Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: flyrotary
Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2002 01:01:21 -0500
Message-ID: <redirect-1893330@logan.com>
From: "Ed Anderson" <eanderson@carolina.rr.com>
Subject: Lightening Strikes Six times (or More) Award
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For those of you who could not make it to Tracy Crook's rotary flyin this
October (weather kept me from getting there as well), I just wanted to share
an award certificate I just received in the mail.

It was from Tracy and Laura Crook and it was the "Lightening strikes six
times (or more)" award!
I was honored to receive the award for "..discovering the most unlikely
failure modes in a rotary powered aircraft, including.."

1.  Hung flop tub-Fuel Starvation (and resulting 12NM engine out glide)
2.  Spontaneous Fuel Combustion (Refueling fire - which is why I no longer
use plastic fuel containers)
3.  Ruptured Oil O-Ring(Front cover "O" ring which drops oil pressure to
around 37 psi)
4.  Oil pump key drop out (Scary to have flown around 10 hours with only the
clamping force of the oil shaft pump nut holding the drive sprocket on)
5.  Ballast Coil Resistor Failure (Before I was using Tracy's EFI this
failure not only kill the spark to the leading plugs , but because I was
triggering my HALTECH EFI from that coil it also killed the injectors -
Fortunately this happened on the ground)
6.  Tire Shredding Wheel Pant Hardware (Wheel pant held on to nose wheel
yoke by a bolt on each side - tighten up the bolt to correct loose wheel
pant driving the bolts far enough into the wheel well of the yoke that when
the tire bulged on landing one revolution to the rubber down to the thread)

A few that were forgotten included:

1.  An aborted take off from 80 mph 20-30 feet in the air on a 2300 ft
runway due to a surging engine leaving 300 ft of rubber on the far end of
the runway from touchdown point to the end of the runway where I went 12
feet off into the grass. Only known person to get airborne, abort and get it
stopped on that runway (well almost on the runway) at that air patch.

2.  HALTECH EFI failing a few days after the aborted take off (fortunately
on the ground) resulting in severe flooding of the engine (like streams of
fuel pouring out the exhaust pipes.)  Apparently washed all the oil off the
apex seals and while waiting to replace the HALTECH with Tracy Crooks EC2
fuel injection system the seals apparently rusted slightly (intake manifold
was off) due to the high humidity and all six apex seal froze.  After a
weeks work of reaching through the exhaust ports, I was able to free all but
one.  Finally took the engine off and replaced it with my rebuilt turbo
block

3.  Blew 1/2 quart of oil over the canopy on a 30 minute flight (15 minutes
out oil leak started, turned back ) arrived with no visibility out the front
of the canopy. For once glad to have a strong cross wind which permitted me
to see the runway as I crabbed to compensate for the wind (glad it wasn't
blowing form the opposite direction. Resulting from failure of the Ross PSRU
shaft oil seal.

4. Ordered custom made PSRU shaft oil seal guaranteed to hold 300 psi oil
pressure  costing $65 and waiting six weeks for it, found it leaked worst
than the $9.75 seal.


Well, I could go on but I think you get the idea.  I am certain that Tracy
and Laura would be more than happy to award another "Lightening strikes X
times" next year, but you have to 'fess up at least to Tracy and Laura all
your "adventures".  Besides your story may save somebody's  _ss.

Thanks Tracy and Laura, Sure wish I could have been at the rotary flyin.
Shooting for next year.


Ed Anderson
Matthews, NC
RV-6A N494BW
eanderson@carolina.rr.com