Maybe one of you with time on your hands can look at the details of
these "crashes".
Before the original inquirer starts to worry about Ercoupes we need
to exclude the
crashes caused by fuel starvation (historically the #1 reason for
engine failure accidents),
weather (historically the #1 reason for all aircraft accidents), and
pilot error that has nothing
to do with aircraft type (mentioned in almost all accident reports.
This latter category has
been addresses recently by the head of Avemco. They are seeing a rash
of accidents in SLA
that appear to be a lack of adequate pilot checkouts. The biggest
category of pilots in this group
are experienced pilots moving down to an SLA! Since the Ercoupe is
one of the few SLA aircraft
you can get for less than $50,000, it and the others in this group
are seeing a bump in the incidence
of accidents.
If, after excluding the above factors, we are seeing "too many"
accidents involving Ercoupes THEN
it may be time to worry and explore what is happening.
Dan Caliendo
Ercoupe Mach 0.14
3658H
On Jul 18, 2009, at 1:44 AM, Dan Hall wrote:
The small Continental engine are simple and historically extremely
reliable; provided they are have flown regularly and have been well
maintained.
Engine compression check is somewhat helpful, but far from a
complete picture.
Oil analysis at each oil change is also helpful for spotting
potential wear issues before they become engine failures.
However there are no 'guarantee's.
Dan Hall
CNO
----- Original Message -----
From: heavensounds
To: Ercoupers Tech Talk ; jh
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 8:07 PM
Subject: Re: [ercoupe-tech] ercoupe crashes
Jim
Let me reassure you that there is nothing inherently riskier in the
Ercoupe engine than in the engines of other small general aviation
airplanes.
1. The engine in the Ercoupe and its derivatives is the Continental
C-75 / C-85 / C-90 family which is very common and used in many
airplanes, including the Cessna 150 (if you include the O-200,
which is indeed part of that engine family). There should be
nothing special in the Ercoupe to make it's engine more prone to
failure than any other aircraft with a small Continental. Any small
Continental which is well maintained and run frequently SHOULD have
better reliability than one that is not. But there are no
absolute guarantees. That is true about any aircraft engine!
2. May I suggest that compiling a list of Ercoupe accidents by
itself gives an incomplete picture of the risk? Are 39 crashes in 5
years too many, or too few? We don't know if we don't compare with
other airplanes. Perhaps comparing the Ercoupe 5 year accident list
with a list of accidents in the last 5 years for other popular
small airplanes will help understand whether the risk is specific
to Ercoupes, or common to general aviation.
The members of this forum can offer a lot of information and
guidance about how to maintain your Ercoupe and reduce risks.
However, most of that advice will be applicable to any general
aviation airplane.
Best regards
Eliacim
N87071
----- Original Message -----
From: jh
To: Ercoupers Tech Talk
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 9:24 PM
Subject: [ercoupe-tech] ercoupe crashes
While searching for an Ercoupe to buy, I've become concerned about the
level of engine maintenance and repair, and about what seems like a
"rash" of accidents in the last few months. So, I studied the NTSB
database to try to get a handle on the real situation. Here's what
I found.
There have been 39 investigated Ercoupe crashes in the last 5 years. I
picked that time span because it matches, roughly, the time that the
Light Sport rules have been in effect.
Of the 39 crashes, 5 had fatalities, totaling 8 people.
Of the 39, 38 were in 415 models. 15 were the result of engine
failures,
3 of which had to do with items that the NTSB blamed on AP error.
Anyone have thoughts about how to make sure one's engine doesn't quit?
Jim H.
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