Small Aircraft
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Engineer; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 13.9; Flight Crew Total 3397; Flight Crew Type 0
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Separated Traffic; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
I accomplished a preflight inspection on the aircraft. I drained fuel out of the three peacock valves; one for each tank. I walked around the aircraft and inspected the aircraft in accordance with a normal preflight inspection. I started the aircraft and called for taxi clearance. I taxied to the run-up area adjacent to runway 13R. I did my pre-take off checks as follows:Controls-were all free and correctInstruments were all set for take off.Fuel was on and the transfer pump was running.All three tanks were full.Trim was set to mid travel.Run up was then accomplished. Magneto check showed about 50 RPM drop at 1700 RPM.Accomplished a full throttle check.All checks were satisfactory.Since this was my first flight in this airplane; I spent more time than I normally would making a full power check and a second magneto check. When I felt comfortable with the engines performance; I informed the tower I was ready for takeoff. The tower cleared me for take off on runway 13R. I taxied into position and applied about half throttle maybe 1;800 RPM. I l the speed build to get used to the handling of the aircraft. When I was comfortable; I applied full throttle and continued the take off. At 70 MPH IAS; I pulled back and made a positive break from the ground. The aircraft climbed normally and maintained 70 MPH with little back pressure on the yoke. Between 300 and 400 feet I experienced my first power loss. The engine reduced in power to idle with no roughness or backfire. My hand was on the throttle. I reached to the right of the throttle and pushed in the mixture. It was all the way in. I reached to the left and pushed the carb heat in about 1/2 of an inch. The engine immediately regained power; approximately 2-3 seconds after the initial power loss. I thought that had fixed the problem but the engine lost power again. I reported to the tower that I had an engine failure. The tower cleared me to land on any runway. While I was communicating with the tower; I was moving the throttle trying to find a position that the engine would continue to run. The engine would regain power and loose power in 1 to 2 second increments. I also attempted to find a position with the mixture and carb heat that would keep the engine running at a steady RPM. At this point; I prepared for a forced landing. I chose a strip of land to my left as my emergency landing spot but was unsure if I could make a landing there. As I lined up on the field; I evaluated my altitude and position. Still having enough altitude and airspeed; I made the decision to land on the airport property. As I got closer to the airport the closest possible landing was runway 31R. I avoided the barricades on the runway and landed without incident. The engine continued to run after I came to a stop. I taxied the aircraft to the hangar under its own power.
The pilot of an Ercoupe 415 experienced a loss of engine power after takeoff. He was able to perform a landing on a closed runway with intermittent engine power available.