Fire Engine compartment
05-10-2013 | 11:44 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Fire Engine compartment
I was starting my os 55 ax in a gp cherokee this morning and it all of a sudden caught fire can anyone tell me what would cause this to happen I have been flying for over 30 years and never saw anything like this happen. I would appreciate any advise thanks in advance . Ken
05-10-2013 | 01:47 PM
#3
RE: Fire Engine compartment
Hi andrewskj
In 1973 I was having trouble starting my trainer .19 engine. All of a sudden I saw the covering on the plane disappearing. I took me a second or more to realize that the plane was on fire, since there was no flame visible. I covered it with a large rag to stop the fire. That plane may not have had a muffler, since in those days mufflers were not always used. I have never again had a fire. My guess is that a small piece of a combustable item, such as a piece if leaf or lint, was drawn into the carburator, caught fire and came out of the exhaust still burning.
In 1973 I was having trouble starting my trainer .19 engine. All of a sudden I saw the covering on the plane disappearing. I took me a second or more to realize that the plane was on fire, since there was no flame visible. I covered it with a large rag to stop the fire. That plane may not have had a muffler, since in those days mufflers were not always used. I have never again had a fire. My guess is that a small piece of a combustable item, such as a piece if leaf or lint, was drawn into the carburator, caught fire and came out of the exhaust still burning.
05-10-2013 | 02:13 PM
#5
My Feedback: (1)
RE: Fire Engine compartment
Andrew its difficult to attempt to anyalise what happened from your description. One can only speculate that the ignition was some sort of electrical short on board that perhaps ignited leaking glow fuel.
Glow fuel is insidious since it burns in bright daylight almost invisibly as some have described. Although it is rare compared to fires from electric, gasoline and jet fueled models it is still a factor that we sometimes tend to take to lightly. Where you were flying can also be a factor in viability. If you were flying from one of the two common dry lake sites up there in Vegas then this is far worse. Being surrounded entirely by this very bright and whitish relection from the lake bed on a bright sunny day which I believe it was this morning makes spotting a fire extremely difficult.
Some years back two of us were flying at the field and he picked up his flight box to leave and he screamed dropping the box. He was severaly burned and I had to take him to the hospital abandoning our equipment. it was started by horribly poor wiring on an old box and right next to the leaky old fuel can, agine our field is very much dry lake like and very a very sunny day. It is for this reason I never agine used a box with a power panel and an attached fuel can. My fuel no matter what type is always in a separate can with its own attached geared manual pump.
Where in or on the airplane did you notice the fire: in the wing compartment or behind fire firewall area? What kind of glow ignitor are you using? What is the condition of the airplane now? Can you describe or photograph the burned area on the airplane?
John
Glow fuel is insidious since it burns in bright daylight almost invisibly as some have described. Although it is rare compared to fires from electric, gasoline and jet fueled models it is still a factor that we sometimes tend to take to lightly. Where you were flying can also be a factor in viability. If you were flying from one of the two common dry lake sites up there in Vegas then this is far worse. Being surrounded entirely by this very bright and whitish relection from the lake bed on a bright sunny day which I believe it was this morning makes spotting a fire extremely difficult.
Some years back two of us were flying at the field and he picked up his flight box to leave and he screamed dropping the box. He was severaly burned and I had to take him to the hospital abandoning our equipment. it was started by horribly poor wiring on an old box and right next to the leaky old fuel can, agine our field is very much dry lake like and very a very sunny day. It is for this reason I never agine used a box with a power panel and an attached fuel can. My fuel no matter what type is always in a separate can with its own attached geared manual pump.
Where in or on the airplane did you notice the fire: in the wing compartment or behind fire firewall area? What kind of glow ignitor are you using? What is the condition of the airplane now? Can you describe or photograph the burned area on the airplane?
John
05-10-2013 | 03:27 PM
#6
My Feedback: (-1)
RE: Fire Engine compartment
I have never seen a glow engine start on fire so I would guess it was a spark from something electrical?? When I am flying a gasser I do have a fire extinguisher right next to my start up area but I don't bother when all I have is glow powered planes. I'm the only person I have seen in a long time that has an extinguisher on hand with a gasser but I think some of the guys have them in there cars? Fire and glow is a very strange happening?
05-12-2013 | 07:28 AM
#7
RE: Fire Engine compartment
Hi!
35 years ago a friend of mine lay his deltawing on the pit table and when he began starting the engine it back fired with a "burp" and the fuel that had run from the silencer caught fire.
That was the first time...
The second time was during a pylonrace. One of the Quarter Midget planes caught fire during a start when the pilotbegan starting his engine (same as above,engine backfiring). The pilot tried to stop the fire which is damn hard because methanol burns nearly invisible and when the pilot sought he had stopped the flames he resumed to start the engine once more, but suddenly he felt heat comming from the engine/pipe and the the model began to burn a second time. This time the flames were put out with a fireextinguiser and the heat was canceald.
35 years ago a friend of mine lay his deltawing on the pit table and when he began starting the engine it back fired with a "burp" and the fuel that had run from the silencer caught fire.
That was the first time...
The second time was during a pylonrace. One of the Quarter Midget planes caught fire during a start when the pilotbegan starting his engine (same as above,engine backfiring). The pilot tried to stop the fire which is damn hard because methanol burns nearly invisible and when the pilot sought he had stopped the flames he resumed to start the engine once more, but suddenly he felt heat comming from the engine/pipe and the the model began to burn a second time. This time the flames were put out with a fireextinguiser and the heat was canceald.
