Thank you all for your kind words, wisdom, and support. It has truly meant a lot to read through your experiences and feedback. I'm sad to say due to the reasons listed in the video along with starting a career and moving to a new state, it makes the most sense for me to part ways with this plane :( This certainly won't be the end of the flying adventures and I look forward to sharing more videos with you soon!
Hi Ethan, in France, a while ago, two guys made a small aircraft from scratch powered by a… turbo diesel car engine (the one from the Opel/Vauxhal (GM) Corsa, 1300 cm³ IIRC) which works very well - this was a _very_ interesting reading (although entirely in French) as the diesel engine add security (no magneto + higher altitude possible because of the turbo). One inconvenient is you hardly found gas-oil in each airport, two advantages are gas-oil is cheap and this kind of engine have a very low consumption. I don't remember if they tried it with A1, but it might be possible if it has the same octane grading or if it can be corrected with an additive. If you know somebody _very fluent_ in French or better, a French, who can translate it for you, he must look for : "brest avion moteur diesel opel corsa" and/or "Gaz'aile" (name of the plane, they know have the Gaz'aile II that is using another turbo diesel engine a bit bigger with more power). Their plans were agreed by the DGAC (Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile, d° FAA but for France), which is a very good thing as only very serious state of the art constructions can get this agreement (one of the guy was engineer for the aviation, that helps ;-)
There is nothing wrong with that plane, just something wrong with the engine/prop. If this made you afraid of the plane, then maybe flying is not for you.
@@adamr9215 Wild guess, the engine model cannot be changed and from the video it is its shaft that broke, so I can understand he do not want to repeat this adventure. I don't fear many things (except the sky falling on my head as a Gaulois ;-p), but I wouldn't take the chances either, imagine the same over a large forest or with an endless ground full of big rocks. This is common sens, nothing else.
There are and were airplanes with a car engine, but a car engine is not ideal for an airplane. First of all, the weight of the engine must be taken into account, given that the plane has a calculated center of gravity, if the engine is more heavy the "natural" center of gravity of the plane is shifted. On the other hand, airplane engines do not have the same ignition system, they use magnets and these are autonomous, they do not need an alternator or battery. The magneto is as if it were a dynamo attached to a high-tension coil, but also since they use a redundant system they have 2 magnets, and 2 spark plugs in each cylinder. Obviously, in automobile and airplane engines, there are changes related to technology, I compare the basic carburetor engines and their aeronautical counterparts. Aircraft engines are usually engines with opposed cylinders and double carburetors, with a system to heat the carburetor air and mixture control, the latter also affecting the cooling of the engine while on the ground. Aircraft engines are usually cooled by air, a rich mixture helps by not raising the temperature of the cylinders as much when the plane is on the ground, and therefore the cooling is insufficient. Tons of differences and flight conditions make it convenient to have an engine specifically for aviation and also certified@@hankhulator5007
That's right, you can be more cautious and have a better plane, but "certified" planes also crash. As happened with Sam from Rebuild Rescue, although the plane had 2 engines, one failed and the plane fell, two engines do not help much either (although the Cougar has 2 engines, but they are not very powerful) Being prudent is good, but to save and have something very safe, you can do like John Travolta, buy an old Boeing 737 NG, they are very safe. Although he handled this emergency very well, a good pilot is not only someone who knows how to fly. He is someone with light mechanical skills, who does not take off without even checking that the fuel does not have water. It is also someone who practices with an instructor in certain situations that could happen. For example, when losing spatial orientation due to fog or something and falling into a corkscrew, many panic and kill themselves. Having an engine designed to be used in general aviation? That is being cautious, I hope he is not afraid of flying, that is the main thing after being cautious@@adamr9215
😅 Glad we can all laugh about this. Something we can all learn about. Years ago (when researching KR-2) I learned only wood props should be used on V-Dubs. But I would have thought a technology (some sort of hub dampener) would be available now. However, someone on this thread mentioned it's still a "no, no" to put composite props on VW's.
keep the plane and replace the troublesome engine. you dont have to lose the whole thing just because the engine decided to throw a tantrum. Glad to see youre alive though.
Former VW mechanic here. I would never fly a plane that depends on a VW engine. Props to you for making your flying dreams happen. No pun intended on the props. Glad you made it out unscathed.
My '85 Vanagon's VW 1.9L H4 is a total POS. It leaks oil, is finnicky to tune, and the original West German head gaskets were chemically incompatible with '80's US coolant. Edit: Also, never ever buy a rebuilt or rebuild a VW engine using GEX from AK. They use old, worn-out parts and don't stand behind their warranty. Buy a "new" GoWesty crate engine instead.
OH CONTRAIR , I flew over 850 hours behind a 1915cc Type 1 VW and never had a problem . You have to use a light wood prop that doesn't cause high inertia forces on the Forged Steel crank. Steve Bennett of Great Planes provided some great kits.
You are speaking sacrilegious to be a real westy owner😂, I have a 91 vanagon westfailya😂 you have it right though the gaskets and dextron are enemies, the oil doesn't leak on mine, but the overheat light is stupid, i put the alarm under dashboard, mine is water cooled unlike the air cooled old ones, which you could pull, and easily rebuild in your basement. Good thing about them is they hold value now, actually if they're mint like mine, then they're worth lots more than ppl think. I've rebuilt the propane lines, ac lines, even though they never really worked great, and fridge so you don't have to prime the heck out of. Be happy you have one, and don't sell it
You appeared to have had a composite prop on a direct drive VW & that's a no no. A wood prop will absorb the engine pulses but a carbon prop won't & will eventually break the crank. I've been flying VW engines for 40+ years & never had a crank failure. Sorry to see you give up on this little Sonex after putting so much work.
Not to call into question your significant years of experience, but Sensenich sells composite props for VW conversions. Sonex offers them on their website. I believe they are carbon-fiber-sheathed wooden props. I’m pretty sure this is the type of prop in use on this aircraft. (Edit: A correction; he appears to have a Prince P-tip prop. Maple propeller sheathed in CF.)
I am an AME in Canada and a pilot. i really dont think this airframe is something to be scared of. Put in a new engine and go have fun. Always keep an alternate within gliding distance. I did my ppl 20 years ago, all steam guages no autopilot etc. Your plane has more than you need and you did a great job. Get back out there ! :)
It doesn’t seem like it’s going to suit his mission requirements. The same way you can’t whip a Clydesdale around Preakness and expect to have any success, you can’t expect to make an IFR commuter out of a Sonex by stuffing the panel full of gear. Nothing against Ethan, he showed us something really important here: do not push the design limitations of a machine. I see it all the time in my job fixing industrial fabrication equipment. If it was meant to do X it would be able to do X without the addition of aftermarket parts and 40ft of baling wire.
@@ForgottenSix Have you watched some of the other Clarke & Dawe clips ? If you are an Aussie I have no doubt you would, but if you were in the USA they might seem quite left field. cheers
Trevor Jacob: Badly fakes engine failure and gets arrested for lying to feds about it. Ethan McIntosh: Handles real engine failure like a boss and is transparent.
@ejvitta5879 someone who uses the words "skated" and "extreme sports" in the same sentence is automatically disqualified from having a legit opinion on extreme sports. Unless your name is Tony Hawk, skating is for babies.
Congratulations on the safe landing. I heard you declare an emergency on 121.5 that day but didn't hear the outcome as we were on our way to the west coast and were out of range by the time you landed. I looked it up on the internet the next morning and was happy to hear that you made a safe landing. You sounded calm and professional on the radio.
Former A&P here. This is the first video of yours that I've seen. There's just a couple of points that I want to make. First is you've handled your situation VERY well. Your purchase, your modifications (as far as I can tell) even your in-flight emergency was handled very well. I've seen many pilots (even some professional ones) that handled in-flight emergencies of lesser magnitude poorly, but there you are, in a high stress situation, acing it like just another test at school. Well done! Toward the end, you mention getting out of the Sonex for the reliability of something certificated... I'll tell you a little secret. Just because it's certificated don't mean it's safer. It just means that it has a government seal of approval on it, which means it has been tested and is presumably safer. I'm not sure exactly why your crankshaft suffered a catastrophic failure (perhaps it WAS because of the CF prop.. I don't have knowledge of this) and I don't know what mods were made on yours to make it an aero conversion but I would suggest trying to find the answer to that question before tossing the baby out with the wash water. Several automotive engines have been very successfully used in the aviation world following a good aero conversion. A lot of G/A guys get their nose bent out of shape because someone else is out there flying and didn't have to spend as much as they did (like it's some kind of country club that only rich elites can attend) that don't make those G/A engines safer... I've seen more carnage inside of G/A engines than I care to see, and these days, the costs of those repairs cost more than a good 2 bedroom house used to just a few short years ago. There are only a couple of automotive engines I would consider hanging in front of that firewall. My #2 choice is VW. My #1 choice is Corvair. Having said that, they can both be bad if the wrong practices/parts/conversions are used. How then can one be safe? Always do your research on practices and parts and ALWAYS be careful who you take advice from lots of well meaning people will give advice from where THEY are without knowing all the facts about where YOU are and in spite of their best intentions give advice that's bad for YOU. I wish you well and happy flying.
@ethanmcintosh1777 Former VW mechanic here. I worked on air-cooled VW engines for many years in the 70s and 80s. The crankshaft failure you experienced is a known issue (or at least, was known to those of us that worked on a lot of VW engines back in the day.). I have seen crankshafts develop a hairline crack that quickly develops into a full-on separation. It's been too long so I don't remember where the cracks would commonly occur, but I believe it was in between the lands for rods 3 and 4. I didn't see a huge number of these -- maybe 3 or 4 over the years -- but my memory is that these were all in non-VW (non-OEM) replacement cranks that, in those days, were made in Brazil or Mexico. From my distant memory on this, the concerns had to do with problems with the casting of the crank itself (before each rod bearing was machined during manufacture.) The better German cranks were supposedly x-rayed during final inspection. I don't know if similar procedures were in place for the Brazilian or Mexican cranks. I suspect that these days there are not very many manufacturers still even making crankshafts for these old engines, and it would not surprise me if the quality control procedures that existed back in the day aren't in place. I know for sure, when I have worked on the occasional VW engine for a friend over the past 20 years, that parts are harder to find, with far fewer selection, and some of highly dubious quality. I could imagine that the stress placed on the crank of having a large propeller subject to lateral forces of wind could easily, if there is any kind of hairline fracture or imperfection in the metal casting of the body of the crankshaft, cause the kind of failure you are describing. Back in the day, there were machine shops that specialized in VW performance parts that custom machined VW racing crankshafts from a solid block of steel. These were exquisitely balanced and worked extremely well in VW racing engines. If I were going to work with a VW engine in this application, I would probably seek out a machinist who could make the crank and cam, and find (if they still exist) racing lifters, valves, valve stems, and other key parts. Glad you are OK, and honestly, glad you are turning the page on this phase of your aviation career.
@@ctpctpI can pretty much guarantee that you have greater knowledge of this subject than I do. :D I honestly don't remember exactly how the custom shops that made the racing cranks made them, so they may well have been forged. I do remember that they were incredibly solid and could handle extremely high torque, unlike even the best German cranks of the day.
After noticing the similarities between a Lycoming and my Porsche 911 3.0, I thought why don't they use Porsche power plants in aviation? Turns out they did! Briefly. Too big for a Sonex obviously.
I've raced against air cooled VW engines quite a bit, and you're spot on. When I heard him say they used an automotive VW engine, I wasn't surprised. Crankshaft failure was quite common on those engines.
So young, but stayed so calm and professional on the radio. Not panicking can go a long way. Ive saved quite a few icy out of control slides in a semi truck by remaining calm, once i put it into the guard rail, but on purpose to avoid sliding into a pile of wrecked cars and killing people. Bravo to this young man, nerves of steel!
I began my flying career 53 years ago in a Luscombe 8F. I was in heaven as a 17 yr. old lad who tooled around western Washington between jobs that afforded me the funds for: 1/5th ownership, gas and hanger. (We assesed ourselves funds for our annual as necessary.)) Our club charged ourselves $5/hour "wet"! I finished my career a few years ago from the left seat of a B-747-400... From Luscombe to T-38's to the "Whale" - and all the 20,000+ hours in between, I remain that happy lad who lived a dream. Good luck to you, Ethan. An adventurous life, with many stories to tell, await you.
900 hours myself, CFI CFII and MEI and you handled that situation extremely well! Im very glad you're safe and you sounded confident and calm on the radios. Excellently done, don't let anything deter you from continuing this passion/profession, you're an outstanding example as a pilot and deserve to be recognized as such. Best wishes!
Sorry you had this experience. Im surprised nobody mentioned the REAL issue. The reason that engine failed is because the front crank bearing of the VW engine IS NOT MEANT to support the weight of a prop on it. Looks like you were running a direct drive setup. The prop even when balanced sticks out pretty far from the nose of the engine block, further side loading that little bearing up front. VW engines can be built to be extremely reliable in cars AND aircraft. If you look at the nose of the crank bearing of a Lycoming or any other "certified" engine that runs a prop with direct prop drive, you will see how long and beefed up it is. VW engines nose crank bearing is very small and is made to support the cooling fan pulley only. Ive seen many setups that run the prop on the rear of the engine so that the flywheel faces forward. This bearing would do a much better job of supporting a prop. Also, you could run a reduction box that runs the prop on a stronger, upper shaft, made to support the weight, with the engine driving only a pullley on the front of the crank. Dont sell the whole plane just because of this failure. Especially after all the upgrades you have made. I understand that you might feel spooked, but at least you already know what you have serviced or changed. Buy another plane, and you are buying a whole new set of potential problems. And yes, glad you are ok. Mike
Note that Sonex provides a kit for their AeroVee engine which is based on the VW...not sure how they modify the bearings to support the extra load. On the other hand, Jeremy Monnett, the CEO of Sonex died in a Sonex after an engine failure.
@mikerubenhold1066 Thank you for this comment. Regarding using the airplane again, would you be worried about possible damage from the vibrations before the propeller came off?
It's always nice to hear stories like this. Not that it ended in a failure, but that you walked away unharmed, no one on the ground got hurt, people were kind and stopped to help.
After 57 years and 22,000 hours of flying military, commercial and private, my instinct in daytime VMC rightly or wrongly, is immediately to reduce power at the first hint of trouble and start looking for somewhere to make an emergency landing. I never assume that I'll be able to reach an airport and during the descent I try to analyse the problem. Vibration such as you've described can only originate in the engine, so getting down safely would be my highest priority. Nevertheless you did extremely well the way you handled things, not least because you were deliberately following a road. This is my ten cents worth and I'm sure that others will have different philosophies.
@@s0kulite Do you guys realize what a safety hazard it is to innocent public to land an airplane on a public highway? Even if you could pull up and try again, it's still way out of bounds. Please don't terminate my Freedom and Liberty with yours. In other words: Please don't take it so lightly. I'd be scared to death if I looked up and saw an airplane making a landing on a road that I was on. Please guys, remember the innocent shouldn't have to become part of your folly.
@@benjamincresswell3713 We all know it’s a safety hazard, that’s a *emergency* landing. Do you need to flip through the Oxford English Dictionary to find the meaning of the word “emergency”? Shut up, quit virtue signaling.
Speaking as a CFI, I'm absolutely in awe of the ADM and professional attitude you display in this breakdown. I can only imagine how disappointed and frustrated this outcome must have left you, but i hope you take some well-earned pride in how you've handled all of this. You *absolutely* have the mindset of a career aviator, and I wish you fair skies wherever the rest of your journey takes you.
I'm so sorry this happened, must be devastating... Have you considered mounting a more reliable/certified engine? Sonex makes a Rotax 912 mount for legacy aircraft.
from one Indiana university (ND) grad to another (Purdue) -- all of this is in the greatest tradition of the best engineers Purdue has ever produced, man. you should be incredibly proud not only of what you've accomplished so far with this aircraft, but the absolute-zero icewater you clearly had in your veins when dealing with one of the worst emergencies any pilot could ever encounter. really glad you're okay - Boiler up and keep kicking ass.
Decades ago on the Friday night before a home football game, the fountain in front of Hovde Hall was found pumping a green fluid. They said it only food coloring but no one was found culpable. Other than my XO on USS Mahan DDG 42, I haven’t much liked those South Bend Irish since. But this guy sounds like he might be okay. I’m guessing a smaller plane like yours may present unique options in a pinch that would be denied others deemed ‘more capable.’ A review of every component in every system to ensure compatibility could replace culpability with more certainty. I guess I’m seconding this Irish. Something that has helped me in the sort of crisis you experienced is to believe the indicators and fall back on training. Oh yeah, also, since you’re already dead, there’s nothing to fear. I appreciated the inclusion of your declaration of emergency radio call. Seems to me like you had all three of my tips top of mind. No prop? Well, it could always be worse. It could be snowing. Well done all around, now get on those systems and see if she might not be able to get you safely down a few more times. Best of luck but skills are the ticket.
Can't wait to see you fly again! Your dad is a fucking legend for checking up on you, this is why I keep find my iPhone on. Massive props to him; even before you landed he knew something was up, and that means he's a proper fucking awesome person. He was checking on you while you were actively in flight and realized something was off, that's almost inhuman
The good thing about your first single engine light aircraft engine failure is that it gets you past the surprise factor when the thing ceases to work as advertised for the first time, and that it's now up to the pilot to get it to a survivable stop. After, when later emergencies happen with more complex aircraft the pilot is conditioned to more smoothly react and hit the checklists with more brain space available. You're valuable. Your level of professionalism with maintaining and flying the aircraft, and with this video, is outstanding. Any civilian or military flying organisation on the planet would want you to fly for them (after doing a pile of paperwork).
I’ve owned 4 different VW powered aircraft, never had a crankshaft fail like that, I have a friend whose Continental O -200 failed like that. Great landing well done.
I like how responsible you are at admitting you made an error and are informing people that with these machines, you truly get what you pay for. Very humbling. I’d trust you to teach me. Keep flying my friend! The honesty and education of possible errors is super important for any teacher to admit and recognize.
I'm from Olean, and passed your plane on my way to Ellicottville. I'm so glad that everything turned out alright, and that you're okay. I hope you make another visit out this way sometime, and get to enjoy what we have. Letchworth State Park is lovely and worth a visit. By land or air. Also, thank you for saying Olean correctly!
If you are ever back in town, stop by the cop shop with a few dozen donuts and some good coffee. The cop that responded did you a HUGE favor contacting the land owner. I am not a local I just know no matter how much they deny it to outsiders, cops really do love coffee and donuts.
PRACTICE YOUR PFLs PEOPLE!!!!! This was an amazing outcome and demonstrates great airmanship. I am going to book a lesson to just smash a load of force landings out. Great work chap, sounds like you haven't let it get to you. Keep on flying and enjoying doing so. Inspiration to us pilots and non pilots.
Lol, he was simply lucky. You can't practise for propeller falling off and breaking off your tail or something and you spinbarreling to death. A glider is no harder to control than any other plane, the only difference is you can't pull up. If you wanted to practise you'd work on opening cockpit mid-flight and jumping out with a parachute.
@@shinobuoshino5066 another absolutely insane person talking about nothing they know about, I'm sure you'll tell me all about how you "know" things you actually don't though
Almost had a "propeller separation" back in the 90's. Long story, but basically bought a Great Planes 2180VW motor built for me & a buddy that went in on a experimental aircraft project. Since the propeller pitch is something that needs to be specific for the application, we decided to go with a 3 blade ground adjustable carbon prop. After a few hundred hours, while pushing it back into the hangar, the prop had a little "wiggle" to it. At first I thought that the motor mounts were softened up because of the heat of the summer day, but no...closer inspection revealed a fractured crankshaft. When I took it apart there was only about a 1/4" square left that was holding it together. The nose of the crank came off in my hand when I pried out the keyway. The "experts" told me it broke because the carbon propeller assembly had too much rotational (disk) stress and I should have been using a wood prop (lighter and able to adsorb some vibrations). I bought a new (replacement) forged Skat crankshaft, had it magnafluxed, then rebuilt the motor. It ran fine with the new wood prop but looking back, (at the time) probably should have spent the extra $$ and bought the BRAND NEW Rotax 912, that just came out. Glad that you were able to land safely!! And without any other issues... (power lines,cars,trees...ect). Be safe!!
Wow, glad you had the foresight to look ionto it instead of "it'll be fine". What's the deal with props on these? I'm aware that cranks are hard as a rock, are they too hard?, too many bolts?, are there dowel pins that align it? and just let the bolts hold it in place? Crazy to hear of one broken crank, leat alone 2, that means it's common...
On a VW motor (like in a beetle) the flanged end, (with dowel pins & bolts) is where the flywheel and starter ring gear go.That's the back of the motor in a aircraft conversion (firewall side). The front (where the prop goes) is the tapered end of the crankshaft with a big threaded hole inside. This taper is where a aftermarket flange is mounted to accept the propeller. There is a key that helps index the hub to the crankshaft, but the taper fit actually keeps the hub from spinning on the crankshaft end. The big bolt holds the hub on tight. In my case the fracture started (stress riser) from a corner point where the key way was machined. The crankshafts for this conversion are forged and very strong, designed for a performance automotive racing application (without any warranties). You would think that operating at much lower RPM's vs in a racing environment, this kinda thing would last forever. But not with the added propeller loading. @@dc6233
hey, let us know what airplane you get, I started flying 50 years ago, had to give it up for health reasons, glad to see your video, kinda reminds me of my self and my adventures, I met the best people while on my journey, makes me sad, but that shows you made a good touching video, I stand and salute you
Glad you’re okay! Do you know what the actual point of failure was with the camshaft? Did a fastener fail or did the metal of the shaft itself fail from stress/fatigue?
Looking at the video at 0:49, at the very least the crankshaft ended up failing. There have been crankshaft failures on Aerovee engines in the past that were initiated by the loosening of the propeller hub bolt that goes into the end of the crank, but I belive this was on an older style of crankshaft with a tapered snout. In any case, the hub loosening or failing could have put enough vibration and fatigue into the first main journal of the frank that it ended up driving the failure to that location.
Unfortunately the cause of failure is still unknown :( The most likely theories according to the Sonex forums are improper assembly of the crank hub, fatigue cracks, or a blockage of oil to the front bearing. This plane also had an older model crankshaft which has sense been redesigned.
As a pilot myself, God bless you were able to land without any loss of life or injuries. I think that sums it up. Definitely a learning experience but not one I would want to face. You did well. Please take some lessons from it.
I watched your first video when it came out, and I also saw the " You can't park there" tik tok and I had no idea that was you! What a wild thing to have happen on your first major flight away from home. Glad you're ok
I'm so glad you were able to land safely! I stumbled upon your "Flying the most affordable airplane across America" video and was hooked by your storytelling and videography, I went looking for more videos and was really bummed to see this one (but happy you're alright)! Definitely looking forward to your future videos, you have really great vibes. Wishing you luck with your move and new career :)
While this must have been wild for you, I can imagine how your dad’s heart must have dropped if he was tracking your location right at that moment… The thoughts that went through his mind and the sheer panic. Glad you are safe man - I literally just watched your other video of the half-cross country trip, not thirty minutes ago lol.
I am glad to hear you're okay. I recently found your first video with this plane and am sad to hear this plane's journey was short lived but fortunate that yours will still continue with your passion for flying. I thoroughly enjoy your story telling and look forward to your future endeavors. Stay safe out there, you made the tough but smart choice to retire this plane.
DON'T GIVE UP! fix the engine, take it apart and put it back together again, you'll find the parts that need replacing, then take the whole plane apart, do a major inspection. After that, it will be safe flying it again. This is the lesson to learn, those who succeed, didn't succeed the first time the tried.
@@bbsara0146If he can afford it that certainly is a way to go, yet I am thinking, regardless of that, if you really want to become a great pilot, the more you know about your plane, the better.
He concluded the video by said that flying at night/ifr with an uncertified engine would impose a risk most pilots deem too high, and that finding that out was eye opening. That was the lesson.
Dude, I think this is an excellent take. You see it all the time with content creators who ignore these types of risks for clout or content or because they are in too deep money wise. It's good to see you have a solid grasp of what is important, where you went wrong with it, and are accepting of the situation even if it's not in your favour. Just take what you have learned from this and continue to grow! Now you know a lot of things you didn't before and can use that on your next endeavour!
I wondered how such a young man handled an engine failure and highway landing so calmly, then I heard you are a flight instructor. Good for you. But I chuckled when your plan is to move to a certified engine to avoid problems. My first in flight engine failure was with a Lycoming 0-320 with only 320 hrs smoh. Tappets were polished and reused during overhaul, a practice thats no longer permitted. With no warning the cam lobes went and I could not maintain altitude over a lake. Barely made it to a tiny airport. Second failure was due to horrible A&P who plumbed a drain port from the ED pump to a pressure port on the fuel servo. Engine suddenly quit and I was on glide on my very first flight in that airplane. Barely made an airport. Thats two failures with certified engines. I'm sure your experience has taught you something very valuable- that you remain cool under pressure! Excellent.
I haven't landed any dead planes but see this common thread in failed engines: A rebuild. Similarly to Tesla autos commonly having replacement motors/batteries being sold just prior to the end of warranty, planes tend to crash just after a rebuild. Avoid Teslas, and have someone else put on at least 50 hours post rebuild, 300 is better from what I've gathered.
when you said Maine to Indiana I laughed, because I moved from Indiana to Maine and never looked back, I'm loving it out here in Maine glad you are ok. It's been a bucket list item of mine to go flying sometime
I'm so glad youre okay man. I started following you after your video about your trip to Maine in this plane. I live in southern Maine and am studying to get my PPL. I'm just glad you landed safely and are okay buddy. Godspeed!
SIMPLY BRILLIANT BRO!!! DONT EVER PLAY DOWN THE ACTIONS THAT YOU TOOK DURING THIS FLIGHT, YOUR ALIVE BECAUSE OF SKILL, LUCK HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. AND DONT EVER LET SOMEONE TELL YOU ANYTHING DIFFERENT!!! KEEP UP WITH YOUR VIDEOS... LIFE IS MUCH BETTER AT 10,000 FT. AND ABOVE!!!
Glad you're okay man what a pucker factor!!! First video I've seen from your channel, I can already tell you were raised right, very mature for your age. Crap happens but you got to get back on the horse, I wish you safe flying!
I will bet that bro's major in college is not Mechanical Engineering or similar, because if it was, I would not expect him to say that the crankshaft failure was "unrelated" to the vapor lock issue, due to the fact that the crankshaft (very likely) failed due to fatigue, which the lean combustion mixtures caused by intermittent vapor lock in the fuel lines would have significantly contributed to, by causing abnormal combustion such as preignition and knock that likely applied counter-acting forces to it, especially since he indicated that the issue occurred for a significant amount of time before it was mitigated. Anyway, I'm very glad he's OK and I have much respect for him and his efforts, ambition, and wherewithal.
I'm no expert, but I think your probably on the right track. The pictures definitely looked like a fatigue failure and lean combustion can wreak havoc on an engine. I found an FAA pdf from 2019 on the dangers of pre-ignition and detonation and the extreme stresses it can put on an engine. "Both pre-ignition and detonation put tremendous mechanical stress on the engine," source: faasafety.gov/files/notices/2019/Jul/Preignition.pdf
I agree, the engine was assumed reliable after it was run in a way that basically beat the crap out of it. It will be interesting to see what the report says.
Can we get an engine failure analysis? Crankshafts don't just break and from the look of the failure it looks like a fatigue failure, something that again should never happen to a crankshaft since they are typically made from a hardened steel that due to the thickness and hardening has an infinite fatigue life, especially in an airplane where the forces are all in tension, essentially trying to pull the crankshaft out of the engine, again hardened steel is extraordinarily strong in tension and should've easily handled any load applied. The crankshaft had to have been damaged at some point, potentially something smacking the propeller causing a slight bend in the shaft which led to a fatigue crack that expanded over time, causing the vibrations and eventual failure. Another person (@calchip) here mentioned the potential of a casting failure specifically in VM cranks in that engine and that could certainly cause it.
Yes, however you have to notice that this is not an engine built for aircraft but rather a general purpose engine that works in an aircraft, for a while. But has the crankshaft is not actually built to support a prop, much less one that will be freespinning and pulling a large weight forward. Most likely tension went over yield strength and developed a hairline crack. Then all you needed was a long flight to exacerbate that crack.
Crankshafts do just break though. I've had two engines fail in this way - in cars! Losing the crankshaft pulley with the end of the crank, you can drive on for a minute or two but without charging or more importantly cooling. Sump oil also pours out of the hole. The failure mode is fatigue or fretting around the front bearing. Those were high mileage situations but I would consider it foolish to add the vibration and gyroscopic effects to a shaft and bearing arrangement that can fail with just a small pulley and V-belt on it. It's just not designed for a prop. Glad Ethan got away with it!
@@EvanTuer I've personally never seen it but I can understand it happening with a v-belt instead, with a v-belt or pulley the crankshaft is always being cycled from being in tension to being in compression, which is a lot of fatigue load. For a propeller the crankshaft should always be in tension, and steel is strongest in tension. I can understand the bearing or seal failing due to too much tension but that's about it. I don't see a reason that the engine couldn't be able to handle a propeller, unless either the propeller was extremely out of balance or the crankshaft had some sort of damage.
Excellent job!! Very glad you were able to get it on the ground safely. ATC is freaking awesome. I was flying in a CAP 172 about 10 years ago and trying to avoid weather in the dark which long story short, didn't work out too well and I had to divert after losing visibility. At the time I was not IFR rated. ATC stayed with me the whole way and certainly helped me get to the ground in once piece. Those guys are the best. Never got to thank him and always felt bad for that.
Great job, Ethan - and thank you for sharing your story. It will inspire other pilots to think through - and hopefully chair fly - what they would do in a similar situation and could very well save lives. I look forward to your future adventures.
Well done sir. Don’t let it discourage you. You clearly have a smart head on your shoulders. You’ll figure your way through and get to live your dream. Might just take longer than planned.
Ethan, glad you're ok, sorry to see your plane broken. A lot of the people would like to see what damage was done and where the crank broke. Could you do a video of the tear down of the engine? Maybe Sonex would do an inspection and comment on why the crank broke. I think a lot of people flying VWs would appreciate what happened and why. Thanks Tom B.
Happy to hear you're OK and great job with the emergency landing, where there was little room for error. Sorry this had to be the end for your project with this plane - hope you decide to move on to another one. After 45+ years of flying I'm medically grounded, and really enjoy your videos. I had a few forced landings myself, and non-pilots don't realize the pressure you're under in such situation. Your life is on the line, you only get one shot at it and a LOT of things can go wrong, many of which you have no control over. You obviously did the most important thing (that many pilots screw up) and kept flying the airplane. Good luck with your aviation future.
You did excellent putting it down safely. I hope you push forward in your journey. Despite the rough flight, it looks like the airframe is still solid and did you a great service. Hopefully you change your mind on it and it can serve you again with a different engine.
I love that you had a dream and made it happen. While you did have a catastrophic failure you couldn't ask for a better outcome of safely landing on a roadway. Don't be yourself up too badly about the Aerovee failing, I have seen a Mooney's O-360's engine throw a rod through the side of the case in flight and the pilot tried to land on a road only to have a powerline snag his vertical stab and nose into the pavement from 30' (he lived but was banged up badly).
That´s one of the scariest things that could happen while on plane! I´m so happy you managed it perfectly and you had luck for amazing people around you (police, traffic controller,...) which seem not to add towards stressfull situation.
You did well getting it down. As someone working in aviation now, this is something that ALWAYS scares me. Even though I'm not a manned pilot right now (likely to change soon) and work with our experimental drone projects, emergency landings on the big birds are really scary. I've had to bring a lot of smaller (sub 50kg) drones down with engine failures and oh my god it is so scary to think about what kind of damage you could cause. I do think with your goals a new plane might be the way to go. We work with Groppo and Eurofly and can't recommend their light sport aircraft enough. They are absolutely wonderful planes.
Ethan, so sorry to hear about the plane. But it more important you handled it very well and even more importantly you are safe. You can always get another plane, take you time and select the right plane on the future.
Don’t know a thing about plains. Spending half the video admits to your faults and making other people aware. I admire that! Good on you also congratulations on your safe emergency landing
Great story and well put together video. You hooked me with the incident, but the aircraft construction and the work you put in was fascinating. Wishing you safe and fulfilling adventures in the future.
Holy shit man, that's a crazy story! Glad you and everyone around you were safe and nobody was hurt or nothing damaged (except the plane unfortunately)
So sorry to hear about the loss of your aircraft, but I'm happy you're safe! You've made an excellent point about the difference between "legal" and "safe". Hopefully others wil take this to heart when it comes to custom mods and may save a life or two.
I'm in the same exact journey as you. Just a few years older and few years behind, haha. My goal was also to buy an affordable plane and "scrounge" old but working parts to get an IFR capable plane. I have my plane, also experimental, but I have to finish the build. All of the avionics you mentioned are on my list as well. Glad you're safe, and it sucks to hear the end of this project. I'm sure with your attitude, you'll be back up in the air soon enough.
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Thank you all for your kind words, wisdom, and support. It has truly meant a lot to read through your experiences and feedback. I'm sad to say due to the reasons listed in the video along with starting a career and moving to a new state, it makes the most sense for me to part ways with this plane :( This certainly won't be the end of the flying adventures and I look forward to sharing more videos with you soon!
Hi Ethan, in France, a while ago, two guys made a small aircraft from scratch powered by a… turbo diesel car engine (the one from the Opel/Vauxhal (GM) Corsa, 1300 cm³ IIRC) which works very well - this was a _very_ interesting reading (although entirely in French) as the diesel engine add security (no magneto + higher altitude possible because of the turbo). One inconvenient is you hardly found gas-oil in each airport, two advantages are gas-oil is cheap and this kind of engine have a very low consumption. I don't remember if they tried it with A1, but it might be possible if it has the same octane grading or if it can be corrected with an additive.
If you know somebody _very fluent_ in French or better, a French, who can translate it for you, he must look for : "brest avion moteur diesel opel corsa" and/or "Gaz'aile" (name of the plane, they know have the Gaz'aile II that is using another turbo diesel engine a bit bigger with more power).
Their plans were agreed by the DGAC (Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile, d° FAA but for France), which is a very good thing as only very serious state of the art constructions can get this agreement (one of the guy was engineer for the aviation, that helps ;-)
There is nothing wrong with that plane, just something wrong with the engine/prop. If this made you afraid of the plane, then maybe flying is not for you.
@@adamr9215 Wild guess, the engine model cannot be changed and from the video it is its shaft that broke, so I can understand he do not want to repeat this adventure.
I don't fear many things (except the sky falling on my head as a Gaulois ;-p), but I wouldn't take the chances either, imagine the same over a large forest or with an endless ground full of big rocks. This is common sens, nothing else.
There are and were airplanes with a car engine, but a car engine is not ideal for an airplane. First of all, the weight of the engine must be taken into account, given that the plane has a calculated center of gravity, if the engine is more heavy the "natural" center of gravity of the plane is shifted. On the other hand, airplane engines do not have the same ignition system, they use magnets and these are autonomous, they do not need an alternator or battery. The magneto is as if it were a dynamo attached to a high-tension coil, but also since they use a redundant system they have 2 magnets, and 2 spark plugs in each cylinder. Obviously, in automobile and airplane engines, there are changes related to technology, I compare the basic carburetor engines and their aeronautical counterparts. Aircraft engines are usually engines with opposed cylinders and double carburetors, with a system to heat the carburetor air and mixture control, the latter also affecting the cooling of the engine while on the ground. Aircraft engines are usually cooled by air, a rich mixture helps by not raising the temperature of the cylinders as much when the plane is on the ground, and therefore the cooling is insufficient.
Tons of differences and flight conditions make it convenient to have an engine specifically for aviation and also certified@@hankhulator5007
That's right, you can be more cautious and have a better plane, but "certified" planes also crash. As happened with Sam from Rebuild Rescue, although the plane had 2 engines, one failed and the plane fell, two engines do not help much either (although the Cougar has 2 engines, but they are not very powerful)
Being prudent is good, but to save and have something very safe, you can do like John Travolta, buy an old Boeing 737 NG, they are very safe. Although he handled this emergency very well, a good pilot is not only someone who knows how to fly. He is someone with light mechanical skills, who does not take off without even checking that the fuel does not have water. It is also someone who practices with an instructor in certain situations that could happen. For example, when losing spatial orientation due to fog or something and falling into a corkscrew, many panic and kill themselves. Having an engine designed to be used in general aviation? That is being cautious, I hope he is not afraid of flying, that is the main thing after being cautious@@adamr9215
The propeller in an airplane is actually just for keeping the pilot cool. You can see the pilots start to sweat when it falls off.
😂
lol
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Like the "Jesus" ! nut on the main rotor of a helicopter..!
😅
Glad we can all laugh about this. Something we can all learn about. Years ago (when researching KR-2) I learned only wood props should be used on V-Dubs. But I would have thought a technology (some sort of hub dampener) would be available now.
However, someone on this thread mentioned it's still a "no, no" to put composite props on VW's.
keep the plane and replace the troublesome engine. you dont have to lose the whole thing just because the engine decided to throw a tantrum. Glad to see youre alive though.
Former VW mechanic here. I would never fly a plane that depends on a VW engine.
Props to you for making your flying dreams happen.
No pun intended on the props. Glad you made it out unscathed.
“Props to you”, heh
My '85 Vanagon's VW 1.9L H4 is a total POS. It leaks oil, is finnicky to tune, and the original West German head gaskets were chemically incompatible with '80's US coolant.
Edit: Also, never ever buy a rebuilt or rebuild a VW engine using GEX from AK. They use old, worn-out parts and don't stand behind their warranty. Buy a "new" GoWesty crate engine instead.
OH CONTRAIR , I flew over 850 hours behind a 1915cc Type 1 VW and never had a problem . You have to use a light wood prop that doesn't cause high inertia forces on the Forged Steel crank. Steve Bennett of Great Planes provided some great kits.
You are speaking sacrilegious to be a real westy owner😂, I have a 91 vanagon westfailya😂 you have it right though the gaskets and dextron are enemies, the oil doesn't leak on mine, but the overheat light is stupid, i put the alarm under dashboard, mine is water cooled unlike the air cooled old ones, which you could pull, and easily rebuild in your basement. Good thing about them is they hold value now, actually if they're mint like mine, then they're worth lots more than ppl think. I've rebuilt the propane lines, ac lines, even though they never really worked great, and fridge so you don't have to prime the heck out of. Be happy you have one, and don't sell it
@@charleswesley3642 "never had a problem" the first problem is the engine needing a light wood propeller so the engine doesnt fall apart
You appeared to have had a composite prop on a direct drive VW & that's a no no. A wood prop will absorb the engine pulses but a carbon prop won't & will eventually break the crank. I've been flying VW engines for 40+ years & never had a crank failure. Sorry to see you give up on this little Sonex after putting so much work.
Not to call into question your significant years of experience, but Sensenich sells composite props for VW conversions. Sonex offers them on their website. I believe they are carbon-fiber-sheathed wooden props. I’m pretty sure this is the type of prop in use on this aircraft.
(Edit: A correction; he appears to have a Prince P-tip prop. Maple propeller sheathed in CF.)
Jabiru offers a carbon fibre prop for their engines as well.
Good information to know. :)
You really know your stuff.
I love VW engines.
@@todaywefly4370 Jabiriu's arent vw based.
I am an AME in Canada and a pilot. i really dont think this airframe is something to be scared of. Put in a new engine and go have fun. Always keep an alternate within gliding distance. I did my ppl 20 years ago, all steam guages no autopilot etc. Your plane has more than you need and you did a great job. Get back out there ! :)
All the deep and severe vibration before the prop exited the chat would make me suspicious of every bolt and fastener on that airframe.
It doesn’t seem like it’s going to suit his mission requirements. The same way you can’t whip a Clydesdale around Preakness and expect to have any success, you can’t expect to make an IFR commuter out of a Sonex by stuffing the panel full of gear. Nothing against Ethan, he showed us something really important here: do not push the design limitations of a machine. I see it all the time in my job fixing industrial fabrication equipment. If it was meant to do X it would be able to do X without the addition of aftermarket parts and 40ft of baling wire.
100% agree
Strongly disagree, he just needs a more reliable engine. Maybe something flat and japanese like a subaru@@sithticklefingers7255
Agree. Tech in the US says get another dub engine and wood prop and fly the snot out of this airplane.
"What happened?"
"The front fell off."
Have you been watching "Clarke & Dawes" ?? re unsafe oil tankers ..
That's not very typical, I'd like to make that point.
@@ForgottenSix Have you watched some of the other Clarke & Dawe clips ? If you are an Aussie I have no doubt you would, but if you were in the USA they might seem quite left field.
cheers
classic. At least the guy with the chains helped haul the plane outside the environment.
seemingly.
Trevor Jacob: Badly fakes engine failure and gets arrested for lying to feds about it.
Ethan McIntosh: Handles real engine failure like a boss and is transparent.
Big difference ey.
Knew I was remembering something similar. Appreciate that.
I have skated with Trevor. Dude is a jack of all extreme sports
😀😃😆😅🤣😂🤪
@ejvitta5879 someone who uses the words "skated" and "extreme sports" in the same sentence is automatically disqualified from having a legit opinion on extreme sports.
Unless your name is Tony Hawk, skating is for babies.
Congratulations on the safe landing. I heard you declare an emergency on 121.5 that day but didn't hear the outcome as we were on our way to the west coast and were out of range by the time you landed. I looked it up on the internet the next morning and was happy to hear that you made a safe landing. You sounded calm and professional on the radio.
what were you flying?
@@dabneyoffermein595 an aircraft 👍
I was a naval aviator. I can only hope I would have handled this emergency as well as you did. Nice job young man, and don't give up!
spoiler alert: you wouldn't, handyman
Former A&P here. This is the first video of yours that I've seen. There's just a couple of points that I want to make. First is you've handled your situation VERY well. Your purchase, your modifications (as far as I can tell) even your in-flight emergency was handled very well. I've seen many pilots (even some professional ones) that handled in-flight emergencies of lesser magnitude poorly, but there you are, in a high stress situation, acing it like just another test at school. Well done!
Toward the end, you mention getting out of the Sonex for the reliability of something certificated... I'll tell you a little secret. Just because it's certificated don't mean it's safer. It just means that it has a government seal of approval on it, which means it has been tested and is presumably safer. I'm not sure exactly why your crankshaft suffered a catastrophic failure (perhaps it WAS because of the CF prop.. I don't have knowledge of this) and I don't know what mods were made on yours to make it an aero conversion but I would suggest trying to find the answer to that question before tossing the baby out with the wash water. Several automotive engines have been very successfully used in the aviation world following a good aero conversion. A lot of G/A guys get their nose bent out of shape because someone else is out there flying and didn't have to spend as much as they did (like it's some kind of country club that only rich elites can attend) that don't make those G/A engines safer... I've seen more carnage inside of G/A engines than I care to see, and these days, the costs of those repairs cost more than a good 2 bedroom house used to just a few short years ago.
There are only a couple of automotive engines I would consider hanging in front of that firewall. My #2 choice is VW. My #1 choice is Corvair. Having said that, they can both be bad if the wrong practices/parts/conversions are used.
How then can one be safe? Always do your research on practices and parts and ALWAYS be careful who you take advice from lots of well meaning people will give advice from where THEY are without knowing all the facts about where YOU are and in spite of their best intentions give advice that's bad for YOU.
I wish you well and happy flying.
i wonder if anyone actually read all of that
Whenever an aviation mechanic writes something, I have time to read every word.
My brother built an experimental aircraft with a totally rebuilt Suzuki snowmobile engine.
+1 on not scrapping the plane because the engine went south. I'd be sourcing a new engine.
I have a Corvair sitting around. Would you care to share what makes those engines good for aviation?
@ethanmcintosh1777 Former VW mechanic here. I worked on air-cooled VW engines for many years in the 70s and 80s. The crankshaft failure you experienced is a known issue (or at least, was known to those of us that worked on a lot of VW engines back in the day.). I have seen crankshafts develop a hairline crack that quickly develops into a full-on separation. It's been too long so I don't remember where the cracks would commonly occur, but I believe it was in between the lands for rods 3 and 4.
I didn't see a huge number of these -- maybe 3 or 4 over the years -- but my memory is that these were all in non-VW (non-OEM) replacement cranks that, in those days, were made in Brazil or Mexico. From my distant memory on this, the concerns had to do with problems with the casting of the crank itself (before each rod bearing was machined during manufacture.) The better German cranks were supposedly x-rayed during final inspection. I don't know if similar procedures were in place for the Brazilian or Mexican cranks.
I suspect that these days there are not very many manufacturers still even making crankshafts for these old engines, and it would not surprise me if the quality control procedures that existed back in the day aren't in place. I know for sure, when I have worked on the occasional VW engine for a friend over the past 20 years, that parts are harder to find, with far fewer selection, and some of highly dubious quality.
I could imagine that the stress placed on the crank of having a large propeller subject to lateral forces of wind could easily, if there is any kind of hairline fracture or imperfection in the metal casting of the body of the crankshaft, cause the kind of failure you are describing.
Back in the day, there were machine shops that specialized in VW performance parts that custom machined VW racing crankshafts from a solid block of steel. These were exquisitely balanced and worked extremely well in VW racing engines. If I were going to work with a VW engine in this application, I would probably seek out a machinist who could make the crank and cam, and find (if they still exist) racing lifters, valves, valve stems, and other key parts.
Glad you are OK, and honestly, glad you are turning the page on this phase of your aviation career.
Wouldn't a forged crank, usually made from 4140, be better than one fully cut from a billet?
@@ctpctpI can pretty much guarantee that you have greater knowledge of this subject than I do. :D I honestly don't remember exactly how the custom shops that made the racing cranks made them, so they may well have been forged. I do remember that they were incredibly solid and could handle extremely high torque, unlike even the best German cranks of the day.
After noticing the similarities between a Lycoming and my Porsche 911 3.0, I thought why don't they use Porsche power plants in aviation? Turns out they did! Briefly. Too big for a Sonex obviously.
I've raced against air cooled VW engines quite a bit, and you're spot on. When I heard him say they used an automotive VW engine, I wasn't surprised. Crankshaft failure was quite common on those engines.
Comments like this is why i love the internet
Glad you are okay man! Keep doing what you love and sharing it with the world. Stay safe!
So young, but stayed so calm and professional on the radio. Not panicking can go a long way. Ive saved quite a few icy out of control slides in a semi truck by remaining calm, once i put it into the guard rail, but on purpose to avoid sliding into a pile of wrecked cars and killing people. Bravo to this young man, nerves of steel!
I began my flying career 53 years ago in a Luscombe 8F. I was in heaven as a 17 yr. old lad who tooled around western Washington between jobs that afforded me the funds for: 1/5th ownership, gas and hanger. (We assesed ourselves funds for our annual as necessary.)) Our club charged ourselves $5/hour "wet"!
I finished my career a few years ago from the left seat of a B-747-400... From Luscombe to T-38's to the "Whale" - and all the 20,000+ hours in between, I remain that happy lad who lived a dream. Good luck to you, Ethan. An adventurous life, with many stories to tell, await you.
A wonderful life
I farted with joy when I read this!
why so many extra spaces
😂
@330 Capt. Well said. Enjoy retirement.
900 hours myself, CFI CFII and MEI and you handled that situation extremely well! Im very glad you're safe and you sounded confident and calm on the radios. Excellently done, don't let anything deter you from continuing this passion/profession, you're an outstanding example as a pilot and deserve to be recognized as such. Best wishes!
Sorry you had this experience. Im surprised nobody mentioned the REAL issue. The reason that engine failed is because the front crank bearing of the VW engine IS NOT MEANT to support the weight of a prop on it. Looks like you were running a direct drive setup. The prop even when balanced sticks out pretty far from the nose of the engine block, further side loading that little bearing up front. VW engines can be built to be extremely reliable in cars AND aircraft. If you look at the nose of the crank bearing of a Lycoming or any other "certified" engine that runs a prop with direct prop drive, you will see how long and beefed up it is. VW engines nose crank bearing is very small and is made to support the cooling fan pulley only. Ive seen many setups that run the prop on the rear of the engine so that the flywheel faces forward. This bearing would do a much better job of supporting a prop. Also, you could run a reduction box that runs the prop on a stronger, upper shaft, made to support the weight, with the engine driving only a pullley on the front of the crank. Dont sell the whole plane just because of this failure. Especially after all the upgrades you have made. I understand that you might feel spooked, but at least you already know what you have serviced or changed. Buy another plane, and you are buying a whole new set of potential problems.
And yes, glad you are ok.
Mike
I think GPA cases are modified for a larger end bearing
Very nice, I knew there had to be some inherent problem...
Note that Sonex provides a kit for their AeroVee engine which is based on the VW...not sure how they modify the bearings to support the extra load. On the other hand, Jeremy Monnett, the CEO of Sonex died in a Sonex after an engine failure.
Yea I knew both those guys, but didnt want to mention it. (The incident I mean)
@mikerubenhold1066
Thank you for this comment. Regarding using the airplane again, would you be worried about possible damage from the vibrations before the propeller came off?
"You can't park there!" 😂 Classic, never gets old!
kinda does though
It was ancient before he said it :/ You can definitely tell where that guy is from.
It was old the first time someone said it. Just a really stupid, fucked up thing to say to someone who’s just been in accident.
There's a book with that title here in the UK, written by a doctor on an air ambulance helicopter..!
Only really works in a posh british accent for me
Hope you get to fly again and make more videos one day.
But if not, you can always become a storyteller, your voice is so soothing and relaxing lol
It's always nice to hear stories like this. Not that it ended in a failure, but that you walked away unharmed, no one on the ground got hurt, people were kind and stopped to help.
After 57 years and 22,000 hours of flying military, commercial and private, my instinct in daytime VMC rightly or wrongly, is immediately to reduce power at the first hint of trouble and start looking for somewhere to make an emergency landing. I never assume that I'll be able to reach an airport and during the descent I try to analyse the problem. Vibration such as you've described can only originate in the engine, so getting down safely would be my highest priority. Nevertheless you did extremely well the way you handled things, not least because you were deliberately following a road. This is my ten cents worth and I'm sure that others will have different philosophies.
Thank you for your service! (And advise)
@@s0kulite Do you guys realize what a safety hazard it is to innocent public to land an airplane on a public highway? Even if you could pull up and try again, it's still way out of bounds. Please don't terminate my Freedom and Liberty with yours. In other words: Please don't take it so lightly. I'd be scared to death if I looked up and saw an airplane making a landing on a road that I was on. Please guys, remember the innocent shouldn't have to become part of your folly.
@@benjamincresswell3713 We all know it’s a safety hazard, that’s a *emergency* landing.
Do you need to flip through the Oxford English Dictionary to find the meaning of the word “emergency”?
Shut up, quit virtue signaling.
@@benjamincresswell3713 I bet you’re a lot of fun at parties.
@@steveborntrager693 lol I thought of typing that but the message became overbearing.
Thanks
Speaking as a CFI, I'm absolutely in awe of the ADM and professional attitude you display in this breakdown. I can only imagine how disappointed and frustrated this outcome must have left you, but i hope you take some well-earned pride in how you've handled all of this. You *absolutely* have the mindset of a career aviator, and I wish you fair skies wherever the rest of your journey takes you.
I'm so sorry this happened, must be devastating...
Have you considered mounting a more reliable/certified engine? Sonex makes a Rotax 912 mount for legacy aircraft.
luckily it didn't happen mid air,
you know stuff about planes? didnt know that I thought you really just made music.
Its the "You should've picked Mercy" Guy
no
Rotax isn't a certified engine lol
from one Indiana university (ND) grad to another (Purdue) -- all of this is in the greatest tradition of the best engineers Purdue has ever produced, man. you should be incredibly proud not only of what you've accomplished so far with this aircraft, but the absolute-zero icewater you clearly had in your veins when dealing with one of the worst emergencies any pilot could ever encounter. really glad you're okay - Boiler up and keep kicking ass.
Decades ago on the Friday night before a home football game, the fountain in front of Hovde Hall was found pumping a green fluid. They said it only food coloring but no one was found culpable. Other than my XO on USS Mahan DDG 42, I haven’t much liked those South Bend Irish since. But this guy sounds like he might be okay.
I’m guessing a smaller plane like yours may present unique options
in a pinch that would be denied others deemed ‘more capable.’
A review of every component in every system to ensure compatibility could replace culpability with more certainty.
I guess I’m seconding this Irish.
Something that has helped me in the sort of crisis you experienced is to believe the indicators and fall back on training. Oh yeah, also, since you’re already dead, there’s nothing to fear. I appreciated the inclusion of your declaration of emergency radio call. Seems to me like you had all three of my tips top of mind. No prop? Well, it could always be worse. It could be snowing. Well done all around, now get on those systems and see if she might not be able to get you safely down a few more times. Best of luck but skills are the ticket.
Can't wait to see you fly again!
Your dad is a fucking legend for checking up on you, this is why I keep find my iPhone on.
Massive props to him; even before you landed he knew something was up, and that means he's a proper fucking awesome person. He was checking on you while you were actively in flight and realized something was off, that's almost inhuman
The good thing about your first single engine light aircraft engine failure is that it gets you past the surprise factor when the thing ceases to work as advertised for the first time, and that it's now up to the pilot to get it to a survivable stop. After, when later emergencies happen with more complex aircraft the pilot is conditioned to more smoothly react and hit the checklists with more brain space available.
You're valuable. Your level of professionalism with maintaining and flying the aircraft, and with this video, is outstanding. Any civilian or military flying organisation on the planet would want you to fly for them (after doing a pile of paperwork).
and it will be his last.......lesson leanred. Great statement of self-reflection: legal does not alway mean safe.
Military? Open borders. Ukraine. No...
I’ve owned 4 different VW powered aircraft, never had a crankshaft fail like that, I have a friend whose Continental O -200 failed like that.
Great landing well done.
Sounded like prop imbalance caused the crankshaft failure......
@@JohnnyAnderson1you sure………………………………
@@TheOnlyKontrol who knows?................................................................
The old engines are known for having failure like that
4:02 "you cant park there" is just an awesome line.
I literally laughed out loud
"land" would have been better.
I like how responsible you are at admitting you made an error and are informing people that with these machines, you truly get what you pay for. Very humbling. I’d trust you to teach me. Keep flying my friend! The honesty and education of possible errors is super important for any teacher to admit and recognize.
WOW GUYS I BUILD A CRAPPY PLANE AND IT FELL APART
HUHUHUH LESSON LEARNED I GUESS! THANKS FOR THE MONEY RUclips!!!
@WanderingMiqo not pretending to know how to build a plane that can injure others? Using my brain? Idk man but being a cuck isn't a good look.
@@g0tsp33d actually, you kinda hit the nail on the head on all fronts. Pretty sure he’s not making much money if it is a monetized account
@@g0tsp33d This quite literally couldn't be less of his fault. It's not like he forged the crankshaft with soda cans in his garage.
@soup5344 just like the titan sub huh. Guess we're going backwards.
I'm from Olean, and passed your plane on my way to Ellicottville. I'm so glad that everything turned out alright, and that you're okay. I hope you make another visit out this way sometime, and get to enjoy what we have. Letchworth State Park is lovely and worth a visit. By land or air. Also, thank you for saying Olean correctly!
If you are ever back in town, stop by the cop shop with a few dozen donuts and some good coffee.
The cop that responded did you a HUGE favor contacting the land owner.
I am not a local I just know no matter how much they deny it to outsiders, cops really do love coffee and donuts.
PRACTICE YOUR PFLs PEOPLE!!!!! This was an amazing outcome and demonstrates great airmanship. I am going to book a lesson to just smash a load of force landings out. Great work chap, sounds like you haven't let it get to you. Keep on flying and enjoying doing so. Inspiration to us pilots and non pilots.
Lol, he was simply lucky.
You can't practise for propeller falling off and breaking off your tail or something and you spinbarreling to death.
A glider is no harder to control than any other plane, the only difference is you can't pull up.
If you wanted to practise you'd work on opening cockpit mid-flight and jumping out with a parachute.
@@shinobuoshino5066 another absolutely insane person talking about nothing they know about, I'm sure you'll tell me all about how you "know" things you actually don't though
@@Ramonatho ok gl surviving in a plane with one wing and no prop buddy, I'm sure your skills will save you.
lmao chill armchair "expert"@@shinobuoshino5066
@@shinobuoshino5066 That's how you survive and subsequently get in trouble for doing it. Also, "practice" doesn't contain an "s".
Almost had a "propeller separation" back in the 90's. Long story, but basically bought a Great Planes 2180VW motor built for me & a buddy that went in on a experimental aircraft project. Since the propeller pitch is something that needs to be specific for the application, we decided to go with a 3 blade ground adjustable carbon prop. After a few hundred hours, while pushing it back into the hangar, the prop had a little "wiggle" to it. At first I thought that the motor mounts were softened up because of the heat of the summer day, but no...closer inspection revealed a fractured crankshaft. When I took it apart there was only about a 1/4" square left that was holding it together. The nose of the crank came off in my hand when I pried out the keyway. The "experts" told me it broke because the carbon propeller assembly had too much rotational (disk) stress and I should have been using a wood prop (lighter and able to adsorb some vibrations). I bought a new (replacement) forged Skat crankshaft, had it magnafluxed, then rebuilt the motor. It ran fine with the new wood prop but looking back, (at the time) probably should have spent the extra $$ and bought the BRAND NEW Rotax 912, that just came out.
Glad that you were able to land safely!! And without any other issues... (power lines,cars,trees...ect). Be safe!!
Wow, glad you had the foresight to look ionto it instead of "it'll be fine". What's the deal with props on these? I'm aware that cranks are hard as a rock, are they too hard?, too many bolts?, are there dowel pins that align it? and just let the bolts hold it in place? Crazy to hear of one broken crank, leat alone 2, that means it's common...
On a VW motor (like in a beetle) the flanged end, (with dowel pins & bolts) is where the flywheel and starter ring gear go.That's the back of the motor in a aircraft conversion (firewall side). The front (where the prop goes) is the tapered end of the crankshaft with a big threaded hole inside. This taper is where a aftermarket flange is mounted to accept the propeller. There is a key that helps index the hub to the crankshaft, but the taper fit actually keeps the hub from spinning on the crankshaft end. The big bolt holds the hub on tight. In my case the fracture started (stress riser) from a corner point where the key way was machined. The crankshafts for this conversion are forged and very strong, designed for a performance automotive racing application (without any warranties). You would think that operating at much lower RPM's vs in a racing environment, this kinda thing would last forever. But not with the added propeller loading. @@dc6233
hey, let us know what airplane you get, I started flying 50 years ago, had to give it up for health reasons, glad to see your video, kinda reminds me of my self and my adventures, I met the best people while on my journey, makes me sad, but that shows you made a good touching video, I stand and salute you
Glad you’re okay! Do you know what the actual point of failure was with the camshaft? Did a fastener fail or did the metal of the shaft itself fail from stress/fatigue?
CHOCOLATE RAAAaaaiinnn🍫🌧
@@skweejee bro chill lmao
youre interested in all the same stuff as me i see you in to many comment sections haha
Looking at the video at 0:49, at the very least the crankshaft ended up failing. There have been crankshaft failures on Aerovee engines in the past that were initiated by the loosening of the propeller hub bolt that goes into the end of the crank, but I belive this was on an older style of crankshaft with a tapered snout. In any case, the hub loosening or failing could have put enough vibration and fatigue into the first main journal of the frank that it ended up driving the failure to that location.
Unfortunately the cause of failure is still unknown :( The most likely theories according to the Sonex forums are improper assembly of the crank hub, fatigue cracks, or a blockage of oil to the front bearing. This plane also had an older model crankshaft which has sense been redesigned.
Nerves of steel, and good piloting! Glad the departing prop didn't damage any control surfaces. You are blessed!
The whiplash I got from watching the video where you first got the plane, going to my RUclips homepage, then seeing this video. I wish you the best.
As a pilot myself, God bless you were able to land without any loss of life or injuries. I think that sums it up. Definitely a learning experience but not one I would want to face. You did well. Please take some lessons from it.
I watched your first video when it came out, and I also saw the " You can't park there" tik tok and I had no idea that was you! What a wild thing to have happen on your first major flight away from home. Glad you're ok
I'm so glad you were able to land safely! I stumbled upon your "Flying the most affordable airplane across America" video and was hooked by your storytelling and videography, I went looking for more videos and was really bummed to see this one (but happy you're alright)! Definitely looking forward to your future videos, you have really great vibes. Wishing you luck with your move and new career :)
Your Mom helped you recover your airplane. What a legend!
I love that your mom is down to get hands on and help you take the plane wings off and get it on the trailer. It reminds me of my mom.
While this must have been wild for you, I can imagine how your dad’s heart must have dropped if he was tracking your location right at that moment… The thoughts that went through his mind and the sheer panic. Glad you are safe man - I literally just watched your other video of the half-cross country trip, not thirty minutes ago lol.
So the front fell off.
This isn’t very typical, I’d like to make that point.
This is why we avoid cardboard and paper based materials.
It is also quite sad that it was too wide to tow outside the environment.
What a beautifully concisely narrated story.
People don't usually realize how dangerous driving a shitbox car is, but a shitbox airplane, that is a whole other level... glad you're okay.
I am glad to hear you're okay. I recently found your first video with this plane and am sad to hear this plane's journey was short lived but fortunate that yours will still continue with your passion for flying. I thoroughly enjoy your story telling and look forward to your future endeavors.
Stay safe out there, you made the tough but smart choice to retire this plane.
DON'T GIVE UP! fix the engine, take it apart and put it back together again, you'll find the parts that need replacing, then take the whole plane apart, do a major inspection. After that, it will be safe flying it again. This is the lesson to learn, those who succeed, didn't succeed the first time the tried.
id just get a modern rotax engine for it. it seems the rotax 912 is super common and standard now
@@bbsara0146If he can afford it that certainly is a way to go, yet I am thinking, regardless of that, if you really want to become a great pilot, the more you know about your plane, the better.
Not worth it. Just get a more modern engine
He concluded the video by said that flying at night/ifr with an uncertified engine would impose a risk most pilots deem too high, and that finding that out was eye opening. That was the lesson.
Dude, I think this is an excellent take. You see it all the time with content creators who ignore these types of risks for clout or content or because they are in too deep money wise. It's good to see you have a solid grasp of what is important, where you went wrong with it, and are accepting of the situation even if it's not in your favour.
Just take what you have learned from this and continue to grow! Now you know a lot of things you didn't before and can use that on your next endeavour!
I wondered how such a young man handled an engine failure and highway landing so calmly, then I heard you are a flight instructor. Good for you. But I chuckled when your plan is to move to a certified engine to avoid problems. My first in flight engine failure was with a Lycoming 0-320 with only 320 hrs smoh. Tappets were polished and reused during overhaul, a practice thats no longer permitted. With no warning the cam lobes went and I could not maintain altitude over a lake. Barely made it to a tiny airport. Second failure was due to horrible A&P who plumbed a drain port from the ED pump to a pressure port on the fuel servo. Engine suddenly quit and I was on glide on my very first flight in that airplane. Barely made an airport. Thats two failures with certified engines. I'm sure your experience has taught you something very valuable- that you remain cool under pressure! Excellent.
I haven't landed any dead planes but see this common thread in failed engines: A rebuild. Similarly to Tesla autos commonly having replacement motors/batteries being sold just prior to the end of warranty, planes tend to crash just after a rebuild. Avoid Teslas, and have someone else put on at least 50 hours post rebuild, 300 is better from what I've gathered.
Hey buddy you can't park there
lol
There is always one.
"I know I can't park here! 😡"
"The propeller fell off my airplane"
So... I do not know much about airplanes... But I do know that twirly bits tend to be very important.
when you said Maine to Indiana I laughed, because I moved from Indiana to Maine and never looked back, I'm loving it out here in Maine glad you are ok. It's been a bucket list item of mine to go flying sometime
I'm so glad youre okay man. I started following you after your video about your trip to Maine in this plane. I live in southern Maine and am studying to get my PPL. I'm just glad you landed safely and are okay buddy. Godspeed!
Title could easily been "buying the most expensive coffin" you are lucky to still be here man. Great landing.
it warmed my heart seeing your dads text messages.
What an incredibly comprehensive and well made video for such a young person. You have wisdom and maturity beyond your years. Well done.
Glad to see Walt Jr made it out okay. Hopefully the plane makes a full recovery!
My names Flynn.
Did you find the propeller?
Imagine finding a propeller randomly.
@@goodson77784Imagine getting hit on the head by a propeller randomly.
Final destination
@@zombi1034 or it spinning full speed into your roof
@@schaserneo😂
0:55 "There was no immediate indication of the problem that forced the emergency landing"? Seems like a missing prop would be hard to miss.
Amazing emergency landing. With trees on both sides and cars, no room for error and you nailed it! Great job.
SIMPLY BRILLIANT BRO!!! DONT EVER PLAY DOWN THE ACTIONS THAT YOU TOOK DURING THIS FLIGHT, YOUR ALIVE BECAUSE OF SKILL, LUCK HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. AND DONT EVER LET SOMEONE TELL YOU ANYTHING DIFFERENT!!! KEEP UP WITH YOUR VIDEOS... LIFE IS MUCH BETTER AT 10,000 FT. AND ABOVE!!!
I like how your mom helped you take the wings off and recover the plane.
Glad you're okay man what a pucker factor!!! First video I've seen from your channel, I can already tell you were raised right, very mature for your age. Crap happens but you got to get back on the horse, I wish you safe flying!
Your mom is the GOAT! Good job momma!
Don’t give up on the plane. The plane didn’t let you down. The ENGINE did! Find an engine solution for an engine problem!
Well-spoken young man...clearly on the ball. Glad the forced landing was safely accomplished. Keep flying!
I will bet that bro's major in college is not Mechanical Engineering or similar, because if it was, I would not expect him to say that the crankshaft failure was "unrelated" to the vapor lock issue, due to the fact that the crankshaft (very likely) failed due to fatigue, which the lean combustion mixtures caused by intermittent vapor lock in the fuel lines would have significantly contributed to, by causing abnormal combustion such as preignition and knock that likely applied counter-acting forces to it, especially since he indicated that the issue occurred for a significant amount of time before it was mitigated.
Anyway, I'm very glad he's OK and I have much respect for him and his efforts, ambition, and wherewithal.
I'm no expert, but I think your probably on the right track. The pictures definitely looked like a fatigue failure and lean combustion can wreak havoc on an engine.
I found an FAA pdf from 2019 on the dangers of pre-ignition and detonation and the extreme stresses it can put on an engine.
"Both pre-ignition and detonation put tremendous mechanical stress on the engine,"
source: faasafety.gov/files/notices/2019/Jul/Preignition.pdf
I agree, the engine was assumed reliable after it was run in a way that basically beat the crap out of it. It will be interesting to see what the report says.
I'm no engineer but it stands to reason that a misfiring engine could impart some forces into the crankshaft that it was not rated for.
im sorry but the thought of telling ATC "hey my propeller.. fell off..." is just so funny
Famous last words.
A handsome, yes handsome, and bright young man.
You give me, and others, hope, that with people like you in it, things may just workout after all.
Can we get an engine failure analysis? Crankshafts don't just break and from the look of the failure it looks like a fatigue failure, something that again should never happen to a crankshaft since they are typically made from a hardened steel that due to the thickness and hardening has an infinite fatigue life, especially in an airplane where the forces are all in tension, essentially trying to pull the crankshaft out of the engine, again hardened steel is extraordinarily strong in tension and should've easily handled any load applied. The crankshaft had to have been damaged at some point, potentially something smacking the propeller causing a slight bend in the shaft which led to a fatigue crack that expanded over time, causing the vibrations and eventual failure. Another person (@calchip) here mentioned the potential of a casting failure specifically in VM cranks in that engine and that could certainly cause it.
Yes, however you have to notice that this is not an engine built for aircraft but rather a general purpose engine that works in an aircraft, for a while. But has the crankshaft is not actually built to support a prop, much less one that will be freespinning and pulling a large weight forward. Most likely tension went over yield strength and developed a hairline crack. Then all you needed was a long flight to exacerbate that crack.
Crankshafts do just break though. I've had two engines fail in this way - in cars! Losing the crankshaft pulley with the end of the crank, you can drive on for a minute or two but without charging or more importantly cooling. Sump oil also pours out of the hole. The failure mode is fatigue or fretting around the front bearing. Those were high mileage situations but I would consider it foolish to add the vibration and gyroscopic effects to a shaft and bearing arrangement that can fail with just a small pulley and V-belt on it. It's just not designed for a prop. Glad Ethan got away with it!
@@EvanTuer I've personally never seen it but I can understand it happening with a v-belt instead, with a v-belt or pulley the crankshaft is always being cycled from being in tension to being in compression, which is a lot of fatigue load. For a propeller the crankshaft should always be in tension, and steel is strongest in tension. I can understand the bearing or seal failing due to too much tension but that's about it. I don't see a reason that the engine couldn't be able to handle a propeller, unless either the propeller was extremely out of balance or the crankshaft had some sort of damage.
0:10 Funniest thing i have heard today
Way to keep it together. Not everyone can react and make decisions in a split second. Glad you’re ok
It ain’t got no gas in it
Lol
"you cant park there" lol
hacky forced meme
Brilliant survival story. You can be proud of how well you handled this remarkable incident. Best regards from Sydney AU.
Bro, you are cranking out some awesome videos. Stay safe and have fun!
Oh man. Sorry about your loss. I love how it had room for a passenger. Very romantic!
It's very wonderful you have the money to chase your dreams! Not all of us can do this. Thanks for sharing and glad you're safe!
Excellent job!! Very glad you were able to get it on the ground safely. ATC is freaking awesome. I was flying in a CAP 172 about 10 years ago and trying to avoid weather in the dark which long story short, didn't work out too well and I had to divert after losing visibility. At the time I was not IFR rated. ATC stayed with me the whole way and certainly helped me get to the ground in once piece. Those guys are the best. Never got to thank him and always felt bad for that.
Excellent airmanship. Don't stop flying. Looking forward to seeing you back in the air. Make it a goal, because "someday" never comes.
This is God's way of getting you into the soaring community. Losing a prop improves your glide ratio.
Great job, Ethan - and thank you for sharing your story. It will inspire other pilots to think through - and hopefully chair fly - what they would do in a similar situation and could very well save lives. I look forward to your future adventures.
Well done sir. Don’t let it discourage you. You clearly have a smart head on your shoulders. You’ll figure your way through and get to live your dream. Might just take longer than planned.
Ethan, glad you're ok, sorry to see your plane broken. A lot of the people would like to see what damage was done and where the crank broke. Could you do a video of the tear down of the engine? Maybe Sonex would do an inspection and comment on why the crank broke. I think a lot of people flying VWs would appreciate what happened and why. Thanks Tom B.
Happy to hear you're OK and great job with the emergency landing, where there was little room for error. Sorry this had to be the end for your project with this plane - hope you decide to move on to another one. After 45+ years of flying I'm medically grounded, and really enjoy your videos. I had a few forced landings myself, and non-pilots don't realize the pressure you're under in such situation. Your life is on the line, you only get one shot at it and a LOT of things can go wrong, many of which you have no control over. You obviously did the most important thing (that many pilots screw up) and kept flying the airplane. Good luck with your aviation future.
You did excellent putting it down safely. I hope you push forward in your journey. Despite the rough flight, it looks like the airframe is still solid and did you a great service. Hopefully you change your mind on it and it can serve you again with a different engine.
I love that you had a dream and made it happen. While you did have a catastrophic failure you couldn't ask for a better outcome of safely landing on a roadway. Don't be yourself up too badly about the Aerovee failing, I have seen a Mooney's O-360's engine throw a rod through the side of the case in flight and the pilot tried to land on a road only to have a powerline snag his vertical stab and nose into the pavement from 30' (he lived but was banged up badly).
That´s one of the scariest things that could happen while on plane! I´m so happy you managed it perfectly and you had luck for amazing people around you (police, traffic controller,...) which seem not to add towards stressfull situation.
You did well getting it down. As someone working in aviation now, this is something that ALWAYS scares me. Even though I'm not a manned pilot right now (likely to change soon) and work with our experimental drone projects, emergency landings on the big birds are really scary. I've had to bring a lot of smaller (sub 50kg) drones down with engine failures and oh my god it is so scary to think about what kind of damage you could cause.
I do think with your goals a new plane might be the way to go. We work with Groppo and Eurofly and can't recommend their light sport aircraft enough. They are absolutely wonderful planes.
Ethan, so sorry to hear about the plane. But it more important you handled it very well and even more importantly you are safe. You can always get another plane, take you time and select the right plane on the future.
Nice job documenting your experience, Ethan. Very nice, low-key video. You should be commended in all respects!
Don’t know a thing about plains. Spending half the video admits to your faults and making other people aware. I admire that! Good on you also congratulations on your safe emergency landing
Thanks for sharing. The learning curve can be steep at times. Good job getting down safely.
Glad you're safe, and able to learn from it. A very informative video, thank you
Great story and well put together video. You hooked me with the incident, but the aircraft construction and the work you put in was fascinating. Wishing you safe and fulfilling adventures in the future.
Holy shit man, that's a crazy story! Glad you and everyone around you were safe and nobody was hurt or nothing damaged (except the plane unfortunately)
Glad to hear you are ok dude! As part of the flying community in Maine I am very proud.
You've made a remarkable achievement with this plane its shame about the engine failure but am happy you lived to tell the story.
So sorry to hear about the loss of your aircraft, but I'm happy you're safe! You've made an excellent point about the difference between "legal" and "safe". Hopefully others wil take this to heart when it comes to custom mods and may save a life or two.
I'm in the same exact journey as you. Just a few years older and few years behind, haha. My goal was also to buy an affordable plane and "scrounge" old but working parts to get an IFR capable plane. I have my plane, also experimental, but I have to finish the build. All of the avionics you mentioned are on my list as well.
Glad you're safe, and it sucks to hear the end of this project. I'm sure with your attitude, you'll be back up in the air soon enough.