Thanks for the response guys!
It was an exiting day to say the
least.
At this time of the year there is not a single
boat left on the lake so it took some time before being rescued. The
firemen came and pulled the plane to a local marina where I cut the
hose fixed it and took off again. I knew that taking off again without
checking the engine was risky but I did not want to leave the plane along
the lake for the winter. I made it ok to the airport, about 10
minutes. The engine turned by hand and had all the exhaust pulses and
it did produced full power as usual. It was a good takeoff, my
first on the water.
The oil hose broke at the fitting, (it kind of
sheared and pulled out of the fitting) a mechanic said the outer fitting
ferrule might have been pressed too much and had damaged the hose
itself. In any case this is not the type of hose that should be
used on an aircraft. I had my douts about this type of hose.
Unfortunately, I was right.
Now, there is another thing about this hose. It
is not very far from the exhaust stack (I will measure the distance).
The other hose that connect there is coverd with a fire sleeve, plus wrapped
in foil, because it is closer to the exhaust stack. I will have
to check that more closely. Did not think of this heat damage
possibility before now.
Yes the oil pressure warning LED will be there
on the instrument panel the next time the engine start.
I have Tracy's EM2 and the pressure display
flashes when it is low but there is nothing like a flashing RED light to
attract my attention.
Quite a few lessons learned here and probably
more are coming up!
Back to the hangar!
Rino
-----
Original Message -----
Sent:
Saturday, November 21, 2009 12:35 AM
Subject:
[FlyRotary] Re: Oil Pressure
Great flying,
Rino!! Dead stick landings (having made three in my 10
years) always get my heart rate up a notch not to mention disappearing
seat cushions. Fortunately, the rotary has a lot of bearing area and
can survive longer without adequate oil pressure than most engines – but,
as Lynn said, tear it down, rebuild it and let us know what you
find.
I only use SS
braided lines for oil, fuel AND coolant (I know a bit anal on the coolant
lines being capable of handling 750 psi of coolant pressure), but I have
never had a line break – yet.
Needless to say,
glad you made it down to the lake safely and both you and the aircraft
will fly again.
Welcome to the
club {:>)
Ed.