Just curious - Has anyone ever broken an engine in half from a crash into dirt or grass? Mine was an OS 32 SX, and anyone I tell doesn't belive me when I say it hit only grass.

NJD

Yep, been there, done that. Besides the usual shearing off of needle valves, carbs, mufflers, crankshafts, etc. it is less common to see cracked engine housings and sheared cylinders, but certainly doable. I once broke the entire cylinder off the engine (OS .40 I think) and bent the con rod and piston back 60 degrees. It's all in your technique for smacking the ground.

pictures?

Yes, a must see

Ultra Sport .40 with an OS 40SF going full throttle, inverted, four feet off the hard packed dirt runway, and I pulled back.

Looked like Bugs Bunny went down the runway from the trench it dug.

Engine was cracked from the bearing housing all the way to the back of the crankcase.

Sheared the head right off.

But the carb stayed intact.

High temp JB welded the case back together, put on another head, and the engine worked, until the JB weld flaked off. Doesn't take the vibration too well.

But I was able to use it again for a little while.

Seen a Big p-51 on maiden flight go in vertically from 200 odd feet into tarmac. The enigine was here , there and everywhere. The plane was worse.
Ouch

before..

after!!

this was a fight between a lump hammer and an mds .38.
apparently the mds didnt run any worse after the hammer incident (could they run any worse??)

this was taken fromfly models

ROFLMAO!

I broke a Magnum 91 4-stroke into 4 pieces when the plane crashed full-throttle into the woods after the RX battery went out of juice. It was partially my fault because I decided to take *just one more* flight. This was the 2nd Sunday since it was charged, and 6th flight of that day. Anyway, I was lucky that it crashed into the woods instead of something valuable. I stripped 1 servo out of 7, not bad! The engine's crankcase split right in half, the overhead valve assy broke off, carb broke off, and of course, the muffler came off. I was able to sell the muffler for $12, because it was still in perfect shape.

I wish I had pictures, but I sold all of the usable parts. All I have left is the crankcase and the cylinder head. It split right between those two. Went in at 100 MPH.

NJD

cabanestrut2002, this is your engine on drugs, hehe.

Justice was done. I have an MDS .28, but only because I don't have a big hammer. I also have a Moki 135 that deserves the same treatment.

Jason

whats wrong with the moki 135? they are supposed to be great engines!

I hear many (especially the newer ones) run well. I bought a used plane with the Moki (a H9 T-craft). The carb has serious problems. When mixture is tuned for idle, midrange is burbling rich. Tune for midrange, it leans out at idle. The engine is finiky, likes to overheat. Fuel draw is inadequate, had to spend $60 on a cline regulator to keep it from leaning out on uplines (fuel tank is 2 inchs from engine, level with carb). I won't go on.

In anycase, it's a lemon.

Jason

Cabane strut, I am very impressed, You, SIR, have talent

in this case the engine handywork is not mine!
the images were from here
have a look in the 'brutality corner' for the full story!

Yeah, a guy at my club drove his Whiplash into the ground going about 100 mPh.

K&B 40 something torn in two among other various injuries.
That was his "FIRST" crash of the year. Since then, four more.

Expensive hobby!

If he has crashed 4 times this year, he shouldn't be flying

I know, that is what I would say, but the funny thing is.....
He is a really good flyer. Between engine stalls, battery failure,
someone turning on the same frequency, and trying to push the
limit a little more... this hobby is eating him up.

I had my first crash a couple weeks back as well. My Big Stik
from a 100 yards up decided to take a nose dive. Still don't
know what happened. I was thinking switch failure, but the
more I think about it, I think the elevator clevis might have
come undone.....

Never seen a plane in so many pieces. I was actually happy to
get it out of my system...

my tigershark went into a muddy field in a full power dive from 600 feet. Was going rediculously fast when it hit the ground The engine is completely fine after a clean up- rather contrasting to the plane a might add!
Luke

According to the date of this post, this guy average 1 crash every 4 weeks or so.

I have crashed 5 times in the last 12 months:

1st: Last summer, H9 Cap moved elevator servos to tail, way tail heavy, stall during landing approach

2nd (3 days later): GP Extra 40, forgot to plug aileron cord after taking off the wing to investigate throttle linkage. Took off and start rolling to the right slowly. When it was going downward in knife edge position, I realized what had happened, but was not reacting fast enough to give full left rudder.

3rd: Christmas Eve 2002: WM Super Stunt 60. I was flying all by myself in this wonderful day. Decided to take 1 more flight too many... RX pack went out of juice, then it went to mid throttle and straight dive to the trees behind parking area. Broke the Magnum 91 4-stroke into 4 pieces. Ended up selling the intact muffler for $12. The plane was in many more pieces. Broke 1 servo. Ended up salvaging the tail for its Ultracote..

4th, Creek Staudacher (the one in Avitar): Battery went out during 1st flight Elevator response slowed down by 10X. Tried to bring it in for landing, but the 10X delay in elevator made for spectacular flare: nose up, then straight down. Engine is fine. Just broke firewall clean and tore out landing block, and bent wing tube. Easily fixable. At this point, I realized that a $25 onboard LED RX indicator is a good investment

5th, WM Fun World 3D: left aileron servo stripped, and plane rolls to the right. Had to fly with rleft rudder and left aileron to keep level. Couldn't make left turn for landing. Ended up overshooting behind trees far side of runway. After I lost sight of it, I didn't keep the right amount of aileron and rudder to keep wings level. When I went to pick up the plane, it apparently had rolled to the right, landed on right wheel and right wingtip, then hit the tail to bend the aft fuse to the left. Broke the stick structure in aft fuse. Should be repaired easily as well.

Out of 5 crashes, I only broke 1 engine. Kind of lucky.

At the pt. magu airshow last year, i was going to be the junior representitive for my club, simi valley flyers, in simi valley, california. At the time, i had a great planes easy sport. I went out the day before the airshow to practice my 5 foot inverted runway passes (i was getting good at them too). On takeoff, at the end of the runway, with 15 feet of altitude, and due to a sharp climb, no airspeed, my engine "died". My best bet was to swing it around quickly, and land it in the weeds. I tried. I almost made it, when my engine "came back to life". because of the downthrust, and my low airspeed at the time, the plane lurched downward, into the ground. Snapped my fuselage clean in half. I panicked. I had to get the thing done by the next day for the airshow. It did not hit hard, but i was lucky it was such a clean snap. We brought it home, bought some plywood and some more 30 min epoxy, (we were almost out) and set about fixing it, fast. Then we recieved a call. The airshow was off because a real plane had exploded in mid air. Both pilots were killed. After all that panick, and Rushing to fix it, it was all for nothing. So, now in no rush, we set about leasurly testing the equipment. My throttle servo had stripped. The g-forces of takeoff brought the servo arm back. the g forces of the plane facing down, brought it back forward again. i have no clue how that happened.....