Sorry But this is important any one with a lycoming engine. This is from our SAAA sport Aviation ASs Australia Phil Matheson mathe...@dodo.com.au VH-PKR ( Phil's KR) 61 3 58833588 Australia.( Down Under) See My KR2 Building Web Page at: http://mywebpage.netscape.com/flyingkrphil/VHPKR.html
See our VW Engines and Home built web page at http://www.vw-engines.com/ www.homebuilt-aviation.com/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "jhudson" <jhud...@iprimus.com.au> To: <saaa_c...@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005 3:07 PM Subject: [saaa_ch20] Fw: 1) Lycoming Verdict (From AVWeb) > > Hi all at Chapter20., received this from Rick Harper. Hard to believe > Lycoming are turning out crook engines eh ! > Pres. John. > > > For everyone's interest !!! > > Biggus > > > Vince Orton wrote: >> >> This just in from AVWeb ... >> >> ********************************************************************** >> >> JURY'S CRANKSHAFT VERDICT HITS LYCOMING HARD... >> In a stunning verdict (the effects of which could ripple through the >> aviation world for years to come) a Texas jury has found Textron >> Lycoming entirely to blame for crankshaft failures in high-horsepower >> engines between 2000 and 2002. What's more, the Grimes County jurors >> found that Lycoming's investigation of the crankshaft failures was >> fraudulent and incorrectly put the blame on the manufacturer of the >> crankshaft forgings, Interstate Southwest, of Navasota, Texas. In fact, >> the FAA also accepted Lycoming's version that Interstate had improperly >> heat-treated the forgings, which weakened the steel and led to the >> failures. What the jury found was that the crankshafts were >> under-designed for high-horsepower engines, and that Lycoming changed >> the recipe for the steel alloy used in the cranks by adding vanadium (to >> make the metal easier and less expensive to work with) and that that >> weakened them. According to court documents obtained by AVweb, the jury >> found that the "sole cause" of the crankshaft failures was Lycoming's >> design. More... >> >> ...REPLACEMENT CRANKS AND INTEGRITY QUESTIONED... >> Now, the legal wranglings have undoubtedly just begun (Lycoming will >> almost certainly appeal) but the Texas decision raises some practical >> and potentially disquieting questions about the whole crankshaft issue. >> These are questions we'd like to pose to Lycoming but we were unable to >> receive a response before our deadline. According to Interstate lawyer >> Marty Rose, the forging company's investigation revealed that the design >> of the crankshafts used in the brawny turbocharged 300-plus-horsepower >> six-cylinder engines in question was based on 40-year-old designs for >> four-cylinder engines with much lower horsepower. Rose told AVweb that >> their investigation revealed that even though the vanadium problem was >> fixed in replacement cranks installed in 1,400 engines recalled in 2002, >> the cranks are still under-designed for the stresses created by the big >> engines. "The [replacement] crankshafts don't have any safety margin," >> said Rose. More... >> >> ...THE VERDICT COULD BE JUST THE BEGINNING >> The decision also raises questions about the FAA's handling of the >> crankshaft problem. From the outset, the agency appears to have gone >> along with Lycoming's conclusion that Interstate was to blame for the >> weak cranks. The original Emergency Airworthiness Directive grounding >> Cessnas and Pipers with TIO-540 and LTIO-540 engines cites "a variation >> in the heat treatment process" (the jury did not agree) used during >> production of the cranks. FAA chief spokesman Greg Martin said the >> agency is studying the court decision and there's no word yet on further >> action. More... >> >> ************************************************************************ >> >> Thought you all would like to know ... >> >> -Vince Orton > > Aircraft piston engines are right on the ragged edge of failure. > The least little thing that goes wrong results in catastrophic > failure. > > > Paul Lamar > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> > Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research > Hospital's > 'Thanks & Giving.' > http://us.click.yahoo.com/6iY7fA/5WnJAA/Y3ZIAA/jrDrlB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saaa_ch20/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > saaa_ch20-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > >
