the best O-320 pipe out there. He says a 100 RPM increase on static run up is somewhat common and I look forward to maybe picking up some nice power.

Larry Vetterman has been a prince to deal with and I can't say anything but positives at this point. Eager to share a wealth of information and spend however much time answering my questions as I needed as far as the conversion to the 4-pipe. He didn't have a system ready on the shelf but started building one based on our first conversation before I had even confirmed wanting one! He did this to make sure he had it out to me before heading to LOE. If that's not exemplary concern for the customer and the greater RV family than I don't know what more you could possibly expect.


So, 4-pipe is showing up today (please oh please let the UPS tracking be right). I've had the old system welded as best they could. And I'm going up tomorrow morning to meet my mechanic and see which one'll get me home. Hopefully the 4-pipe will go on but L V said some minor modifications may be required. We all know how hard getting minor modifications done can be away from our shops and full tools so on everyones advice we're taking the old system as a standby to at least get the plane off that hideous ramp and back in a hanger where she belongs. Then I can take my time getting the 4-pipe on if modifications are needed.

Weather looks good, crossing my fingers, will update when there's something to tell.

'nother update, just heard that the welder says the pipe was ridiculously thin material. So likely it was pipe failure at the weld, not the weld failing to hold.