SEL precautionary landings: what's your experience?

"Tony" wrote in message
oups.com...
[...]
What about those of you with 500 plus hours: what has your experience
been like? Am I just unlucky, or typical?

Probably similar. Like Robert, I wonder why you felt it necessary to make a
precautionary landing when your vacuum pump failed in VMC. Were you flying
under IFR? I was VFR the one vacuum pump failure I experienced, and I not
only completed that flight, but made another one to take the airplane to the
shop to have it repaired ("placarded" inop).

As far as other mechanical problems/precautionary landings go...

I did have a magneto failure. I didn't find out until my next flight. The
only symptom was slightly higher fuel flow for the same power setting. So,
no precautionary landing there, but there would have been had I any idea
what was actually going on.

My most dramatic (as in nerve-wracking) precautionary landing happened right
after a takeoff. During my first turn in the pattern, I felt/heard an
unusual noise combined with a slight drop in power. I immediately told the
tower I needed to land and, while keeping an eye on the runway, nervously
made my way around the pattern.

Everything turned out okay, but it took awhile to figure out what was
actually going on. In fact, it turned out to be two completely unrelated
problems. The first, more serious, was a p-lead that was wearing against a
corner, cutting through the insulation and shorting it out. That didn't get
diagnosed for a few months, until it had worn enough to actually show up
during the run-up.

The other problem, that was actually causing the unusual noise I had
noticed, only recently got resolved. After a few years of complaining about
it, and having the airplane inspected thoroughly numerous times in search of
any problems, my mechanics finally discovered two engine mounts that had
been installed backwards. That had misaligned the engine just enough that,
under just the right conditions, some additional engine vibration made it
through the airframe, causing the noise I was feeling and hearing.

I don't know whether those two problems really count as two events, since
they only resulted in the one landing. I'm not even sure that either one on
its own would have scared me enough to get me to land; for sure, the
combination got my instant attention.

There have been other mechanical issues that, thankfully, were caught during
inspections of the airplane (mostly preflights) and which could have easily
turned into unplanned landings. All told, I'd say that 300 hours per might
be a *little* on the high side for *landings*, but it's a pretty good track
record if you're counting ALL mechanical issues that might have forced a
landing, whether you did make an early one or not. In either case, I doubt
it's far from the average. You'd have to have a lot more mechanical
problems than that to warrant being called "unlucky".

Pete

On 2006-05-22, Tony wrote:
What about those of you with 500 plus hours: what has your experience
been like? Am I just unlucky, or typical?

In around 1200 hours, the following spring to mind:
gryo failure on an IFR flight (but in VMC) - had to stop for the night
because the destination was solid IMC
the odd mag failing run up (usual causes: bad spark plug)
One forced landing due to a stuck valve (occurred at 50 feet AGL during
takeoff, but there was 4000 of remaining runway so it wasn't
particularly dramatic)
A total electrical failure at night during my student night instruction

But that's it.

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"Tony" wrote in message
oups.com...

What about those of you with 500 plus hours: what has your experience
been like? Am I just unlucky, or typical?

I've got a couple. I'll try to remember to post them when I get to 500
hours.

Tony wrote:
I have landed because of mechanical failures maybe once every 300
hours. I had a vacuum pump fail (VMC, I'm happy to say), an alternator
(In the clouds but soft IMC), a magnito failure that took out a bank of
spark plugs (probably IFR, I don't remember for sure) -- things like
that. Nothing really awful, but every one caused me to land a couple of
hours short of my destination. Most of these happend in my own M20J
which was (at least I think it was) well maintained.

I've got about 500 hours. I've had a couple of pilot/static
blockages, several electrical failures, a vacuum pump go (VFR),
several dual magneto failure, and a cylinder blow. I've also
punched a hole in the wing with a turkey buzzard. Stuff happens.

Ron Natalie wrote:



I've got about 500 hours. I've had a couple of pilot/static
blockages,

I had one of those too. Rolling down the runway on takeoff the airspeed
indicator is moving backwards, indicating about 230 mph. The faster I
went the slower I indicated. It took a few flights but eventually the
bug got flushed out of there by the air.

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
m...

I've got about 500 hours. I've had a couple of pilot/static
blockages,.....

Those pilot blockages can be a bitch. Try Ex-Lax.

On 21 May 2006 18:46:21 -0700, "Tony" wrote:
I have landed because of mechanical failures maybe once every 300
hours...
What about those of you with 500 plus hours: what has your experience
been like? Am I just unlucky, or typical?

In the maybe 250 hours in "modern" airplanes, none. In about 350
hours in a 1941 T-Craft, however:
-Engine failure (valve seat came out) on takeoff at about 100', got it
down on the runway with about six inches to spare.
-Precautionary landing on a pier when the full wing tank failed to
feed into the almost empty main tank, with insufficient fuel to cross
the water to the nearest airport. Of course, it started feeding as
soon as I landed so I flew it out the next after MUCH hassle with the
authorities (long story).
-Failure of one magneto, continued to destination.
-Engine failure due to fuel contamination (new fuel truck at the
airport). Landed in a farm field field and only discovered after I
landed that it was an abandoned airport. Flew back out after draining
the sump.
-Throttle cable clevis came loose leaving the engine stuck at cruise
rpm. Landed by blipping the ignition, just like a WWI rotary engine.
-Not a mechanical failure, but I landed in a farm field once when
nature called, then spent about a half hour trying to start the engine
(vapor lock on a very hot summer evening). After near heat exhaustion
from endless hand propping, it finally started and I got home just at
sunset (no electrical system = no lights)

We won't even talk about all the engine failures in ultralights, where
an engine out is usually a non issue.

-Dana.

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In article ,
Dana M. Hague d(dash)m(dash)hague(at)comcast(dot)net wrote:

-Not a mechanical failure, but I landed in a farm field once when
nature called, then spent about a half hour trying to start the engine
(vapor lock on a very hot summer evening). After near heat exhaustion
from endless hand propping, it finally started and I got home just at
sunset (no electrical system = no lights)

We had one mag on our 1945 Champ that would heat up. Not enough time to
cool down during short stops. Installed a draft tube to blow directly
onto the mag cover solved the problem.

A Datsun I had in the 70's has a thermostatically controlled fan
directed at the carburetor. After stopping in a parking lot for about
15 minutes it would vapor lock and not start. Changed fan wiring to
bypass ignition switch so it would run until cool and no more problem.
--
Gene Seibel
Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

I landed my Husky on a dirt road in Wyoming becuase I had to urinate.
Then I took off.