Flight Feathers Clipped
I've shown this picture before and I'm showing it again because it's pretty :) AND the following photos are from this helicopters engine. After a 4hr flight, the chopper would not lift.
The first sign was the oil coming from the engine down the exhaust pipe
The spark plugs were removed and a borescope (camera on a stick) took these pictures inside the engine. This shows the valve seats are pushed out of the head. Not good.
The push tube on the left is normal and straight. The push tube on the right is bent abnormally.
Spare parts found. This is the cap off the push rod that was found floating in the engine.
Do I know why this happened? Nope. It could be several things, I just hope it doesn't happen again!!
Next post will be of the flight :)
Unfortunately, yes these are my photos :)
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Wow... At least it didn't lock up the engine in the air! I've heard landing a heli without a motor is more than a little tricky.
With all the drone technology out there, I'm really surprised there are no multi-rotor consumer aircraft on the market. I've actually seen a gas-powered quad work beautifully, so you would think they could scale it up.
With my eyesight, though, I'd probably better stick to a dirigible.
Actually, I'd rather land a chopper with no engine any day over a fixed wing. With a chopper, yes if you don't get the collective down fast (straighten the main rotor blades) and the rpm's drop too low, you will fall out of the sky like a rock. BUT, a chopper you can finesse into a spot whereas a plane, you simply glide forward.
I bet someday the drone technology will take off with an autopilot (like an unmanned Tesla), but I know there are massive problems with drones getting into aircraft space and/or the peeping tom effect. Where I was in Florida, they actually enforced and handed out $250,000 fines for those that operated drones without a partial pilots license.
No word from the Mayo Clinic on your eyes yet?
I'm just surprised there are no quad-rotor aircraft, or none that I've seen, capable of carrying a pilot and passengers...
As for camera drones, people are letting paranoia get the better of them. Most have very wide lenses, making creeper use difficult. Someone with a big telephoto lens is more likely to be a perv than a drone pilot. That said, people are also really annoying with them. I can't get good long-exposure fireworks photos, because there are always a bunch of drones leaving lines through the images.
I did just get word yesterday. A gene expression is likely the issue, and may also cause me cancer down the road. Last week, they had me do a test which required inserting 1" (maybe larger) contacts with attached electrodes into my eyes that prevent blinking, then starting at bright lights. Who knows what that tells them, other than "ow!"
hi, I wish you to fly with your helicopter soon
I hope nothing like this happens again too! :)
Stay safe!
Lol, me too!! Thanks :)
the incredible thing is that hoop could have damaged something else there and the helicopter had failed while it was on the flight, as God's thing was flying without problems, god blesses the good people,
Luckily no accident! The important thing is that you are healthy!
Thanks :)
I had been offline because of my eye problems and I didn't have the internet all these days. But how terrible to hear about this, my friend. I hope it doesn't happen again.
Thank you! I always learn a lot from your posts.
An interesting article. I subscribed to you. Subscribe to me, we will be friends