The other end of this though is when you pull the power and start down the G/S the oil pressure is going to drop even further. Do you really want to be in the soup, on the ILS heading down, and have the engine pop into feather? It is one of those questions which is really hard to answer. But personally I think it is better to have a known situation then an unknown situation. If you shut the engine down you don't have to worry about it, leave it running and you have all kinds of things to worry about (is it going to feather, seize, burst into flames, etc). Obviously if it isn't going to climb on one or a needed system (vacuum pump, hydraulics, etc.) is on the damaged engine then you really don't have the choice.
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Nurse or feather that engine??
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The other end of this though is when you pull the power and start down the G/S the oil pressure is going to drop even further. Do you really want to be in the soup, on the ILS heading down, and have the engine pop into feather? It is one of those questions which is really hard to answer. But personally I think it is better to have a known situation then an unknown situation. If you shut the engine down you don't have to worry about it, leave it running and you have all kinds of things to worry about (is it going to feather, seize, burst into flames, etc). Obviously if it isn't going to climb on one or a needed system (vacuum pump, hydraulics, etc.) is on the damaged engine then you really don't have the choice.
svcta
"Kids these days"-AAflyer
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Unless the you pull the power back enough to get the props out of govern, which I think is unlikely, the oil press will remain the same as it would at cruise or climb. Constant speed.....if the motor's turning at XXXX RPM it makes the same oil press regardless of MP.
Also, remember that in the original post he stated that the temp cooled down with reduced power setting. Keep it running.
Also, remember that in the original post he stated that the temp cooled down with reduced power setting. Keep it running.
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CAVOK69
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I see both sides of this for surer. But Ill stick to my answer as well, if I see oil pressure steadily dropping and temp above redline, unless I was in IMC/Approach area or terrain was an issue, I would shut it down. Yes it is supposed to feather, but a seizure could be much worse than shutting it down on your own. There is no clear cut answer to this situation, that is what you have the piece of paper in your wallet for that says you are qualified to be PIC and make the tough decisions.
The reason this sort of thing is not commonly tought is b/c there is no clear cut way to teach judgement or common sense. This is something that you will develope as a pilot and it sounds like you have already developed a pretty good sesne of judgement.
The reason this sort of thing is not commonly tought is b/c there is no clear cut way to teach judgement or common sense. This is something that you will develope as a pilot and it sounds like you have already developed a pretty good sesne of judgement.
svcta
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Funny, people are giving answers that are not related to the scenario presented.
He said: IMC, temp. problem corrected with reduced power setting.
To the original poster:
You did the right thing in this case, IMO. You sound as if you have the right idea about not being too quick to make a decision about things unless something's on fire or breaking off of the a/c. You'll learn as time goes by that in most cases the worst thing that a pilot can do is make snap decisions. Take all the time you need to sort through your problems.
In the situation you mentioned you handled it perfectly. Corrected the problem and carried a running engine until you no longer needed it(you got on the ground with it). Swell.
I had a sim instructor once that I was discussing fires with on a type ride. He was an older guy that flew for some big carrier back in the days of 3 person crews(as the norm). He was saying that their procedure for an engine fire was first for every crew member to take the following steps:
Crewmember 1. Hey, (sip coffee) that engine's on fire.
Crewmember 2. Yep, (sip coffee) it is on fire.
Crewmember 3. Man, (sip coffee) that thing really is on fire.
Then do something about it. I think this was in the early days of CRM and trying to engineer the cowboys of days past out of the cockpits. But it illustrates a great point. Never be in a hurry.
He said: IMC, temp. problem corrected with reduced power setting.
To the original poster:
You did the right thing in this case, IMO. You sound as if you have the right idea about not being too quick to make a decision about things unless something's on fire or breaking off of the a/c. You'll learn as time goes by that in most cases the worst thing that a pilot can do is make snap decisions. Take all the time you need to sort through your problems.
In the situation you mentioned you handled it perfectly. Corrected the problem and carried a running engine until you no longer needed it(you got on the ground with it). Swell.
I had a sim instructor once that I was discussing fires with on a type ride. He was an older guy that flew for some big carrier back in the days of 3 person crews(as the norm). He was saying that their procedure for an engine fire was first for every crew member to take the following steps:
Crewmember 1. Hey, (sip coffee) that engine's on fire.
Crewmember 2. Yep, (sip coffee) it is on fire.
Crewmember 3. Man, (sip coffee) that thing really is on fire.
Then do something about it. I think this was in the early days of CRM and trying to engineer the cowboys of days past out of the cockpits. But it illustrates a great point. Never be in a hurry.
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The way I see it, I've got a deal with the plane to not hurt it, and it's got a deal to not try to kill me.
If an engine starts running like crap, it's already trying to kill me, so I could care less about runnin that engine into metal shavings.
I actually had this same situation happen to me in a 402. Oil pressure was on the low side taking off and in the climb out it came up and then started dropping off. after about 7,000 ft I started losing manifold pressure because the low oil pressure wouldn't keep the wastegate on the turbo closed. so I just pulled the power back on the dying engine and got vectors to an ILS at a nearby airport to land.
If you shut the engine down, it's gone for good. if you leave it running you at least have the option to use whatever you can get out of it if you need to. If for some reason the ******************** hits the fan and you have to go around, you're really going to want that 2nd engine even if it's just for a few seconds to get leveled off and accelerate into a climb before it craps out.
Who cares if it seizes? it should still feather.
If an engine starts running like crap, it's already trying to kill me, so I could care less about runnin that engine into metal shavings.
I actually had this same situation happen to me in a 402. Oil pressure was on the low side taking off and in the climb out it came up and then started dropping off. after about 7,000 ft I started losing manifold pressure because the low oil pressure wouldn't keep the wastegate on the turbo closed. so I just pulled the power back on the dying engine and got vectors to an ILS at a nearby airport to land.
If you shut the engine down, it's gone for good. if you leave it running you at least have the option to use whatever you can get out of it if you need to. If for some reason the ******************** hits the fan and you have to go around, you're really going to want that 2nd engine even if it's just for a few seconds to get leveled off and accelerate into a climb before it craps out.
Who cares if it seizes? it should still feather.
MauleSkinner
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He also said: rough running engine, loss of MP, low oil pressure. Seems to me that's part of the scenario, too.
Personally, if the Oil Pressure continued to drop, I'd shut it down. If it stayed within limits, I'd keep it running if I thought I needed it AND I didn't think it would get worse at a critical time. I'm too lazy to prove that I'm a good enough pilot to shut it down and feather it within 500 feet of the ground on an ILS
If it siezed, wouldn't the feathering pins extend, preventing it from feathering?Morettis said:
Fly safe!
David
svcta
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You're right. But they wouldn't affect my answer at all.
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