CFI to my wife: “Never touch that red knob or the engine will quit”.
JnsV wrote:
During PPL training the only thing we used that red handle for was to stop the engine on the ground.
You aren’t the only one – I was talking to a new PPL who just recently bought a Cherokee 140, who told me he leaned the mixture in flight for the first time ever! It’s not as if it’s even hard to teach. Also judging by this weekend’s radio traffic on London Information, pilots aren’t getting taught (or not learning) what a basic service is and what it isn’t and the extent of what London Info does.
During PPL training the only thing we used that red handle for was to stop the engine on the ground.
There are lots of things that are not thought during PPL training. But as Capt Sullenberger said, the way to become a good pilot is to learn as much as you can, read accident reports and run what-if scenarios through your mind to be as prepared as possible.
Lenthamen, let me also congratulate you for the superb handling of this emergency.
lenthamen wrote:
Leaning the engine was the last thing that would have crossed my mind. This is probably by training; to go full rich when there are engine problems.
Also it feels counter-intuitive to lean a rough running engine, as it might totally stop.
I very much agree. During PPL training the only thing we used that red handle for was to stop the engine on the ground. Since the training planes had no useable engine instruments (not even a properly marked CHT/EGT gauge), the only advice I got from the instructors was not to touch that lever or at most move it by one finger width. I have since then learned how to lean, but it’s still very much against my instincts to lean in flight as a troubleshooting measure.
Can someone post a diagram from the Cessna MM?
You have greatest of admiration from me lenthamen. You dealt superbly with what is without doubt is a SEP pilots worst nightmare situation.
Thanks! For me the worst nightmare is in-flight fire…
Just a thought, did this C182 have an engine monitor?
If not, do you think that being able to see exhaust and intake/carburettor gas temperatures on an EDM830-style display might have given you (a) more warning and (b) a rough idea of what was wrong and how to treat the symptoms?
Hi @Jacko, this aircraft did not have a digital engine monitor.
I was flying low when it happened (700ft) so there was little time for trouble shooting.
Leaning the engine was the last thing that would have crossed my mind. This is probably by training; to go full rich when there are engine problems.
Also it feels counter-intuitive to lean a rough running engine, as it might totally stop.
Howard wrote:
Secondly the fact that you were flying in Holland which doesn’t seem to have any sort of hill or valley in the whole country, so every surface is flat or nearly flat.
True. It happened in an area with lots of agriculture and I am very happy that it happened there and not 5NM to the southwest where you have a large national park Veluwe with many forests.
simon32 wrote:
My understanding is that some piece of gasket came loose on the inlet side of the carburetor. A Maule crashed shortly after take-off from our field some years ago and it was due to a bit of gasket from the carburetor heat side that caused the blockage.
I didn’t get a detailed report on the cause of the failure. Just that a gasket came loose and got into the air inlet.
Fact is that it was an easy fix (done in the field) and that the aircraft was flying again the day after.
achimha wrote:
It was already said — gasket between the air filter and the mount. A known cause of trouble on the carbureted C182.
Could you explain a bit more in detail? What kind of gasket are you talking about? I assume this gasket is in front of the carb? It comes lose and block the carb somehow?
You have greatest of admiration from me lenthamen. You dealt superbly with what is without doubt is a SEP pilots worst nightmare situation.
I am sure it could be used as a tea strainer, but it came with my kit and is designed to keep debris out.
Not my plane, but at the same airfield.
Simon
