Sorry folks, I had intended to send this out before the NTSB did but I have been busy doing NTSB reports, FAA reports and NASA report. Plus trying to get the plane home since last Friday. So here is the story:
Well, things didn't go as well as I had hoped! The wind was high in the morning hours and shifted to cross wind conditions, so I postponed the flight. The winds died down after lunch so we were back on! I taxied out to runway 14 as the wind sock was indicating that end of the runway for take-off. As I was taxiing the Airport Operations Manager came on the radio to say the runway was down for about ten more minutes due to a concrete pour, so I told him I would taxi to 14 and do my run-up and wait for his clearance. As I was doing my run-up the wind shifted and indicated that runway 32 was the appropriate one for take-off so I taxied back to the other end of the runway and waited for the cement truck to clear. It took longer than had been expected, so I taxied back to a tie down area where observers were waiting to see me fly and killed the engine. I didn't want it to get hot just idling at the end of the runway. I sat and talked with observers for a bit and the Operations Manager came over and said the runway was back in service. I let the engine cool a bit longer and then cranked up and proceeded to runway 32 again for take-off. Take-off went fairly well once I settled down the pilot induced oscillations after lift off. My plan was to head out in a south west direction from the Airport about ten miles where I could go to 3000 feet without going into Class B Airspace and do some maneuvers and practice making simulated landings from 3000 feet to 2000 feet and get a feel for what the plane does with gear retracted and gear down, flaps up and flaps down and practice stabilized approach at 70 MPH. Then I would return to the Airport to do some actual landings. However, at 6 miles out something happened to the engine and I started getting oil on my windshield. I decided I needed to head back to the Airport and land immediately, for fear of my engine running out of oil and freezing up. It only holds 3.5 quarts to start with and it was already impeding my vision out of the front of the cockpit and I was only at 1700 feet. I made it back to the Airport following my GPS track, but my engine was beginning to heat up. I made a first pass for landing but was not stabilized enough to attempt it so I did a go-around to try again. As I was flying the pattern another plane was in the pattern in front of me. I made an announcement on the radio that I had oil on my windshield and needed to get down. The other plane responded well and told me the pattern was mine as he climbed to 1500 feet. I came in for my second attempt with a better approach and proceeded with my landing. My vision out the front and sides of the canopy was like looking through the bottom of a coke bottle. At this point my engine was beginning to overheat and I knew I had to put the plane down. At 70 MPH I touched down hard and bounced about 3-4 feet up. I added throttle, leveled off and touched down again. At this point, my landing gear rolled for an instant and then collapsed and I was down and skidding on the nose down the runway. I pulled the stick fully back and shut off the fuel valve immediately. I was skidding to the left of the runway and applied full right rudder and was back in the middle of the runway when I stopped. I spent the next several hours answering questions about what happened with the fire department, EMS, police and then the FAA. The next stretch of time was cleaning off the runway debris and rolling the plane to the hanger. The only damage that I can tell so far is to the wing stubs (the area between the fuselage and where the wings attach) due to the landing gear punching through the skin (top and bottom) from the hard landing and collapsed gear. The prop was destroyed of course and who knows what might be wrong with the engine. I will be replacing the retractable landing gear with fixed gear and trying to figure out what happened to the engine. I honestly believe the outcome of the day would have been much better if it were not for the engine oil problem. The plane flew very well and I felt like everything was going great until the oil started hitting my canopy. I had 4.5 hours on the engine doing taxi tests and high speed taxi, bringing the tail up but not leaving the runway.The engine had not leaked a drop of oil through all the testing. I had just changed the oil before the first flight and the used oil had no indication of any problems. I am anxious to get her home and try to figure out where the oil was coming from and, of course, start the repairs. So far I have not found any structural damage and it appears the only repairs needed will be to the engine, prop and wing stubs after replacing the gear. To anyone planning their first flight, I would advise to stay closer to the airport than I did. If I had been closer, maybe I would have been able to see better for landing and would not have touched down as hard as I did. And by the way, not a scratch on me or any other part of the plane except the bottom of the engine cowl and the front two exhaust pipes. When the gear collapsed, the plane nosed over on the exhaust pipes and the main gear. When the exhaust pipes hit they bent back and then the cowl started scraping. The cowl scraped to paper thin, but didn't tear off, on the very bottom. I got the wings off yesterday and transported one home today. Tomorrow, I'll transport the other wing and the plane. Let the rebuild begin! American by Birth - A Texan by the Grace of God In God we trust!
