Ed_Wischmeyer
Well Known Member
And my voice did quiver a little bit, so no macho points for me. (I did better with my last emergency 30 years ago...)
Haven't pulled the cowl off yet, so I don't yet know what happened, but here are the facts, hints, and recollections -- not all of which are guaranteed to be correct given the excitement of the moment
* RV-8, a real sweetheart to fly
* O-320 with high compression pistons, P-mags, ECI cylinders
* Last compression check about 8 hours ago, two jugs really good, two okay
* About 8 hours per quart of oil
* Cleaned the belly before takeoff
* 25 minute flight to my former airport to get gas
* Nice aileron roll enroute, nice 3G 360 degree turn to slow down before entering the traffic pattern
* The ATIS said landing runway 33R. Later on in the recording, it said runway 33R closed till further notice. Go figure.
* Groundspeeds 158 - 165 knots as I was vectored around
* Refueled, did not have fuel sampler to check the sumps
* Normal takeoff, but I wondered if I was maybe very slightly down on power. Still had screamin' performance, though
* About seven minutes after takeoff, heard something, felt something like a prop surge
* Declared an emergency, approach control suggested I turn back to former airport rather than continue to home field
* They instructed a right turn to keep me out of the restricted area off to my left that I completely forgot about in the excitement
* Felt several more very minor "prop surges" on the way back
* Power was indicating 25 x 2500, but groundspeed was 136 knots, a 20+ knot loss
* Winds calm on the ground, and apparently very light at low altitude, so the speed drop was probably power, not wind. In any case, I'd seen 158 knots in the same direction a few minutes earlier
* Came into the pattern high to make sure I had the field made, told tower I wanted pattern on the non-standard side so that the runway would be down sun (it was late afternoon).
* Was planning to do my normal end of the runway touchdown, but recalled that a mid-runway touchdown was a better plan in case of total power loss
* While reducing power, it was my impression that the RPMs did not come down as quickly as they normally do with MP reduction, but I'm not sure
* It was my impression that I might have had less prop drag than normal on base and final. In any case, the RV-8 slips really well and I easily had the runway made and plenty of runway left after touchdown, gentle wheel landing within a foot of centerline
* The crash trucks rolled as part of their SOP
* After landing, mag check was fine (P-mags)
* After landing, cycling the prop produced substantially more RPM drop than pre-flight. Then again, I've never cycled the prop after landing.
* Belly of the airplane was clean
* Front seat of the airplane was dry
Any guesses as to what happened? I have no clue at this point, and neither did the AI that I talked with on the phone. I'll pull the cowling tomorrow and see if there's anything obvious...
Haven't pulled the cowl off yet, so I don't yet know what happened, but here are the facts, hints, and recollections -- not all of which are guaranteed to be correct given the excitement of the moment
* RV-8, a real sweetheart to fly
* O-320 with high compression pistons, P-mags, ECI cylinders
* Last compression check about 8 hours ago, two jugs really good, two okay
* About 8 hours per quart of oil
* Cleaned the belly before takeoff
* 25 minute flight to my former airport to get gas
* Nice aileron roll enroute, nice 3G 360 degree turn to slow down before entering the traffic pattern
* The ATIS said landing runway 33R. Later on in the recording, it said runway 33R closed till further notice. Go figure.
* Groundspeeds 158 - 165 knots as I was vectored around
* Refueled, did not have fuel sampler to check the sumps
* Normal takeoff, but I wondered if I was maybe very slightly down on power. Still had screamin' performance, though
* About seven minutes after takeoff, heard something, felt something like a prop surge
* Declared an emergency, approach control suggested I turn back to former airport rather than continue to home field
* They instructed a right turn to keep me out of the restricted area off to my left that I completely forgot about in the excitement
* Felt several more very minor "prop surges" on the way back
* Power was indicating 25 x 2500, but groundspeed was 136 knots, a 20+ knot loss
* Winds calm on the ground, and apparently very light at low altitude, so the speed drop was probably power, not wind. In any case, I'd seen 158 knots in the same direction a few minutes earlier
* Came into the pattern high to make sure I had the field made, told tower I wanted pattern on the non-standard side so that the runway would be down sun (it was late afternoon).
* Was planning to do my normal end of the runway touchdown, but recalled that a mid-runway touchdown was a better plan in case of total power loss
* While reducing power, it was my impression that the RPMs did not come down as quickly as they normally do with MP reduction, but I'm not sure
* It was my impression that I might have had less prop drag than normal on base and final. In any case, the RV-8 slips really well and I easily had the runway made and plenty of runway left after touchdown, gentle wheel landing within a foot of centerline
* The crash trucks rolled as part of their SOP
* After landing, mag check was fine (P-mags)
* After landing, cycling the prop produced substantially more RPM drop than pre-flight. Then again, I've never cycled the prop after landing.
* Belly of the airplane was clean
* Front seat of the airplane was dry
Any guesses as to what happened? I have no clue at this point, and neither did the AI that I talked with on the phone. I'll pull the cowling tomorrow and see if there's anything obvious...