Did someone forget to button up the cowling....?

[Marty_d]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-22/sea-plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-river-derwent/6338872?section=tas

 

I quite often see this old Beaver around the place (don't bother replying Bex, I know what you're thinking...)

 

 

[Roundsounds]

Knowing the pilot involved, I would doubt it.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Knowing the pilot involved, I would doubt it.

Good to know!

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

The engine cowl latches on the Beaver can be a bit tricky...only two either side. Need to be tensioned/ adjusted properly and lock wired . Won't come undone if done properly.

 

 

[farri]

Need to be tensioned/ adjusted properly and lock wired .

G`Day Ross,I`ve never seen cowl latches on that type of aircraft.... Dose the lock wire allow the cowl to be opened for a pre-flight inspection, or, do they just take it for granted that everything`s ok because the LAME takes care of it?

 

Not saying the pilot did anything wrong?

 

Frank.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Frank, being a radial you can view most of the engine from the front during preflight. To view the components at the rear of the engine there are two side panels that give you access to magnetos, starter, carb, oil and fuel lines for a visual. The engine oil tank is actually accessible from the cockpit and can even be topped up in flight if necessary. ( lower left fill cap - passengers side).Its a dry sump engine.

 

The two main cowls on the Beaver ( top and bottom) form a speed or Townend ring, ( the Yanks call it a NACA ring) and are important for providing adequet cooling to the tops of the cylinders. They were a huge step foward when developed allowing better engine cooling and more streamlined aircraft hence greater speed/ lower drag. They are quite heavy, and not designed to be taken off regularly, ( Its a two man job). The four latches that hold the two sections are steel and adjustable, but very advisable to also lock wire them closed lest they release because of vibration / engine shake. Not hard to lock wire them at all once you know how.

 

I remember one of the big WACO biplanes flown by the late Jimmy Franklin loosing an engine cowl during an aerobatic display at the Reno Air Races one year. Lucky it didn't get caught in the wing wires or damage something important as it departed. The FAA on site were not impressed !...

 

 

[dutchroll]

Yeah I'd hold off blaming the pilot for this one for now at least (though even the best of us can make a one-off mistake). Engine cowls are a pain, and the more access you grant the pilot to what's behind the cowls, the more of a pain they are.

 

My radial has top and bottom cowls too, but they're screwed on with about 60 machine screws. They'll never come off or loose in flight, but the flipside is that it takes 20 minutes to get them off if you need to look at something (except the oil filler/dipstick or the air valve, which is through a hatch).

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Look quite frankly I'd be surprised if the pilot had anything to do with the latching of theses cowls either, generally they are fitted by two mechanics, and I wouldn't trust those latches even properly adjusted without them being lock wired secured.

 

The cowls aren't attached to the engine cylinders in anyway, they just sit in metal saddles with a rubber buffer, which make the four latches very important in keeping them together and in place.