Have you experienced the destruction of a Radial Engine

[retroaviation]

Hey Gary -- Tell us about your T-6 experience...

Heck, it was just a cylinder. And you know me, it's a long story. I don't want to bore anyone.

Gary

[Neal Nurmi]

Somehow I doubt if we'd be bored, Gary...

[Jack Cook]

Our 1340 failure was the master rod.

[cadet77]

Here are a few shots of a R985 taken in March 2007 at the CAF hangar in AZ. I heard that the problem occurred on the ground.
Maybe someone closer to the CAF can fill in the details...




What is that knocking sound?

It reminds of a time when driving a 59 Karmann Ghia at 65 mph with a good Wyoming tail wind when a knocking sound ended with a bang!!! and then silence and rolling to a stop.

[CAPFlyer]

There's an R3350 that has a date with death in the not to distant future. Wonder what it'll look and sound like...

Huh?!?

Gary

I thought that some of those old 3350 cases that are trash were going to get scrapped? It just says catastrophic destruction, I figured that would be included as I'm sure it wouldn't sound or look very pretty.

[b29flteng]

Had a severe engine fire on #3 in FIFI. Fuel pressure transmitter attach bracket broke, dropping the metal braided fuel line across the generator leads, arcing and being fed by a 3/8 inch fuel line full of pressurized 100LL. In six minutes it burned two holes in the engine nacelle, one was about six inches in diameter, the second was about two feet in diameter. The prop wouldn't stay feathered due to the solenoid sticking closed. So with a windmilling prop we made an immediate landing back in Tulsa (we had just taken off from Tulsa). Shut down on the taxi way and evacuated there, and towed the plane to the ramp. We had a bunch of local news media on board too. I have several pieces that came from the back of the engine that are melted globs. The engine mount had sagged about 3/4 of an inch from the heat. The flames were not visible from the cockpit as it was on the outboard side of the nacelle, but the scanner said they reached the horizontal stabilizer. It's good to know your emergency procedures, they work.

[Canso42]

[quote="CAPFlyer"]There's an R3350 that has a date with death in the not to distant future. Wonder what it'll look and sound like...[/quote]

My friend Roy Carthen, a WWII PBY and P5M veteran says that "nothing comes unglued like a 3350!" He was radio 1 in a P5M that blew a jug. They heard several different bang sounds close together, followed by a cylinder rolling around on the floor. A lower inboard unit had come completely through the cowling and fuselage!

[ZRX61]

During the filming of MB at Duxford one of the B17's threw a cylinder off which caused the cowling to leave the aircraft. It was apparently returned the next day by the police after a farmer who saw it fall into one of his fields called 999 (UK 911) to report it
Didn't find the cylinder tho...

I have an R2800 piston (from an A26) thats about 2inches tall after it all went pear shaped taking off from Van Nuys. When the engine went to the scrap yard they cut the cylinders off with the Blue Wrench as the liners were all folded over inside the cases. There are 8 other pistons just like mine of other peoples mantels..

Didn't appear to be all that exciting from my vantage point on the ramp, but on board I heard there was a very pointed conversation..

[Hal B]

My friend Roy Carthen, a WWII PBY and P5M veteran says that "nothing comes unglued like a 3350!"

Oh Yeah, they can make a mess of things. The rod to #9 cyl. in "The Proud American" came apart at the piston pin. Shoved the piston up in the cylinder and then the stub end of the rod turned the rear half of the engine into a hammer mill. It kept running until it was shut off after the emergency landing. While it was still hot you could turn the prop, but after setting overnight it was locked up solid. Other than a few jugs, it pretty much destroyed the engine. Ouch

[Baldeagle]

I saw a 100 Gnome throw a cylinder through the cowl and over the top wing of a Fokker Triplane once. Somebody went into the woods off the end of the runway later and found it.




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[jschillereff]

Here are a few shots of the Martin 404 Skyliner from the Pima Air & Space museum. From what I’ve heard this happened to them while ferrying the plane to the museum.

[N3Njeff]

Looks fake to me.........................and to answer the question.............Yes twice!

[engguy]

Fake? Not with those shadows.

[thundergull pilot]

Something looks fishy, I would think the prop would be feathered. Also it looks like the spark plug lead has been unscrewed and not broken . Regards Carl

[IndyJen]

I've had a couple R-2800's fail. Both times it was a bad main bearing. The failure mode there consistently was engine lockup on shutdown.

Interestingly--to me at least--is that both times, the engine seemingly ran the smoothest and best ever right beforehand. Then you shut 'er down, and she stops normally. Come back a while later, and she's locked up and immobile.

The first time this happened, we'd just checked the oil screens a couple hours previously, and that engine was clean and good. Pulled the screen after the lockup, and it was choked with metal, to the point where it was a bit difficult to get the screen out of the cavity.

The last time this happened, we were doing ground runs. Shut down normally and went to start up again, and ... clank. That starter's in the shop now, because an inertial starter doesn't like it when you engage and the engine doesn't turn at all.