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Alpi Pioneer 200 - Jabiru 2200 Engine Failure - Forced Landing on the Beach


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A partial power loss due to a Jabiru 2200 engine failure forced me to land my Alpi Aviation Pioneer 200 (CS-UPK) at low tide on an empty beach in Portugal ...

 

Wonderful landing, without a scratch ...

 

No. 3 cylinder exhaust valve adjuster jumped out during flight ...

 

More details, pictures, video and portuguese authorities (GPIAA) official report in my blog:

 

Pictures of the Landing, Video, Official Report

 

and

 

Pictures of Jabiru 2200 Cylinder Head and loosened Valve Adjuster

 

PS: Use google-translator bar on the right side of the blog page to get english text version ...

 

...

 

 

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Guest ozzie

Great outcome. nice place to land. lucky with those small wheels that they did not dig in.

 

I did cringe when i saw the tow truck rope attached to the nose wheel.

 

This is not a good way to tow an aircraft over soft boggy sufaces. All it takes is for the mains to dig in and a bit more power from the tow and it is so easy to either rip the nose gear out or damage the mount and firwall. I really recommend that in this situation to attach the tow line to to the main gear. One end of the line to the one main down as low near the wheel as you can. Take the other end of the tow line around the front of the nose gear and attach it to the other main gear same as other side. attach a seperate tow line to this in front of the nose gear and attach to tow vehicle. A little weight on the tail to lift the nose would help.

 

This way the loads are distributed at two stronger points.

 

Regards

 

ozzie

 

 

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Great outcome. nice place to land. lucky with those small wheels that they did not dig in.I did cringe when i saw the tow truck rope attached to the nose wheel.

This is not a good way to tow an aircraft over soft boggy sufaces. All it takes is for the mains to dig in and a bit more power from the tow and it is so easy to either rip the nose gear out or damage the mount and firwall. I really recommend that in this situation to attach the tow line to to the main gear..... This way the loads are distributed at two stronger points.

 

Regards

 

ozzie

Very true, Ozzie. It would be awful to survive the FL intact only to do significant damage extricating the machine afterwards.

 

I learned to my sorrow some tme ago that, whilst our aircraft are very strong in the sense they can cope with significant loads in flight, they are very easily damaged by one stupid error on the ground.

 

I had just refuelled and taxied forward to do a U-turn in the space between a new cyclone wire farm fence and a row of parked aircraft - a manouvre I had done many times - but when I applied left brake and rudder the left wheel skidded on wet grass for about 2 metres before grabbing and quickly swinging me around. The tip of the right tailplane caught the wire and the consequent bending moment sprung the longitudinal rib on the left tailplane closest the rudder as well as compressing a stringer at the tail end of the fuselage.

 

The cost of repairs was considerable but the real pain was knowing how easily it could have been prevented... just a little more thought and care!

 

kaz

 

 

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Guest ozzie

I saw it happen very late at night at Bankstown to a Baron. The pilot bogged the aircraft, The fuel truck arrived and there was some discussion between the pilot and refueller. Refueller topped up aircraft then tired a rope around the nose wheel. Pilot fired up both engines and gave it heaps . refueller drove off and when the rope took up the slack the whole nose gear detached from the aircraft and it ended up on the nose. Damage other than nose gear two new props and bulk strip and rebuild of both engines. Both pilot and refueller sacked. I did try and warn them but i was told to %%$# (**. Some people should never be allowed to touch any type of machinery.

 

 

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Ozzie, the Baron incident you mention is prime example of some people not thinking at all. Friends who run a aircraft repair facility (most DH Beavers) talked about a Beaver that crashed and sank near a dock. The locals decided not to wait for the experts (my friends) to get their and lifted the upside down Beaver out of the water using a crane. These locals forgot that the wings were still full of water (you allow the water to drain first then lift), and the weight snapped the wings off. What was a relatively minor problem became a complete rebuild.

 

 

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Guest ozzie

Scone airshow 2004 abouts. soft ground everywhere. RNAC Cessna went into it it at full cry. Man i never seen a prop so twisted up as that one.

 

 

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Duarte, I think all of us are glad that you made a good landing and nobody got hurt. Nothing more important than the latter. Incidentally, I was flying our of Lagos in March taking my British Microlight licence (I have a Canadian as well). At Algarve Airsports. Second time in Portugal and as enjoyable this time as the last (Lisbon 2008).

 

 

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Yes, Gerry's Pioneer. I spent most of my time in the X Air but an hour or so in the Pioneer. I had never flown one before so I wanted some time. What a beautiful flying machine (I own a Rans S6S but am looking for something faster). That was fun to fly.

 

What is the PiperSport like?

 

 

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Yes, Gerry's Pioneer. I spent most of my time in the X Air but an hour or so in the Pioneer. I had never flown one before so I wanted some time. What a beautiful flying machine (I own a Rans S6S but am looking for something faster). That was fun to fly.What is the PiperSport like?

GDL, follow this link to my blog to see a lot concerning the PiperSport, also known as the SportCruiser, built by CSA (Czec Sport Aircraft). I bought it in the same place I met Gerry Breene for the first time, in Monte do Lago. A friend of ours (www.aeromarine.eu) sells them here in Portugal, as well as the NG4 and the Eurofox (Aerotrek).

 

A wonderful LSA airplane (600kgs) with BRS, wing tanks, variable pitch, etc ... , in which I can easily travel nonstop from Lisbon to Barcelona ...

 

PiperSport CS-USE

 

Next time you come to Lagos, tell me so that I fly by to show you the bird ... I have a lot of fun flying it ...

 

Regards

 

098_welcome.gif.81ff07d492568199326e4f64f78d7bc6.gif

 

 

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Hi BlackRod. I had the opportunity to visit last year CSA and Roko in the Czec Republic, and meet Milan, the "brain" of NG4, a SportCruiser derivative. I bought my plane last year in August, flew about 70 hrs with it and am fully satisfied. Like its name says, its a good cruiser.

 

The Sting is also a good plane. It is faster, nicer to play with, but less comfortable for long journeys and has a smaller range ...

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry but I can't get over excited that's old news from mid 2010 isn't it.

 

I had an engine failure once in a Lycoming and I will now never fly in a plane with that engine again. :drool:in cheek!

 

In fact I have had engine failures in 5 different types of engines, including a Rotax 912 but fortunately never a Jabiru 2200 otherwise I would have to burn my plane.:ah_oh:

 

Interesting to note that it was an engine failure ( partial loss of power) and not catastrophic failure which unlike a lot of other types of engines it is either a total failure or the big bang, Jabs usually just chill out.:pokerface:

 

Rick-p 102_wasnt_me.gif.b4992218d6a9d117d3ea68a818d37d57.gif someone else is using my computer!

 

 

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