Patrick1 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Thought this was worth sharing, I had an engine out last weekend. The spark plug cap pinged off midflight. It's a standard pre flight check but worth being extra vigilant if you are flying low or over water where loss of power might be less than helpful. My spark cap has a rubber collar to hold it over the spark plug, the collar stayed in place on the spark plug but the cap became unstuck from its rubber collar. Thankfully, I had a good instructor who suggested that one should always fly in anticipation of an engine failure and I tend to avoid low altitude and water. I glided to a perfect halt near a road and called home for a pick up! Apart from this, my only other engine failure was running out of gas over a beach in Wales earlier this year which was semi intentional, trying to squueeze a few more minutes out of my tank! Anyone else have any engine failure stories? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Yes I've got a couple of similar stories from awhile back: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4560 viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5861 Cheers, Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominicppg Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I bought a new AXB Hawk from my instructor when I completed my training. Worst bit of kit I've ever seen in my life. I had an engine out on every flight. It went back to the dealer several times and each time it came back worse. I became afraid to fly away from the take-off field. It eventually came to the point where I dreaded flying it at all. After the 6th engine out I sent it back to the dealer for good. This was 3 years ago. I'm still waiting for a refund. One engine out is manageable, but when it happens every time and you're a novice pilot, it can really shake your confidence for years to come. I now have an Air Conception Titanium Ultra 130, which is an awesome machine and significantly better in every conceivable way. I'm now in the process of learning to go XC without worrying about being dumped out of the sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick1 Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 Not surprised that shook your confidence. I had a lot of problems early on with my machine but it was a case of not starting rather than dying. You want to focus on the flying the wing and worrying about your engine is a distraction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganers Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I can feel that one Patrick. Same here with starting issues, carried it to the field lots of times to not get up. Now it's sorted it's always niggling what if it conks out and won't restart but I guess it keeps me thinking of looking for a land out spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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