Message-ID: <3F8DEDA1.F294A718@frontiernet.net>
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 21:00:17 -0400
From: Jim Sower <canarder@frontiernet.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: Rotary motors in aircraft <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Subject: Down but not out - repost from Cozy list - RV auto conversion
References: <list-2637758@logan.com>
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Not a rotary, but a boosted RV.  Engine stopped and would not go at ~1000',
flipped in farmer's field.

I dropped Jan off at the St. Louis airport about an hour ago and he is
headed home to Florida.  He flew up on Delta and stayed with us last night.

This morning early we drove the the offices of AIRCO, an accident
investigation and research company headed up by Chad and Bernie Coogan.
They recovered the aircraft from the bean field yesterday and did a great
job of it.

First off, while assisting in the recovery yesterday before Jan arrived, I
received permission from the FAA to remove the cowl and visually inspect the
engine compartment.  The super charger belt and the alternator belt were
both missing.  There were some small pieces of belt in the compartment but
not more that 3 or 4 inches of it.  The other most obvious damage was to the
engine timing belt cover.  It had a hole about 1 inch square and cracks in
the area.  I decided not to go any further with the investigation until Jan
arrived and the FAA was present.

With representatives of the FAA, AVEMCO and AIRCO present, Jan removed the
cover this morning.  Under it we found, tangled up with timing belt, the
alternator belt.  It caused the engine shut down.  We also feel certain the
chain of events started with the SC belt leaving one of its pulleys on the
forward side, forcing itself onto the alternator belt and causing it to
leave its pulley.  How it got inside the cover and tangled up with timing
belt is incredible but it did.  There was no trace of the SC belt as it
probably exited the compartment in flight.

OK, so what about N707DD?

I've decided almost for sure to rebuild the airplane depending on how the $$
numbers work out with the insurance settlement and the cost.  The wings are
in perfect condition, not even a scratch as the airplane went over without
either contacting the ground.  The fuselage is a mess however.  The
longerons are buckled just forward of the instrument panel.  The roll over
structure did its job and held the airplane up enough to wiggle out after I
kicked the side glass out, but is bent slightly.  The VS is crunched badly
and the elevators also have buckles on the bottom skins as the G load must
have been considerable when the VS hit the dirt.

All in all, this was a disappointing week, but we know what caused the event
and there will be a fix for it.  Jan already had it in the works and Robert
Paisley may be testing it at this time.  I had been flying about 10 hours
after adjusting the SC mount angle so it was assumed all was well.

One other item, I am staying with Subaru.  This is a good engine with great
support.  What happened has nothing to do with its basic integrity.  STUFF
happens in this business as we are all experimenters.  We deal with these
events as best we can and move on.

David Domeier
Chesterfield, Missouri

Thanks much for all the e-mails offering help and support.  This is indeed a
great group of people.  Other than a slight stiff neck and a couple bumps on
the head, I am just fine and will fly again.