In-Flight Prop Failure

[timothywhigginbotham]

John,

I appreciate the offer to help with the pictures and will indeed take you up on it. I will send you a PM.

I have been very busy working with my insurance to get all required documentation in place. I have also started ordering parts to put my little sweetheart back together.

The repair bill stands at $15,000 if they find nothing wrong with my engine. It is amazing how much damage can be done in such a short amount of time.

Thanks,

Tim

[RV6_flyer]

Props have been lost in flight before. Here are photos that I was sent of an unknown RV-4. Photos are dated January 2003.













As you can tell from the photos, the pilot landed safely. Could have been much worse had the pilot not been near an airport.

[Brantel]

Wow, bet there are some streaks in that seat cushion....wow!

And that is one of them fancy counterweighted props....wow!

[N941WR]

Tim,

It is good to hear you made it down safely!

After removing the engine, I highly recommend you pull the engine mount and give it a complete inspection. Any cracked paint is a sure sign of a cracked tube.

[timothywhigginbotham]

Those pictures make me realize I am very lucky. My damage was small by comparison, just a lot of little stuff. The wood prop is probably why.

I haven?t found any firewall damage. One SS cap plug in an unused hole popped out.

I haven?t decided whether I will pull the engine mount yet. I will inspect with a magnifying glass in the morning and decide then. It didn?t break or bend any of the engine mounts but I did find one bolt that seems to be bent (inner spacer between the biscuits is stuck on the bolt).

I plan to crate and ship my engine out in the morning.

Tim,

[DanH]

Originally Posted by timothywhigginbotham

My damage was small by comparison, just a lot of little stuff. The wood prop is probably why.

That is a wood prop in the above photos. See the lag screw anchors? Standard blade retention technology from ANC-19, the old Aircraft Propeller Handbook.

[wrongway john]

Originally Posted by DanH

That is a wood prop in the above photos. See the lag screw anchors? Standard blade retention technology from ANC-19, the old Aircraft Propeller Handbook.

Wow, huge difference in wood prop failures, that one previously shown looks like a small bomb went off, and Timothy is right with his, he came out pretty lucky. I suppose his prop was mostly thrown clean from the plane. Here’s one of the pics that Timothy sent. Most of the others were small dings and small chips of paint. It looks like his prop was mostly thrown clean from the plane.

One thing that seems encouraging to me is that the engine mounts are holding up, and no one is getting their engine ripped from their plane.

Tim, that looked like a nice 4, and should be one again after you go through the repairs. Thanks for the pics.

[timothywhigginbotham]

[IMG][/IMG]

My 1st flight, 3rd landing. Little did I know the next one would be without my propeller...

And also my 1st picture successfully posted!

Tim

[timothywhigginbotham]

Pictures of my prop problems?

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Tim

[timothywhigginbotham]

Anyone know of a ground adjustable Props Inc. propeller flying or about to fly? If so, they should be notified ASAP. Feel free to forward my e-mail. If they are interested, I would be glad to discuss my experience and also what happened to the RV-8.

Our failures were virtually identical, mine @ 2.1 hours and the 8?s @ 5.8 hours. Neither of us had any warning.

This type of propeller should not be flown.