GregP
Major
Just got back from Joe Yancey's shop and had to pass this along.
A few years back we did an engine for a P-63. Another beautiful, pristine, freshly-overhauled Allison that went out the door. When I got there today, it was sitting there in a shipping crate and I noticed right way that the carburetor was missing and the intake was uncovered. I also noted there was dirt and even dried mud all over the engine. Standing out was the fact that none of the oil intakes or exits were capped off! The hoses had been cut and just left open!
I asked Joe what had happened and he told me the most dis gusting story I've heard in a long time. Everyone shall remain nameless.
Seems the owners of the P-63 got the engine and installed it in the P-63, but never contacted Joe about any issues that cropped up. They had never installed a line on one of the vent holes, so the water pump casing was covered in oil where it had simply run out and dripped onto the water pump. I assumed the rest was still in the P-63 airframe somewhere. Joe pointed out they had used Saran Wrap to close off the coolant lines(!) but had left all the oil intakes and exits uncapped (!) and had removed the spark plugs and left the holes open (!) and had not covered the intake where the carburetor used to be (!).
So, there was dirt and mud in the intake going right into the supercharger impeller. I laughed and we both assume there is considerable dirt in the engine, along with considerable corrosion since nothing was ever capped off. He told me the story, as it was told to him.
The pilot departed his home base for a destination and found out along the way that one fuel tank would not feed. Rather than abort and go home OR land and get it right, he elected to continue to the destination air show. But he never apparently recalculated his range with only half fuel, so he passed over 20+ airports and ran out of fuel a few miles short of his destination. Not bothering to follow the checklist, he apparently left the mags on and left the throttle at cruise setting! He then selected an off-airport landing area and started down. While on the final approach, he dropped the flaps and the ensuing nose down splashed some fuel into the intake area and the engine restarted at cruise power, causing him to considerably overshoot the intended landing area and coming down in a much less desirable area. The gear collapsed and all four prop blades were bent down while sliding on the belly.
Apparently the destination had said they would fill up the tanks of the P-63 and rather than stop and add $100 worth of fuel to ensure he GOT there, the pilot flew it until it ran out of fuel just short of the destination. So … rather than spend an extra $100, they now have to spend an extra $200,000+ bucks to rebuild the P-63 yet AGAIN and then have to overhaul the Allison AGAIN while not even caring enough to cap off the cut oil lines leading into the engine internals or capping off the spark plug holes either!
Naturally, this will be a much more involved rebuild because even old engines sitting in a farmer's field have been capped off and usually don't have sand inside.
If this brings up any lessons they might be:
1) If your engine quits and will not restart, configure it to stay that way. Turn the mags off, close the throttle, And pull the mixture to idle-cutoff so it doesn't surprise you at the worst possible moment when landing.
2) If you suddenly lose a large portion of your fuel supply, don't overfly another airport without stopping to see if the problem can easily be corrected and also topping off the remaining tank(s). At LEAST recompute your possible range with intended reserves!
3) When the plane is down and you are out of it and in the process of recovery, cap off any openings to the engine so the least possible damage is done … and don't under any circumstances, rotate the engine to see if it is still free! It might have dirt, metal, or both in it. When you get the plane back and remove the engine, cap off any and ALL hoses and openings.
4) When you get an engine you are not intimately familiar with to install in ANY aircraft, look in a manual and identify ALL openings to the engine. Account for all intakes, all exits and all vents with lines leading to appropriate places, but don't leave a vent hole open. Any overflow just goes to the lowest spot and awaits ignition to burn your plane to the ground at some unexpected time later, possibly while you are airborne!
A few years back we did an engine for a P-63. Another beautiful, pristine, freshly-overhauled Allison that went out the door. When I got there today, it was sitting there in a shipping crate and I noticed right way that the carburetor was missing and the intake was uncovered. I also noted there was dirt and even dried mud all over the engine. Standing out was the fact that none of the oil intakes or exits were capped off! The hoses had been cut and just left open!
I asked Joe what had happened and he told me the most dis gusting story I've heard in a long time. Everyone shall remain nameless.
Seems the owners of the P-63 got the engine and installed it in the P-63, but never contacted Joe about any issues that cropped up. They had never installed a line on one of the vent holes, so the water pump casing was covered in oil where it had simply run out and dripped onto the water pump. I assumed the rest was still in the P-63 airframe somewhere. Joe pointed out they had used Saran Wrap to close off the coolant lines(!) but had left all the oil intakes and exits uncapped (!) and had removed the spark plugs and left the holes open (!) and had not covered the intake where the carburetor used to be (!).
So, there was dirt and mud in the intake going right into the supercharger impeller. I laughed and we both assume there is considerable dirt in the engine, along with considerable corrosion since nothing was ever capped off. He told me the story, as it was told to him.
The pilot departed his home base for a destination and found out along the way that one fuel tank would not feed. Rather than abort and go home OR land and get it right, he elected to continue to the destination air show. But he never apparently recalculated his range with only half fuel, so he passed over 20+ airports and ran out of fuel a few miles short of his destination. Not bothering to follow the checklist, he apparently left the mags on and left the throttle at cruise setting! He then selected an off-airport landing area and started down. While on the final approach, he dropped the flaps and the ensuing nose down splashed some fuel into the intake area and the engine restarted at cruise power, causing him to considerably overshoot the intended landing area and coming down in a much less desirable area. The gear collapsed and all four prop blades were bent down while sliding on the belly.
Apparently the destination had said they would fill up the tanks of the P-63 and rather than stop and add $100 worth of fuel to ensure he GOT there, the pilot flew it until it ran out of fuel just short of the destination. So … rather than spend an extra $100, they now have to spend an extra $200,000+ bucks to rebuild the P-63 yet AGAIN and then have to overhaul the Allison AGAIN while not even caring enough to cap off the cut oil lines leading into the engine internals or capping off the spark plug holes either!
Naturally, this will be a much more involved rebuild because even old engines sitting in a farmer's field have been capped off and usually don't have sand inside.
If this brings up any lessons they might be:
1) If your engine quits and will not restart, configure it to stay that way. Turn the mags off, close the throttle, And pull the mixture to idle-cutoff so it doesn't surprise you at the worst possible moment when landing.
2) If you suddenly lose a large portion of your fuel supply, don't overfly another airport without stopping to see if the problem can easily be corrected and also topping off the remaining tank(s). At LEAST recompute your possible range with intended reserves!
3) When the plane is down and you are out of it and in the process of recovery, cap off any openings to the engine so the least possible damage is done … and don't under any circumstances, rotate the engine to see if it is still free! It might have dirt, metal, or both in it. When you get the plane back and remove the engine, cap off any and ALL hoses and openings.
4) When you get an engine you are not intimately familiar with to install in ANY aircraft, look in a manual and identify ALL openings to the engine. Account for all intakes, all exits and all vents with lines leading to appropriate places, but don't leave a vent hole open. Any overflow just goes to the lowest spot and awaits ignition to burn your plane to the ground at some unexpected time later, possibly while you are airborne!
Last edited:
I am glad no one was injured or worse.
