RV-9 down (FL), occupants are OK (2/23/14)

[JPalese]

Originally Posted by krw5927

I'm curious - what punitive action could there be in an emergency situation such as this?

The answer is I don't know that there will be any, nor do I believe any would be appropriate.

However, why not take advantage of all the protection that is out there?

[vcordero]

This is VictorC

I will try to post these pictures via Flickr. I hope you can get access via the PUBLIC option:

This is the airplane after it flipped.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1210178...n/photostream/

As you can see the Anti-Splat worked. No other mods except the VS stiffner for the RV9A.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1210178...n/photostream/

The only EXIT after the flip was out the back part of the slider. Plus, we could not do it ourselves. There was NO room to kick out or swing an axe (as some have suggested). The cockpit is small right-side up, it is an even smaller area upside down with NO room to move. Not to mention if you were hurt with broken bones.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1210178...n/photostream/


The canopy saved out lives as the airplane plowed into the ground. For those who think it's better to open the canopy before the crash, think of your head plowed into the ground. "A water ditching may be a whole different situation. Does anyone have that experience in an RV??"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1210178...n/photostream/

If you do not wear a life preserver over water because you will put it ON before you go into the water, Please provide us with a You tube video of you putting on the life preserver (in the safety of your hanger) with the canopy closed. Don't forget to buckle up after and still fly the airplane. It's impossible, I tried it.

I hope some questions have been answered.

[DonFromTX]

This is the first mention of a PRSU failure, are you just kicking that in there for general information or did I miss something?

Originally Posted by pierre smith

This is not a first, for an Egg PSRU to fail. I gave an RV-8 owner a BFR several years ago, who also suffered a gearbox failure with the resultant loss of thrust. Fortunately, he made it to a nearby airport.

Another friend removed an Egg package and drained the gearbox oil "just to see." Within days, the metal had settled in the jar....also a Gen III gearbox.

Best,

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by DonFromTX

This is the first mention of a PRSU failure, are you just kicking that in there for general information or did I miss something?

Originally Posted by vcordero

After I leveled off at 3000 ft. and some 12 miles on final to 9L, something in the Prop Speed Unit broke. I have an IVO 3 blade in-flight adjustable prop.


God Bless and fly safe.

VictorC N19VC

See above from the pilot.

He uses the term " Prop Speed Unit"-------could be meaning PSRU, or controller for his Ivo prop??

[vcordero]

This is VictorC pilot of N19VC:

The PSRU Gen 3 Ver 4 failed somehow. Included in the FAA Monthly Summary of accidents in March regarding N19VC is this:

"The airplane was powered by an Eggenfellner 2.5L Subaru conversion with a Prop Speed Reduction Unit (PSRU). An aircraft recovery crew member who recovered the aircraft reported that the propeller rotated freely as if it were not connected to the gearbox."

We won't know the exact point of failure until the PSRU is taken apart.

Also: It was said that:

"Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it."

This comment is very true,,,,UNLESS, you know that sheriff helicopters are based at SFB (12 miles away) and can FIND you the woods better than ground emergency units.

We were very lucky they found and got us out of the wreck within 20 or 30 minutes of the accident.

VictorC (N19VC)

[rhill]

Victor,again great job.Thank you for the photos,nice to see the Anti-Splat worked as intended.The VS mod did its job also.Any thoughts on fuel system safety,anything that could have kept fuel in the tanks and out of the cockpit?

[n981ms]

Victor,
Mike's statement about radioing your plight was not directed at you. It has been in his signature line for a long time.

[David-aviator]

Originally Posted by vcordero

This is VictorC pilot of N19VC:

The PSRU Gen 3 Ver 4 failed somehow. Included in the FAA Monthly Summary of accidents in March regarding N19VC is this:

"The airplane was powered by an Eggenfellner 2.5L Subaru conversion with a Prop Speed Reduction Unit (PSRU). An aircraft recovery crew member who recovered the aircraft reported that the propeller rotated freely as if it were not connected to the gearbox."

We won't know the exact point of failure until the PSRU is taken apart.

Also: It was said that:

"Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it."

This comment is very true,,,,UNLESS, you know that sheriff helicopters are based at SFB (12 miles away) and can FIND you the woods better than ground emergency units.

We were very lucky they found and got us out of the wreck within 20 or 30 minutes of the accident.

VictorC (N19VC)

Victor,
Sure glad you were able to walk-crawl away from this one.
Have you decided to rebuild or total the 9?
I was in your boat exactly 10 years ago and chose to rebuild out of some romantic and emotional attachment to the original build.

That was a mistake. For me it would have been better to take the total pay out and start over.
Just food for your thoughts on the subject.

[DanH]

Victor, was your engine equipped with the spring-loaded flywheel? Jan referred to it as a "two-mass flywheel", although he was removing the second mass. Without the second mass it acts as a torsional soft element.

[rv6ejguy]

There have been several failures of the Gen 3 PSRU. I believe 2 have been on the splined input shaft. There has also been some cracked welds and some less critical bearing wear issues. I believe there are SBs for spline inspection, alignment and lubrication and weld inspection.

Will be interesting to know what happened here for the rest of the flying fleet and whether this had the solid or dual mass flywheel.

Thanks again for posting this information Victor.