Warbird Information Exchange

Bill, the curiosity is if the props wouldn't feather, was there more wrong with the engines than just the drains being left open. As was said in the post above mine, apparently there have been occasions where a prop would feather check fine and not feather in the air even with oil in the engine, so it may be something and it may be nothing. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. We're definitely not second-guessing the crew, we're just wondering what could have caused the props not to feather other than all the oil running out of the engines.

I know of more that one occasion that the oil shutoffs on a Beech 18 where pulled instead of the tail wheel lock. This will lock up the engine and it wont matter if it feathers! The times I know of the plane never took off it was caught at the run up.

Steve

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"Any excuse is good enough if you're willing to use it!"

Back in the 1980's when I was still skydiving we lost an engine on a D-18 due to the shut-off being pulled by mistake when the airplane was put away the night before. There were 12 jumpers on board plus the pilot and we lost the engine at 1200 feet AGL. Everyone rushed the door to exit and we almost stalled. I blocked the door and screamed for everyone to get back up against the bulkhead and then coordinated a single file "hop and pop" exit. The pilot made a smooth single engine landing. As a pilot..... it scared the CR*P out of me at the time.

One should never write anything on WIX of which there is not hard proof, preferably being listed on the tablets Moses brought down from the Mt. I don't know whether the props feathered or not. I gave the injuries as Stan told me, I was glad they were alive, sorry they plane may be pretty much lost. I think he said post flight investigation found major engine damage and out of oil.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK