Hi Jim,
I have had 2 Wren 160s with similar problems as yours. Both the Turbines were from the first batch in 2009 using the FADEC ECU. After around 30 flights on each of them they both sufferedcompressor failures destroying most of the turbine. In both cases i was lucky to land my Flash back on the runway.
Both the 160s were out of warranty when the incidents occurred and on both occasions Mike offered to fix the Turbines FOC for me, accepting it is a manufacturing fault. Mike informed me the 160 compressor is the only part which is not made in house and have had a few 160s blown up due to compressor failure. Wren have now moved to the new machined compressors which are much stronger.
Chatty.
ORIGINAL: Jim Cattanach
I was flying my MB339 the other day & had four great flights. A couple of minutes into the next flight, there was a loud bang & the turbine stopped. I managed to land ok. The force of the incident had broken one of the wooden turbine mounts & the turbine had turned in its own mounts, causing them to twist. I removed the turbine & saw that two blades were missing from the turbine wheel & the tailcone was bent & twisted. There was rattling from under the FOD cover. When it was removed, a number of screws fell out. The festos had all been destroyed.
I bought this turbine new just over a year ago & it has not had much running. As Wren only guarantee their turbines for a year, it will be out of warranty. I have shipped it back to them for examination & can only hope they agree that this type of incident is not what would be expected & repair it at a reasonable cost. It looks an expensive repair.
Has anyone else had a similar incidentwith a Wren 160?