Lost oil pressure - forced landing

[Onex107]

Good training pays off. Please report on the failure. The rest of us, that can't afford the upgrade, need the info.

[n982sx]

Robbie,

Glad to hear you made it down safely. Nice job. Good luck with the engine upgrade.

[Sonex1517]

Good training pays off. Please report on the failure. The rest of us, that can't afford the upgrade, need the info.

Will do. I went out today to prep it for moving, but still have not removed the cowling. It’s bad enough being in what is essentially a hayfield on a summer’s day in Illinois.

[dtwolcott]

Robbie
Sorry to hear about the engine failure but glad that you were able to find a place to safely land. Hope the new engine swap goes well. Traning sure pays off when needed.
Don

[samiam]

Well done Robbie. Sorry to hear it happened though. I had a partial engine failure flying my champ last week, when the case on the "ol' reliable" Continental A-65 cracked and I was running on 3 cylinders. Not fun.

Looks like that engine mount I sold you will be used sooner than later. Good luck with the swap!

[kevinh]

Well done Robbie and great description!

[Sonex1517]

Hey everyone

A quick update. Sonex 1517 was retrieved successfully today from the private (unused) runway where I landed it last Thursday. We looked over the engine, and unfortunately there is not an obvious source for the loss of oil pressure. The sump is almost dry and the bottom of the fuselage is covered in oil.

I will keep everyone posted as we investigate further.

Couple of items worth noting.

Yesterday I spent two full hours prepping the plane for removal. Most of that time was getting the eight bolts ready for removal -two flap, two aileron, four wing spar. I can say it was hot, nasty, sweaty work, but it was worth it.

We used a 16’ flatbed trailer for the fuselage on its gear. It was barely enough.

We used a 16’ enclosed trailer for the wings. It was more than enough.

A huge thank you to Jim Reichard for his endless assistance in this effort. My father and mother in law also helped, as did two new friends from an A&P school in Rockford, IL that my wife knows from her circle of friends. Tim Green let me use his flat bed trailer, without it we would have made two trips.

I am sore, bruised, tired, sunbaked, and relieved.

[Gordon]

Robbie........we are all rooting for you to have a "good out come" when all of this is finally over. You made better decisions in a crisis situation than some of us may have made. Well done!

We all look forward to you reporting on you findings AND hope you can add some photos along with your comments.

Gordon....Onex....Hummel 2400

[EugeneMaree]

Hi
Just to add what happened to me last year with my Onex, also Aerovee powered.
I bought the plane from the builder who seemed to have done a pretty decent job, a very well built Onex with 71 hours TT.
From basically the second hour I flew, I noticed an intermittent oil pressure drop to zero. I replaced the sender and also checked the pressure on the ground with a manual gauge. All seemed well.
Then a few days later while flying, again the pressure dropped to zero, but all temps remained well in the green. I was confident that it was an electrical issue. About three minutes later the engine stopped dead at about 300 ft. I made an emergency landing in a rough field, with fortunately minimal damage to the air frame (landing gear bent up and wing roots damaged by branches).
I sold the engine without opening it myself, but was told by the new owner that the oil pump seemed to be not working, which resulted in the front bearing to seize up.
I found a 10 year old Revmaster engine which I hope will be in good enough shape , to install in the Onex.
Any advice and experience with the Revmaster will be appreciated.
Eugene

[l.spicer]

i had a crack behind #3 cyl. over to main oil gallery plug, ( that removed it self, not threaded. )