REFLECTOR:Secondary fire detection

[Chuck Jensen]

I like that second example, but I have a question?  Who, of sane mind, would
fly an airplane that you have to dump 8 quartz of oil into?

Chuck

-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-admin@tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-admin@tvbf.org]On
Behalf Of richard@riley.net
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2003 11:19 AM
To: reflector@tvbf.org
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR:Secondary fire detection


I was working from memory.  A little online research, and I find these.



 From CP59, Page 8, April, 1989

      A Washington Long-EZ was circling low level over a sparsely inhabited 
area when the pilot felt/heard a creaking sound and immediately smelled 
gasoline. There was obviously a major gasoline leak as he picked out a 
relatively smooth area and executed an emergency landing. The pilot got out 
and on his way out thought he saw a hole in the fuel gauge area but right 
then the fuel caught fire and, unfortunately, the entire aircraft was 
consumed. The pilot was not injured but the cause of the fuel leak/fire is 
unknown. There is a highly speculative theory that the aircraft was hit by 
a bullet! This pilot was a Vietnam war helicopter pilot and highly 
experienced in such events and is sure that is what he felt/heard just 
before he smelled the gasoline.
      Not much we can learn here except, perhaps, to refrain from flying 
low over what could be someone's property - someone who may not want your 
flying over them and may take action against you. Keep in mind, this is 
speculative theory, not proven, but a strong possibility. An experienced 
pilot, well known to RAF and respected by all who know him as a man of 
integrity.
--------------------------------------------

      A Los Angeles Long-EZ pilot/builder installed a breather system from 
his engine to one of his exhaust headers, similar to the system developed, 
tested and sold by Wes Gardner and similar to one Mike and Sally have had 
on their Long-EZ for over 5 years now (with excellent results). The only 
difference was the fact that an anti-backfire valve (one directional check 
valve) that Wes calls out and that MIke and Sally have installed, was 
omitted. On top of that, this aircraft was known to have one cylinder 
pumping oil (turned out to be a seized piston ring). Oil consumption was 
very high and this pilot had filled it with 8 quarts prior to taxiing out 
for take off. Just prior to taking off, the tower informed the pilot that 
smoke was coming from the engine. His rear seat passenger looked back and 
saw flames coming from the cowlnear the wing root. The tower dispatched a 
fire truck and the fire was quickly extinguished.
      The Long-EZ was seriously damaged, all engine compartment wiring was 
burned and the foam was melted out of the wing root. It will take several 
months of hard work to fix.
      What caused this fire? Well, this pilot and Mike, at RAF, don't fully 
agree. The builder feels that the breather tube welded into the exhaust 
header cracked, allowing oil onto the outside of the hot exhaust, which 
caught fire. Mike believes, based on his own experience, that without the 
anti-backfire valve, the hot exhaust gases went into the breather line, 
melting or burning it off. Since the engine was burning excessive amounts 
of oil, this line probably had oil in it and when the rubber hose caught 
fire, it also ignited the oil which then turned into a hot fire causing 
lots of damage including melting the rudder cable pulley and bracket. Mike 
speaks from experience! When he first installed his breather system, he 
also tried it without the check valve, or an anti-backfire valve. He was 
lucky, he ran it on the ground and, when the hose melted through, he saw it 
before any more damage could occur. There was no fire in his case, probably 
because his engine was not using much oil, but the hose from the crankcase 
to the tube welded into the exhaust was melted/burned beyond recognition in 
a matter of minutes!
      If you are planning on installing a breather system such as Wes 
Gardner's, be absolutely certain you do it right! He has lots of experience 
with this, so contact him, better yet, buy his kit and install it exactly 
per his instructions, and you will have an excellent breather system that 
does not throw oil all over your cowling.


"A Long-EZ on its first flight after installing a newly overhauled engine 
suffered an in-flight engine fire and was unable to make it back to the 
runway. The engine quit on approach and the pilot attempted to land in a 
housing tract. There was not enough room and he rolled into a car, which 
also burst into flames. He landed under control, thus, in-flight structural 
failure or control failure are not suspect. Sadly, the pilot was killed by 
fire. The fire was so intense in the engine/cowling area that the FAA 
accident investigator was unable to determine what could have started the 
fire. The fuel pumps, carburetor, etc., were consumed. The airplane had 
been airborne for only a few minutes. Reportedly, the engine was an 0-320 
and he was using auto fuel. We may never know what caused the fire, but it 
is easy to overlook a loose fitting - we have done it ourselves. A fuel 
leak, particularly auto fuel, could be ignited by hot exhaust or any number 
of things. Always try to have at least one other person go over your work, 
especially engine related work like plumbing or control systems. The more 
pairs of eyes that look at your engine installation, the better chance that 
you will catch some overlooked items. This is specifically important if you 
are developing new, unapproved installations.
      Never, ever, cowl an engine that has been worked on without a brief 
engine run to check for leaks. We, here at RAF, have more than once found 
fairly drastic leaks during the leak-check engine run."


At 09:58 AM 7/18/03 -0400, you wrote:
>How does the fire happen?
>
>John
>
>richard@riley.net wrote:
>
> > I know of one fire in a canard (long ez) and 3 in conventional planes
> > (regular certified stuff.)  The fire in the Long EZ was fatal, it burned
> > away his control system before he knew what was happening.  In the
> > certified birds, one in a Malibu burned through the firewall before they
> > knew what was going on, killed the CFI and horribly disfigured the
> > student.  The other two knew they had fires and stopped the engines and
> > deadsticked, and lived.
>
>
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