N574BR MTOsport - engine fire

Steve_UK

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I'm not a pilot but have been lucky enough to fly in Mi-24 Hind, Mi-2, Mi-17, Lynx HAS3, Gliders, GA
The FAA ASIAS reports

21-5-18 "ENGINE CAUGHT FIRE AFTER LANDING, SAN MANUEL AZ" damage listed as substantial

FAA Register shows Rotax 912ULS2


more info welcomed
 
I was just told 2nd hand she has released the information.
Britta lost a spinner off the prop. It flew off and hit the rotor blade, but only a nick and still flyable.
The engine vibration as so serve the carburetors tore off the engine, bent the motor mounts and may have bent the frame.
Gas dripped on the exhaust and caught on fire.
She whipped it around and made a perfect landing.
 
wonder if it was a prop blade that got smacked and not the rotor as to cause that much vibration with the engine.n
A damaged prop blade will in some instances take the engine off the airframe.
 
All_In;n1134358 said:
I was just told 2nd hand she has released the information.
Britta lost a spinner off the prop. It flew off and hit the rotor blade, but only a nick and still flyable.
The engine vibration as so serve the carburetors tore off the engine, bent the motor mounts and may have bent the frame.
Gas dripped on the exhaust and caught on fire.
She whipped it around and made a perfect landing.

I’m still a relative novice in these contraptions. Trying to understand how a spinner coming off would hit the rotor, since it’s at the back of the prop/engine and well below the rotor and how it’s loss, given its relatively small diameter, could cause such vibration even if only one of the retaining bolts was kept in place.

I’m not disagreeing this is what happened, just seeking some insights on these points.

/Ed
 
As usual .... everyone seems to be getting odd inaccurate information-in-translation! Perhaps best wait until Mark or Britta weigh in with the REAL FACTS!
 
EdL;n1134377 said:
I’m still a relative novice in these contraptions. Trying to understand how a spinner coming off would hit the rotor, since it’s at the back of the prop/engine and well below the rotor and how it’s loss, given its relatively small diameter, could cause such vibration even if only one of the retaining bolts was kept in place. I’m not disagreeing this is what happened, just seeking some insights on these points.
/Ed

My speculation is (because this is experimental aviation, w/ out deep pockets like certified aviation) we really don't know exactly how much airflow is going UP through the entire rotor blade disc. I'm guessing extensive wind tunnel testing would shed some light as to how much air. But, the expense & availability of such testing equipment are big factors.

1. As in all aircraft with wings, some air is being deflected downward to provide lift.

2. In a gyroplane, since the rotor blade disc is tilted slightly aft to the incoming airflow, some air is also going up through the rotor blade disc between gaps between the passing of each rotor blade.

I assume there is some airflow upward that'd easily carry a lightweight prop spinner into the rotor blades. Especially if the spinner was above the prop blast, or skips, or bounces upwards off that prop blast as it departed the prop hub.

Anyone who has stood in proximity of the backside of a running prop on the the ground has felt the rush of incoming air surround & try to pull them into it. I like to think there is a similar effect underneath the rotor blades in flight. Maybe not as strong as the backside of an engine-driven airfoil such as a prop, or a set of helicopter rotor blades, but a distinct movement of air up into them.

It also may have been flung upward by being hit by a prop blade. We have heard of pieces of props hitting the rotor blades as they have disintegrated either by failing in their structure or being struck by foreign objects that aid in that disintegration.

We also don't know the airspeed and direction of movement of the gyroplane at the time of the prop spinner coming off. It may have been in a vertical descent. It may have been in a normal flight mode. It may have just executed a hard turn.

We do know that Britta is a careful & cautious gyroplane pilot & instructor. We also know Mark is a careful & cautious aircraft maintenance fellow, as well as also being a careful & cautious gyroplane pilot.

I have viewed a video of another gyroplane's prop spinner departing the prop hub, so is is not unheard of, but is a rarity.
 
That is terrible, I am glad to hear that Britta is ok.
 
Update - the NTSB Preliminary states


On May 21, 2018, about 0845 mountain standard time, a Rhoads Autogyro MTO Sport, N574BR, experienced severe vibrations and a total loss of engine power during the initial climb from the San Manuel Airport (E77), San Manuel, Arizona. The certified flight instructor and student pilot were not injured; the gyroplane sustained substantial damage to the main rotor system. The gyroplane was registered to Rhoadsrunner Gyroplanes LLC and operated by Blue Sky Gryos as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 local familiarization flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.

The flight instructor reported that after an uneventful takeoff, the gyroplane was about 400 ft above the ground when she heard a loud bang followed by severe vibrations and a total loss of engine power. With no suitable landing space ahead, she executed a 180o right turn back towards the runway and landed the gyroplane uneventfully. During the landing roll, she observed that the gyroplane was on fire which was extinguished after the gyroplane came to a stop. Further examination of the gyroplane revealed that one of the propeller blades and part of the propeller hub was missing.

The gyroplane was moved to a secure location for further examination
 
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