It Happens to Everyone, Eventually...
Article by Paul Syverson
Well, it happened. On Monday the 4th of April I joined that wonderful club that
no one wants the join….my engine quit. Someone said its not a matter of if but
when. I now believe them. My plane went down really fast. I landed in a field.
It gets really quiet when the engine stops running. It reminded me of my glider
days….but different. The ground comes up at you much quicker.
I went out to the airport for the first time this season with the intention of
flying. It was our first really nice “Quicksilver” day and I intended to take
advantage of it. It was a Monday so Cushing was quiet. The afternoon got windy
and thermally. (you know what I mean) Brad showed up on what he calls a
motorcycle. It’s like a car on two wheels. It has an engine that’s bigger than
my last 3 cars put together. Anyway, we waited around for the wind to break and
it did at about 6. Brad wasted no time in getting his bird up and I was not far
behind. Brad made a pass heading south at about 500 and I noticed that he was
almost going backwards. Winds aloft were cooking but it was calm on the ground.
I took off to the south and I reached 750 ft by the end of the runway. Brad and
I buzzed around doing touch and goes. After my last take-off I headed north
chasing after Brad. I was over the field north of Cushing when I felt a shudder.
I looked around thinking….structural? I was kind of shocked that my head could
turn 180 degrees like a bird. I swear I was looking straight back for signs of
failure. Nothing... Engine temps normal. What the….??? I started to turn back
into the wind towards Cushing when…..shudder….. From the familiar throaty sound
that my engine makes, it started to make a lighter engine sound, about half as
much if you know what I mean. After that it just winded down and turned itself
into a glider. My hand went up to the primer and I turned the key…click! I heard
the starter try but no dice. At this point I realized that I was not going to
make the airport, I was making zero headway in that direction. I remembered
Frank at the Springfield Safety Seminar saying that you “Hafta Afta”. (Have to
always fly the airplane) I remembered all the times Larry cut the juice on the
trainer and simply said “find a place to land”. Well at least I had about 700
feet to think about it. I looked at the ground and found my spot, turned
crosswind so I could land with the rows of last seasons cut corn and put it in.
I have to say the ground approached quite fast, but I kept it together, looking
at my airspeed and keeping it about 45. I guess in hindsight faster would have
been better but pushing the stick that far forward is a strange feeling and
something that you are not used to while flying a normally functioning airplane.
I have practiced “engine outs” on my single while over the runway and made
perfect flared landings. The two-place was a bit different. It loves gravity. I
pulled the stick back just before contact and felt a touch of flare but “THUNK”,
I landed. With a roll-out that felt like the end of a bungee jump it was over.
For some reason I unbuckled and jumped out of the plane with that “I meant to do
that” attitude. I looked around and realized that I couldn’t have been more in
the middle of this field if I tried. Brad made two passes to make sure I was
O.K. I looked at the farmhouse and started to push the plane towards the road.
Seinfeld was on and the farmer was busy…..I’m getting the hell out of here. Phil
and Brad came out with my golf cart and we towed it back across 71 to my hanger.
We drank some beer as it got dark.
In the end, no damage to the airframe but when you manually turn the propeller
it makes a sort of crunching sound. That’s not good is it? Guess I’m getting
into a 582 sooner than I thought.
BTW, thanks to Brad and Phil for the extraction, you can always count on FVFC
members to drop what they are doing and help…what a great club!
Where To Now?
Safety? We DO Need That Steenkin' Safety!