I warned You....

[cornfieldflyer]

Three words you never want to here from an A&P. I warned you.....

I was checking under my cowel when this A&P walked by. He stopped and talked with me and in doing so he stuck his head or eye's on my bird. He saw my throttle cable and told me. 1- install a spring on the butterfly to hold your throttle wide open. 2- do this becuase that cable is going to fail.... He walked away. I buttoned up what I was doing and went home.

Time goes by, almost all summer goes by and I forget about this conversation I had with this very very nice man.

On a very nice evening I do my preflight. check everything twice including the wind, get in or put my bird on as I say in these little birds and run her up. Off I go to my runup area. As I set there I double check everything and taxi to the end of the runway after she warms up.

I have learned to keep a very tight pattern. I hold runway heading until I have reached V2 or to the point were I know I can not land and stop by the end of the runway. I then start to drift off to one side, as I come to the end of the runway I am leveling her and coming back across to do my downwind.

On this day I am doing just as I say but something was telling me to come back across the runway a little sooner, so I did. As I leveled the wings and started climbing somemore I heard a loud Bang, I then lost my throttle. She went to a little over idle and I had no control of the throttle.

I reached for the choke and turned a little left and right over the runway. As I crossed the runway I pull the choke and landed. After checking her over that throttle cable had broken. All I could hear in my head was that A&P telling me to fix that cable and put a spring on it.

The next day a spring was installed and the throttle cable repaired correctly.

Never blow off what an A&P says. Listen and listen good.

Always Always Always be ready for an engine out.

This just happened not two weeks ago.

This should have never happened, I will listen from know on.....

Engine out #6 of 6

Tony