Tough Day -

[@MikePatey]

Great job on safe return and debrief my friend. I love your respect of others, the work performed, not blaming or hurting others while discussing a difficult situation. list the facts as known to help us all learn, open our minds to ideas and processes to ultimately become better builders and pilots. You are a great ambassador to aviation and a test pilot I respect. Great job bud !!! Cheers 👍🤠 Back To Work 🤠

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks Mike!

[@ChevTecGroup]

I know you test fly all your own planes Mike, but it would be cool to have Wasabi there for scrappy's first!

[@m.s.aviation7065]

Yeah I agree Mike. When you come at a positive view and make the best of a bad experience, the better off you are in the long run. Back to work!

[@nseaman1998]

@@ChevTecGroup the fricken dream team?!? Am I right?

[@Ripper13F1V]

@@ChevTecGroup It would be cool!

[@FlightChops]

Thanks so much for being willing to share this stuff in such great detail. We’re not all test pilots, but we can learn a great deal from your experiences. I know how hard it is to allow yourself to be vulnerable when putting stuff like this out there - so again, thanks for doing what you do. (And great job on this edit - that’s no small task!)

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks man, I appreciate your help with all of this. Just an engineer, taking to people is hard

[@ForFunFlyer]

Totally agree 👍🏻

[@mmichaeldonavon]

@@utopiasnow I was wrong with my comments - I've deleted them. Go for it.

[@stewartgrant9832]

Very informative. That was a classic fault. Like a little time bomb. Not to much damage I hope. Great edit. Hey Flight Chops are we going to see that trip edited up on the Dreadnaught Reno trip?

[@blake.crosby]

@@utopiasnow "Airplanes are cool" - And you're out there making them safer for everyone who thinks the same. 👍🏼

[@charlesincharge6512]

"I was the British guy speaking to you on the radio" If anything that man needs a cup of tea! 10 out of 10 landing Elliott, really good debrief certainly a lot of things I'm going to take on board.

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks man, glad you guys were there. He did a great job.

[@x4457]

@@utopiasnow Gotta find a job for that guy! He's got the right attitude and the fundamental skills to effectively communicate while under indirect stress - hard to find, harder to teach.

[@Acrowat40]

Deffo cup of tea. And more importantly with biscuits. (Tea without biscuits means you are in serious trouble)...

[@charleslacombe359]

Apparently you haven't heard the Air Traffic controllers who talked a non pilot, who was a passenger on a plane in which the pilot had a heart attack and died ! This guy had Never flown a plane, Several controllers actually talked the the guy down for a near perfect landing. At Night ! Unfortunately the pilot didn't survive. I believe it was somewhere in England. I think they even scrambled a Military helicopter to fly beside the guy giving him assistance also. Quite a Story, they had the Whole conversation on tape !

[@spifflespoof6951]

@@charleslacombe359 I remember that - there could've been several cases but here's one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6Kzp4mura53qJI

[@proonguice8386]

I feel like a new pilot learning to fly in tiny experimental Mustang is the equivalent of giving a kick start, raked Harley with ape hanger handle bars and a suicide shifter to a 16 year old to pass their driving test.

[@guitarTennisCarHomeFixFlying]

Totally agree, learn with the tribe and true assessment at 152 or 172 retracts obviously are sexy and facilitate higher speed but got to love the safety of fixed gear Ala a lot of Cessnas and the Cirrus

[@yadrenmolotok]

More like h2

[@brianhaygood183]

Yeah, I was pretty shocked to hear that was the plan. You can beat on a 30 year old Cessna a little and know it is going to do what it has done for the past 5000 hours. Low volume of manufacture plane, rare engine config, little redundancy, and a new pilot would be a terrible combination. Find a 150 and fly that for a year, minimum. If either of those failures had happened right after the guy got his license, this could very easily have ended badly.

[@melt2992]

Hilarious, thumbs up on your comment. I think the 16 year old stands a better chance of success. Hopefully the owner will realize how many ways this plane can hurt an inexperienced pilot or careless experienced pilot and start in a training airplane.

[@mikeholland1031]

Harleys are horrible. Don't give one to anybody to ride

[@CWLemoine]

Great video. I've seen a couple of comments about condensing 3 hours of stuff into a 1 hour video. My humble advice FWIW: KZbin space is free and your audience is pretty devoted. There's no reason not to break it up into smaller videos, especially since this covered multiple flights. If you had three hours of stuff, you could've made an entire playlist/series releasing videos once or twice per week. That helps with audience engagement, channel activity, and all the other stuff the algorithm likes to help your channel grow. Just technique only. I'm glad FlightChops introduced me to your channel and am looking forward to more videos.

[@tre420gaming4]

even Mover is up in this piece?!? Yo, you still playing DCS? have you started your own server yet? I'd LOVE to fly with ya/against ya sometime! I love your channel.

[@bobbyguns100]

Hi CW, I am one of your subscribers, awesome to catch you outside your channel lol

[@krotchlickmeugh627]

Be realistic. Anyone thats going to be interested in even half of the nitty gritty were never going to stay anyways. I have nothing but time and im not the only one. 3 hours is a daily listen through the headphones as i 🔧. I wouldnt change a thing.

[@t44e6]

My advice is to also use and crosslink other video hosting sites such as Bitchute, Odysee, Rumble, and Dailymotion. KZbin is engaging in some seriously dangerous behavior and is increasingly a platform for corporate content.

[@Boeing_hitsquad]

Aren't you supposed to be learning helo? .. wtf you doing watching these long ass videos? 😋

[@txkflier]

I couldn’t stop watching, so I watched all the way to the end. I reckon you did a good job on the video. It was interesting from start to finish. Thanks for bringing us along..

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks for coming along, I appreciate the support!!

[@bendeleted9155]

Yes, very condensed and well-edited on top of everything else good about it.

[@noneshere]

Yes sir the plane flies great, come watch me crash it 😳.

[@Aerogamer158]

I’ve been flying for so far 20 years mixed between civ, flight instructor, check airmen, defense and commercial 121 ops. And I saw no problems with your decisions at any point. Hardest thing to do is find that low key point with no engine and you did well. One can always backseat drive, doubt the process they chose after the fact, but and I stress this, none can change the past, and the decisions were the best you could have made in the stressful moment of multiple failures. I had a piston decide to explore the outside world n a pa28r on my commercial single engine land checkride back in the day. 500 ft AGL after takeoff. My decision to make a turn and land on a crossing runway saved the aircraft and us inside from landing in a residential area, and luckily my gear locked down so all that I had was a stuck aircraft blocking a runway in the end. No matter what others say they were not in that seat, controlling that aircraft. You’re decisions were the best in the moment. Wouldn’t have a problem having you sit in my aircraft next to me or solo, amazing job.

[@MotoVloggedOUT]

RIP Ethan Gadis. I’m a good friend of his father.

[@arturvolpi]

This plane sounds like a handful. I really appreciate the guts required to be a test pilot.

[@GrogHambone]

He shit the bed as a test pilot. He was on the ground.... suffered a HUGE issue with the aircraft, so what does he do? Power back on and take off again..... with that HUGE problem to deal with. He caused this incident. 100%

[@terrybrockway5376]

Oh My... What a great outcome. As a 10,000-hour plus pilot. One single engine out episode. Luckily made a runway. God was watching after my brother and me. We bought a Beech Baron after that.

[@jmace5964]

Always along for the journey. Airplanes are cool even if they let you down

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks 🙏 man

[@j.muckafignotti4226]

Very interesting. My thoughts are about three critical flight systems serviced by a single breaker. Landing gear hydraulics, fuel pumps, and engine ignition with no PMG, should all have been on individually serviced hot battery bus tie ins so as not to lose the whole kaboodle if one of these overwhelmed the circuit breaker. I also found it odd that anyone would forgo installing an idiot light that gives you an incredible amount of information, the gear UNSAFE (amber) light. That idiot light tells you many, many things. On the ground a flickering UNSAFE light tells you three things, your gear are not down and locked, your down lock switch is failing or out of rig, you have a lose or improperly fastened gear down lock strut. During transition from gear down to gear up, your UNSAFE or gear in transit light is normally illuminated, AMBER. On reaching the gear up and locked position, the making of the up lock switch removes power from the UNSAFE light, and then allows illumination of three gear up red lights, or whatever the aircraft gear requirements are. The gear up in the hole should also remove power to a dedicated hydraulic pump, depending on the installation architecture of the system. An AMBER on light instead of three reds tells you your gear are not retracted fully, uplock switch not made, power still on UNSAFE light, no power through uplock switch indicating gear stowed or three reds. So this AMBER light is again giving you lots of information, situation not normal for selected gear position. Has the hydraulic pump failed, does gauge still show pressure, yes, misrigged uplock switch or failure of uplock switch. Does gauge show pressure, no, failed hydraulic pump, set gear lever to down position and expect three green gear down lights. Idiot lights are just that, light for us idiots to make good choices in times of financial insecurity, because I guarantee, the gear not staying down and locked is going to be expensive!

[@400_billion_suns]

Totally agree on the single breaker. That seems insane on a plane like this which already lacks redundancy elsewhere. Oh, your fuel pumps tripped the breaker? Well, congrats, now you've got no gear or motor too! This video demonstrated just one of numerous ways that shortcoming can make a dangerous situation a deadly situation!

[@terry12327]

A lot of knowledge systems can be aids to the pilot and added into some lights, or dials that may show potential problems. as you point out!. sometimes a few more "what-ifs" should have been added to the cockpit for the pilot!

[@jackt6112]

"My thoughts are about three critical flight systems serviced by a single breaker. " No kidding! That is unimaginable to me and violates even the most basic logic. There is something we can learn from buying a homebuilt. First, A&Ps work in an environment where there is an expectation of basic logic being employed in the design and implementation. He has ADs that are the results of experience with aviation-designed components refined over thousands of hours of use. With an automotive engine power plant and a custom gear system, there was plenty he was in no position to critique. Second, you cannot expect even a highly skilled test pilot to have more than a high-level understanding of the aircraft's systems. Third, this means the owner of a homebuilt is responsible to have or acquire the skills to critique the design and implementation of the aircraft systems. In this case, the A&P could be of little more use than to check for corrosion and the health of the manual flight control system. For anything else, he was an unqualified second opinion, since most of the critical systems are not from the General Aviation industry. They needed to add a mechanical engineer and special machine builder experience for the gear, and the conversion manufacturer or a well-trained auto mechanic that could talk intelligently with them for the engine, gearbox, and prop. Unlike an aircraft engine, you need expensive instrumentation and the knowledge to use it to evaluate the health of something as sophisticated as a car engine.

[@edwinhsingmaster9135]

I once worked on a "kit car" Porsche speedster, only one! The Ts got dots, and the Is got a cross bar.

[@gyrogearloose1345]

@@edwinhsingmaster9135 What? Can you make your comment clear please?

[@brentheilman8910]

Man once again i am incredibly impressed at your piloting skills. I hope to see this plane fixed and back in the air better than before. 👍😎✈Airplanes are cool. 👍

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks Brent, good to have you along

[@400_billion_suns]

Honestly I hope to see this plane straight-up mothballed until significant redesign makes it much safer! Just my useless two cents :)

[@itsverygreen532]

Nice job, you handled that well. That electrical system needs a rework! In any situation where the engine depends on battery power for operation, you want a primary feed direct from the main battery, call it the "engine bus" if you will ... nothing, NOTHING should be able to take out the engine bus other than an engine systems fault, and even then, engine monitoring etc should be on the aux bus. There should also be a method to route the auxiliary power (if there is any) to the engine bus and dump everything else. Personally, I would have made a PAN PAN call, maybe got the fire crew all ready to go earlier (we chewed on this one before), I would not have called the owner, he can't help, he can't offer any useful advice, just distraction. I'd also probably have crashed short of the airport into a Walmart or crapped myself long before we go there, so don't listen too much to my opinions :) Either way, you got it down with minimal damage and walked away, good job, well done.

[@jcheck6]

Well stated Robin. Also it was stated that the a/c was nose heavy and ran out of up elevator. Was there any consideration to adding weight to the rear seat area to move the cg aft? I do that when I fly solo in my RV-8.

[@jc11250f45]

Agreed, the electric distribution was wrong and the load analysis showed that it was a matter of time, the engine power loss was going to be a sure thing at some point. Hard to understand how the potential overload was missed… wrong CB location…. No back up electrical batter/source for the engine and no direct connect to the battery. These fundamental errors were not known to Ed and the amount of previous flight time generated a certain amount of confidence in the systems… You did a great job Ed. Jim Cook 10,000 hours and several similar situations so I know that you have second guessed yourself… no one could have done betterl - well done

[@cyanoacry]

Amazing work, and thanks for publishing such a detailed debrief! I'm an electrical engineer who flies experimentals, and this is a _really good_ example of how a little bit of electrical budgeting gone wrong can make a real mess, definite food for thought. Really glad you made it through unharmed, and congrats on the smooth landing-to-spinout despite the circumstances. Best of luck on your future programs!

[@savethedeveloper]

49:25 no way for pilot to know pump running? Yikes. I would have expected to at least see that on ammeter, had plane been built that way

[@wiedehopf9068]

Having the fuel and hydraulic pump on the same breaker seems ridiculous considering this setup. But maybe i don't know enough about how these systems are typically set up on aircraft.

[@WillOstrick]

Very well put together Elliot, I truly think this debrief will help pilots out there if they ever find them selfs in a similar gear situation. Great work 👍

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks 🙏 man

[@scotthemedic]

Jesus. Listening through you deciphering what happened, it's easy to see in hindsight. Did the plane's manufacturer change any of their designs, and/or push alerts to other pilots of the same design of aircraft to prevent these issues happening to others?

[@utopiasnow]

So far the consensus is that the problems experienced are either well known or the result of "off book" modifications. I just hope that we have shared something that will give better fortunes to other owners. Thanks for the comment.

[@louisvanrijn3964]

1428 comments on an b.t.w. honest story.... But... it is an aircraft! Where is the system engineer, the electrical CVE and the failure tree analyses? How many critical systems do we wire over 1 popout breaker? Devide the system in branches, independent operating and independent fuzed from each other. Concerning the gear: mount an protruding stick to it, (comes out of the wing, can be seen from cockpit, if gear is lowered), like Mr Kurt Tank did (= FW 190 / Ta 152 designer) Copy-paste-modify is no German isnt it? Handpump and hydr. selector valve add safety too. Go on with the development and good luck!

[@donmoore7785]

This is an excellent recap of the project, and accident. The only thing I would have suggested adding is one or two still shots of the dashboard, with a highlighted location of a critical control/gauge/indicator. Most notably, the offending circuit breaker. Also the gear lock, which I didn't see. I find the two failures very troubling. As an electrical engineer, the incorrect sizing of the circuit breaker I find an unacceptable oversight in an aircraft with little to no redundancy. Your approach to checking out this aircraft is laudable, and the comments you made about how it made it through X hours with the marginally sized breaker show that such an approach is warranted. The right gear failure is something they need to get to the bottom of. Hopefully the investigation will determine the cause. Great work on this video!

[@crono331]

or even better the hydraulic pump should have had its own breaker of fuse. i am not a big fan of breakers. i have seen bad breakers (very high voltage drop when under load) do really funny (and hard to troubleshoot) things to electrics i know many people look in horror at the automotive fuses i used on my airplane, but millions of cars reliably use those since decades. properly sized and wired, i consider them quite safe (and cheap and light)

[@EnniodBleu]

@@crono331 How do you troubleshoot and fix a blown fuse in an urgent situation quickly though? Breakers give you a visual clue to the problem straight away. And an option to attempt a reset, rather than fiddling around for a new fuse. A fuse may protect your wiring well but it's doing less than a breaker to keep you safely in the air.

[@crono331]

@@EnniodBleu if properly dimensioned fuses blow there must be a reason. I wouldn't put any breaker or fuse on fuel and ignition systems. A breaker popping on takeoff and shutting down engine will kill you.

[@Daschickenify]

@@crono331 With no breaker or fuse the wire will heat up instead, burning out completely and catching on fire. It will give you a little more time, but a lot more trouble when it does go.

[@crono331]

@@Daschickenify you might change idea the moment the fuse or breaker pops right after take off. if you have the time.

[@kevchilton908]

That was totally amazing, Elliot! I was engrossed from minute one right until the end and I'm so glad you made it down safely. Your honestly and attention to detail is so refreshing, and the main reason I follow your channel. I probably learned more from watching you deal with the gear problem and then the engine-out in this vid than I've ever done practising them myself! Your patreon link didn't work the last time I tried it, it did this time though and I feel honoured to help. Stay safe! Airplanes are cool! 👌

[@ces188charles6]

Yep, airplanes are cool. My dad put in a couple of planes in his flying career, and his advice (etched in my brain)" fly it until the banging and clanging stop!" Good job!

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks for the comment and for coming along.

[@ces188charles6]

@@utopiasnow I like your vids, very informative and you give your mindset as to what's going on as it's happening. I imagine it good for you, to help hash thru it and it gives everyone else an idea what goes on when things go bad. Your a calm cool pilot, my dad would have been proud to know you.......

[@utopiasnow]

I appreciate that

[@icarossavvides2641]

45 minutes to get to the crux of the video! Basically nobody thought to do a current analysis and didn't install a warning light! 10 minutes work and a couple of dollars set up an incident waiting to happen! There's a reason why critical systems are doubled up!

[@utopiasnow]

There is more to this perhaps but yes. I should add that there is a properly sized independent CB for the hydraulic pump. The main CB (which failed) was the undersized one. Thanks for the note.

[@FougaFlyer]

Good job, any landing you can walk away from is a good one.👍 Great tech depiction on that project.

[@gmonnig]

Airplanes are cool! I was going to pull the plane out today. After watching a gear collapse AND engine failure on the same flight, I think I’ll just get a coat of wax on the Comanche. Happy Father’s Day Elliot!

[@walnut_trail_farm]

Great work Elliot. My most poignant takeaway from this video is that you, an incredibly experienced/knowledgeable/effective aviator, are still learning new things about how you respond and react under cockpit stress (e.g. “too much customer service”). Your personal human performance debrief is not only fascinating but also encouraging. Excellent job and thanks for the transparency.

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks for the observation. I see the trap that builds you up in your own mind, conveniently forgetting mistakes that are hard to think about. As soon as you start bringing cameras along on test flights you realize how error prone you are, and the best thing you can do is bury yourself in the lessons and try to get smarter and better. I have been lucky to have the experiences I have had and it would be cruel to squander the lessons that came with them. Thanks for the comment and the support.

[@scottwatson5767]

The most important thing of all this is that you walked away unharmed! Nice to see someone actually paying attention to someone else flying and was able to communicate the gear failure the way he did. All in all you walked away and was able to return home to your family, great job! Keep the videos coming, very interesting!

[@utopiasnow]

Boy you said it, I was very impressed by Brett. A great addition to the day for sure!!

[@eCitizen1]

Thanks. This video does an excellent job of highlighting the myriad things about aircraft that I know absolutely nothing about. I'm very glad there are experts like you who do know a little something about these majestic beasts.

[@dwarfinger]

I'm an "Industrial Safety" guy,. with little aircraft experience, and this is a wonderfully explicit "Accident Investigation"! Thank you, for your example!

[@aerialadventureskewasiuk9478]

"Airplanes are cool" and Elliot, you kept your cool, much respect sir!!!! I image you are giving your wife lots of grey hair ;-)

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks for the comment and the support. Glad to have you along.

[@adamschwartzberg5238]

Thanks for sharing, Elliot. Your videos have been really helpful in my development of a new mindset at work. The lessons in walk throughs, preparation, and just talking through things has been super helpful even in the cyber security world, especially the debriefs. This video is a prime example of how preparation can make a really crappy day less terrible than it can/should be. (airplanes are cool)

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks man

[@xrae21]

Glad you're ok. Plane's can be replaced father's can not. Happy Father's Day E

[@CreeperOnYourHouse]

In summary, if I'm understanding this right; 1. Hydraulic landing gear didn't lock for some reason, unclear why. 2. The hydraulic pump switches were set to turn off when the landing gear locks, but it didn't lock, so it didn't turn off. 3. The sustained power taken by the hydraulic pump combined with the power required for all engine support systems (ECU, injectors, fuel pump, etc) drew more than the 30A the main breaker is rated for. 4. The main breaker flipped after some time and caused complete power loss. Main lesson; have engine control systems be on a different breaker from the rest of the systems, just like cars.

[@billokeefe2078]

WAS IT REPAIRED ,OR WRITTEN OFF

[@HamBown]

Man those snippets of carnage during the story really brought things back into perspective. Despite the less than desirable outcome of the program I am glad to see that everybody walks away at the end of the day and I wish you safe travels into the future. Thanks for the excellent debrief and for being an awesome dude!

[@ashsmitty2244]

I’m only 40 something seconds in and I had to pause and comment. WOW!! Is not even close the words I’m after.

[@utopiasnow]

It was something

[@toanthai]

I am not a pilot but video like this is fascinating. Glad you were able to make it back to the airport.

[@kevinvoges3447]

Good stuff, Elliot. I'm an engineer and own a steel technology company who flies a STOL Skywagon. Your KZbin videos are fantastic and I have a tremendous respect for what you do. I find that your words are measured and you just present the facts of your process while still being considerate of others. Keep up the great work! May God continue to keep you safe.

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks Kevin!!

[@topturretgunner]

If I were to order a Titan 51 I would certainly want to make sure that the manufacturer has addressed these issues I WOULD ABSOLUTELY INSIST ON EACH SYSTEM HAVING IT'S OWN CIRCUIT BREAKER. Tying in 3 critical systems to 1 circuit breaker especially of marginal capacity is not wise at all. Especially the critical systems. With the LS engine A cylinder head redesign or perhaps machining to address the single spark plug issue and a dual ignition.

[@Pantdino]

Titan does not manufacture airplanes. They sell parts, but what the builder does with them is up to the builder. Plans are provided, but they are vague and require considerable knowledge and skill on the part of the builder to turn into reality. The electrical system on my plane is as described in the plans. It was probably designed with the Rotax engine in mind, which is not dependent on the main buss for function. The conversion on my plane to LS3 was done at the Titan factory, but they did not change the electrical system.

[@MonostripeZebra]

thank you for making the video. I wonder, did you ever suspect a relation between the engine quiting and the gear incident while you where still in the aircraft? Rest in peace, Ethan.

[@utopiasnow]

🙏

[@erictaylor5462]

38:00 To be honest, when dealing with an in flight emergency like this the last thing I would be thinking about would be the aircraft owner. Let the insurance deal with the aftermath of the crash, instead work on minimizing the aftermath for your body. Get the plane on the ground and make a "good landing" that is, one you can walk away from.

[@utopiasnow]

Yes Eric, thank you for these comments your perspective is valuable. As mentioned on your other comment I have consistently struggled on this channel communicating the customer side things. If we get 100 leads less than ten turn into flight time. Besides technical issues there is always a 250 hour ppl or an ex fighter jock willing to sit in the seat without complaining or asking for system tweaks. So a major portion of the last ~15 years in this business is learning how to keep the customer involved and understanding what going on. Because of moment like these where things break. Typically when expensive stuff gets broken so does the relationship with the owner. That silk scarf thing where a guy shows up, breaks your airplane and leaves is a real thing. And try as you might if you break the airplane you are doing that at some level, even if you told them the test was high risk and this could happen. Therefore getting the owner to weigh in while maybe not technically valuable can do a lot for not creating an enemy in the community. And at the end of the customers are what makes this wheel go round. Thanks again for the honest feedback. I hope you stick around for the next episode.

[@thanatos767]

Hey excellent editing, great journey, absolutely love the debrief side of this. Can you share next steps for Jim and or this bird?

[@ronmac1832]

Makes me appreciate the dual magneto systems even more. Lose all the electrical you want and the engine keeps running (and still has a backup).

[@haroldbaker48]

That is a false sense of security my friend. There have been many times a dual magneto failure has brought a plane down. Have had both coils fail myself. Fortunately was able to limp back to base.

[@ronmac1832]

@@haroldbaker48Has dual electronic ignition proven more reliable than dual mags yet?

[@lukebelvin4900]

@@haroldbaker48 what an idiotic thing to say. Shows how little you know about piston flying.

[@DIYDaveT]

You missed your calling as a military fighter pilot. Every one of them that I have met in the USAF had the same LASER focus on process, self review, and always working for the best outcome.

[@kirkkenton807]

First, so glad you are safe. Second, amazing work and professionalism which in my opinion is a testament to why you are safe. Thanks so much for sharing so everyone can learn.

[@monsenrm]

Man there are a lot of bugs to work out with that engine combination. What about putting lead in the tail and get the CG within range? However with no confidence in the gear box I would be hesitant to think about that system until these issues are settled.

[@nealm6962]

Needs bigger tail feathers on a longer boom, or don't put a corvette engine in where O-360 would work better.

[@stevegiboney4493]

@@nealm6962 vette engine is 40-50 lbs heavier.

[@deSloleye]

That's an intense watch! It looked a bit of a tough story to tell, really, and even though I saw it in the opening, it was stressful seeing the final landing a second time. I don't know which bits of that crash made you feel better but seeing the left gear pop and set you down flat seemed a relief: you were safe the right way up. I dunno how much more you want to talk about this one, feel free to opt out of discussing this. I was curious about the layout of the plane and how that affected the engine failure and your preparation for landing. You mentioned a circuit breaker for the gear (or was it gear and engine?) wasn't with the other breakers. Had you noticed its state? If you knew about that bit could you have even saved the engine and given yourself more time to plan for your landing, or did the hydraulic pump just flat out nuke the bus that ran the fuel, injection and ignition? The other thing I kept thinking about was that suitcase latch. Did you unlock it for the landing? The only other P-51 belly landing I've seen was a real one and he was keen on getting the canopy open well before touchdown. It slammed shut when he hit a hidden fence post (landed in a wheat field in England, I think) but his procedure was to get his escape hatch open before he touched down. Do you have a crash checklist for these jobs? I remember you having some thoughts about the Hakan Lancair latches. Usually you have talked to an owner about the possibility of crashing. Was the owner being "in the cockpit" a hindrance for you this time? The last thing I wonder is what now for this plane? Is it a good candidate for rebuild?

[@deSloleye]

Ahh, checked it again, saw the latch was still on. When Brett congratulated you did that sound weird to you? It's a good achievement to get the thing down safely when so much had gone wrong, but whether you feel that at the time is another thing.

[@57Raz]

The canopy latch is less of an issue if the primary plan is to bail out and let the taxpayers worry about the aircraft a la back in the day of the real mustangs. Many compromises arise from trying to relive those days on a budget and without the excuse of a war to justify the much higher risk of operating a plane in a similar configuration. Ironcially this one ended up like many of its predecessors - for whom this was considered a cost of doing business. So you can definitely say this replica provided an authentic warbird experience albeit a bit more questionable from a cost/benefit standpoint!

[@deSloleye]

@@57Raz I'd disagree vehemently. The real p51 I saw crash was only few years ago as part of a historical flight, and his intention was a forced landing. When he couldn't make it the canopy was wound open and the belly landing made in a field. He had the same height limitation on bailing out as anyone and it simply wasn't an option. No tax payer involvement or enemy action. Just a bad landing and a canopy that's tough to break. My concern here is egress on the ground. Being trapped in the plane because of a cheap catch is bad, especially if there's a risk of fire which there always is in this case. Given the range of aircraft Elliot deals with, that memory item checklist for getting out, and the preparation steps in advance are important and interesting.

[@brunodavidferreira5781]

Why to use car engine...without aeronaticalization of the fuel injection module? Salute from Brazil🇧🇷👍🏼

[@utopiasnow]

Great question, thank you.

[@shawndinterman2219]

Not a pilot but isn't it fly the plane then trouble shoot then communicate? Looks like you did whatevers best. Let the critics say what they want. Your still here making this video. That obviously says you did something right

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks for the comment.

[@theangrybeaverpilot3973]

Elliot, amazing job getting back in one piece. I’m curious, have you flown a sailplane and/or gotten the rating?

[@ForFunFlyer]

Thanks for sharing this. I can't imagine how you must've felt, directly after the crash landing. I'm no expert at all, but it looks like you handled everything well 👍🏻 And great job making such a detailed video about all the events 👌🏻

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks for saying that. Great to have you along.

[@barnesandrewj]

At least you were ok bro! 🙌🏼 Airplanes can be fixed…

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks Andrew.

[@noanyobiseniss7462]

From an armchair it looks criminally unprepared not having watched that video before hand. Yeah not politically correct comment but for someone that spouts crossing the t's at ever breath it is unacceptable that there was communication errors as an excuse.

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks for the comment, great to have you and your perspective here. I am not sure I understand completely but I hope I never claimed to “cross the T’s in every breath”. The intent here is to show the grey areas as a discussion starter about what could have been done differently. I would also argue that if an organization isn’t noticing communication errors they aren’t paying attention. But again thank you for the comment.

[@flymachine]

"Thanks for staying for the whole video"?? Man I was hoping for much more! I love the long format of your videos. Such amazing professionalism and sincere introspection and consideration for others is what sets you miles apart in this industry in my opinion.

[@utopiasnow]

Thank you Darren, tell your friends. Did I mention we offer a referral bounty?

[@flymachine]

@@utopiasnow Maybe one day you can put my concept Carbon Kite through the signature Seguin refinement in South Africa

[@robertn2813]

@@utopiasnow 😮 like Chick Fil-A coupons ????? weeeeeeee !!

[@P51]

thank you, Elliot. this is VERY much a teaching/learning exercise for most of us. it BOGGLES my mind how the engine electrics are not isolated/redundant from the rest of the electrical system. also interesting to me the "feather" position on the propeller doesn't look very feathered. your methodical approach to risk mitigation is exceptional.

[@Pantdino]

Owner here- The Whirlwind Aviation prop cannot be fully feathered like a turbine prop can. We had the minimum pitch detent set for pretty aggressive pitch so in the event of governor failure we wouldn't lose thrust, but there is a maximum pitch limit also.

[@crono331]

@@Pantdino hello Sir, hope you can repair this very good looking aircraft. Separate buses for engine and for everything else would have been a good practice. Not meant to be a criticism but electrics in airplanes can be a source of bad surprises with their complex and sometimes obscure failure modes. I would also fit the internal backup battery to the dynon.

[@shoop4040]

Elliot this is exactly why you are a test pilot and a Dam good Test Pilot. You are well prepared and if a crash landing needs to occur then you also know how to handle the aspect of it. I am certain your family is thankful for your professional and capable ways. May Ethan rest peacefully sad to hear.

[@TurboJenkins]

I was in shock you had the reaction time to catch the gear collapse then the engine quitting slapped me in the face as well. Good video !

[@AndyGeesGarage]

So I am not a pilot but I am a car guy, racer and electrician and I am in absolute shock that they would be ok having the hydraulic pump and fuel pump on a shared circuit breaker. On a race car I would not have critical components sharing a fuse or breaker. I would not have cooling fans with the fuel pump as an example. The problem in this case is a bad hydraulic pump can take out the fuel pump and we know the result but the reverse is true had the fuel pump failed then there would not have been a hydraulic pump to actuate the gear and the results would be similar or no gear at all. I know when they build a plane that weight is a large consideration but the few ounces that an additional breaker would cost are inconsequential and in this case well worth the added weight. It is possible to run a mechanical fuel pump on an LS engine but that has it’s own issues as they are belt driven and the risk would be the belt breaking mid flight.

[@thedirtyknobs]

Do you charge extra for the combat condition return of the airplane 🙂

[@outlawflyer7868]

Man, you one lucky dude. Great job. But what I don't understand is why contact the owner? To me, that put's more stress on the you. What if he was an a$$hole and told you "You better not ruin my plane or else" You know some people only care about their "stuff". I mean, how many people rent a plane or belong to a club and are about to crash, they think "Oh man, we better call the president of the club, let him/her know what's about to go down". or "Better call budget plane rental (made that up) and let them know we about to screw up there plane' Screw that, forget the owner. Fly the plane and that you did. Like the saying goes "Better to ask for forgiveness than permission" Other than that, damn good flying.

[@Tglass]

Glad to see you're safe and unharmed. Good, no great walk through of the events. A follow-up when you have more information on the cause will be anticipated. I have no doubt you'll do that one day. Cool Airplane Video, but sorry for the loss too.

[@yamkaw346]

Sounds like NTSB has completed their investigation so look there if you wanna know who’s to blame. I doubt he will make a video about it

[@Mammux]

I understand that it feels like a failure when the plane ends up being dragged to the hangar, but I would think that actually this is exactly why people hire you to fly their airplanes. Imagine if the owner, with a fresh PPL certificate, was the one discovering this problem, maybe even with a family member as a passenger. The outcome would most likely have been much worse.

[@Jack-ne8vm]

Maybe the owner will now get PPL in a Cessna 140...

[@glenwoodriverresidentsgrou136]

Hear hear.

[@erikjacobson3721]

@@Jack-ne8vm no kidding

[@nseaman1998]

Elliot… it’s so impressive that you were able to muster up the courage to share this for the greater well being of the aviation community. It really is pilots like you on here that are able to grow and foster a stronger and safer group of pilots. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must feel like being in this situation even after seeing this video, so amazing work to say the least. Cannot wait to see what you get into next!!

[@Talltrees84]

Sorry to see this happen. Do they have kits for other famous WWII fighters (P-40, Spits, Me-109s, Fw-190s, Yak-9, Zeros)?

[@fredericklozon5838]

im old school,77yo,so much for fuel in jection and computor controlled ignition, stil fly with carbs and 2 mags and 2 plugs per cylinder,Fred Lozon

[@steveone9375]

I know i will probably get flamed for this but for me the risk outweighs the reward, every bit of this plane seems very amateur and dangerous, the pilot did an amazing job to get this bucket of bolts on the ground and thankfully his training saved his life well done to him ,,

[@105blwalker]

Like the old saying goes “when a plane looks right, it usually is right”. This design does not look right, as the tail appears way too short for that monster engine. The concern of a forward CG, your running out of pitch authority during the flare, the goofy flaps and the iffy redrive makes me wonder why in the world you flew it even a second time. Whoever thought that modification was a good idea without a fuselage extension needs their head examined. I don’t even know where to begin with the horrible design and execution of that plane’s electrical system, but it seems to have been done by a “car” guy and not a “plane” guy. A hundred-plus hours is a long time to have gotten away with that system, but as you now know, it can happen. I’m sure you’ve learned many valuable lessons from this one. Cheers to being still able to look at the daisies from the topside down!

[@indyjons321]

In the words of Obi-Wan Kanobi.... "Another happy landing."

[@utopiasnow]

Hahah, thanks

[@NYRM1974]

If your going to use a GM 5300 vortec engine you may want to add a supercharger for speed and a dynamo for electrical power

[@tomjoseph1444]

Holy crap, that gear pump is just a reworked trim tab pump from a small boat. Granted I only see the ones that fail in my marine business but damn. I think I would rather have a hand crank or electric screw jack system like a Swift or Cruisemaster.

[@montreysmitherman7466]

Well the ground loop monster caught me today, in my defense a flat tire that wasn't flat when I took off was a contributing factor, but 10 years of AG flying and my first ground loop,

[@billallen4793]

Ooof glad you're OK! Stay safe....from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸🤠

[@mckinleywilson6184]

It must be a spooky moment when you realize something as important as landing gear isn't working right!

[@SkyviewArts]

Well done landing the plane, and getting out safely.

[@jocrp6]

OMG! Why would you have a hydraulic pump and the fuel pump on one circuit breaker, Thats enuff to let you know you need to go thru the whole plane,, well looks like going to anyways.

[@ebayselle]

Worried about the gear box that much. I would find a better way to work it out on the ground. Some static testing. With the same scenario

[@rotten007pig]

Absolutely in love with your channel. I had my first dead stick landing a few months back and it has definitely opened my eyes up to how we can mitigate risk. Luckily I had great flight instruction and was able to 180 spot with no problems. We talk about it in flight training all the time but you're doing it real world and I enjoy hearing your process when things gets weird.

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks man, “things get weird” I like that

[@CapFreddy]

When you have a bad day at work…..

[@utopiasnow]

Boy you said it

[@donbuethorn1618]

When you mentioned that the right gear was visibly out of alignment on visual inspection I was amazed that that did not cancel the whole project, combined with some of the other "squawks" that indicated questionable workmanship or maintenance . There also seem to be serious design issues which have been made more critical with the heavy engine installation. The electrical and hydraulic systems seem makeshift and not protected from cascading failure ... I think your crashing this junker might have saved Jim"s life. I hope he gets a Cessna ...

[@Livingreciever]

the guy that came out was the air traffic controller and he came out to see the landing crash and left someone out there without comms? leaving him with "radio problems"?

[@America2gether]

Worrying about customer service while handling a emergency is mind boggling to me. Engine stumble, gear problem = belly landing, get emerg services deployed. Great detail, lessons, and channel.

[@jiyushugi1085]

Great job! Congratulations. Your thoroughness and professionalism are admirable. Perhaps I misheard, but if the owner is not a pilot and is planning to learn to fly in that airplane and then fly around in it himself.....that is deeply worrying.

[@utopiasnow]

Thank you for the comment, great to have you here. Yeah I think Jim knows the goals are lofty, but to be honest I kind of dig his approach. I started in a Cessna 150 because I didn’t have another option. If he wants to start in a T-38 that’s between him and his accountant 😎🚀⚡️⚡️ thanks again

[@400_billion_suns]

I agree. It's his right to make that choice... but man. This plane is a handful even for a very experienced pilot. It lacks the safety provisions, proven flight heritage, precedence of emergency procedures and lessons-learned, and many other things that typical trainer aircraft have, and on top of that it's a taildragger with exceptionally bad visibility even for a taildragger. If a less experienced pilot had been in this situation from the video, the outcome could have been a *lot* different.

[@lrstaf6]

Just reading between the lines, it seems like the engine needs a separate buss from everything else. A fail in the hydraulic system shouldn't be able to shut the engine down, should it? I'm not an aeronautical engineer, but it seems that the engine shouldn't be able to be electrically shut down by anything else overloading the system.

[@ZetaByteMe]

I haven't read all the comments, but it sounds like a stand-by battery, and an isolation diode would be a very important design change. Failure mode analysis dictates we must have a source of power for the ignition system, for any event that causes a fault on the main bus. How about an electrical fire from a shorted wire? One needs to be able to shut down electrically, but maintain engine operation. Magnetos do this for certificated power plants. On the jets (ie. B777) they have a small directly driven, permanent magnet generator, that can provide enough power to keep the EEC (electronic engine control) system powered.

[@randall1959]

Any landing you walk away from is a good one.

[@billbrooks6247]

Terrible location for test flying! Too much distraction communicating. However in the end, the pilot coped with multiple emergencies well and kept the aeroplane flying. No electrical systems load analysis, even more essential in an installation where the engine is dependant on the main electrical bus.

[@kevinscott9499]

🤦 that’s a marine style hydro pump.. I always said that if boats were planes they’d b falling out of the sky left and right..it finally happened.. boat parts in planes

[@AviadorRPrado]

Congratulations for the management of the whole situation during this emergency! 👏👏👏

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks Rafael!

[@Spaniardface98]

I've always been interested in planes and particularly warbirds in a very superficial way, but this was my first exposure to the reality of aviation and it was incredible. Your editing, your step-by-step logic of events and your sheer technical knowledge are commendable. I suddenly find myself incredibly interested in the technology and knowledge involved in planes and aviation, and I feel that it is in large part due to the passion you shared with us. Thank you for this video!!

[@BVRDesign]

I was looking forward to meeting Ethan at OSH this year, he seemed like a cool guy. Life's short, do what you love if you can. ⚡ That said, again, amazingly edifying video. Thanks for sharing!

[@utopiasnow]

Great to have you!!

[@timscott4435]

Wow that ended up being a very fast 54.18 video . Fascinating to see what really goes on in these situations. Personally being the sissy I am I would have turned strait back around and headed for that beautiful bright blue ocean and bailed right out of that thing. Then after bellystroking (WAIT instead of bellystroking like an old woman I would have called the Coast Guard for assistance. ) They have nothing better to do right? Once the Coast guard got me to shore I would have called the owner of the P-51 from a bar and explained all that had happened over a very stiff drink. Well enough about me. You mentioned the NTSB report. I am sure someone has asked about that? Sorry if its been asked multiple times . Along with being only half man I am also a bit lazy on top of that so forgive me if it has already been explained. In all seriousness this was a truly amazing video and very well done . Grateful that there a guys out there with the balls to work through these type of situations. Its truly amazing to watch from the outside and Im sure it is a huge plus for aviation in general to have detailed reports of exactly what happened in situations like this.

[@stevejahr5527]

Great video. May have been long but was never tedious and it was a big story. Loved how you broke it all down. That electrical system architecture was horribly executed and a big problem waiting to happen. Electric motors are a most interesting load that should always be on a dedicated circuit due to the variance in load (ie: high stall current). One also needs to be clear on exactly what kind of fault is being protected and where with the protection devices. Hindsight is 20/20 but we also learn from post-analysis: sounds like you need to add an electrical expert to your test team ;-)

[@VictorLopez-cu6qn]

Silly question, how is ARFF supposed to open the canopy if the pilot is unconscious?

[@ecc1944]

having been a rescuer, (volunteer fire dept, Capt.) We just break what we cant open. No one has complained!!

[@kennyhepner7803]

I knew there were more hidden issues when I saw the turnbuckle canopy latches. No self-respecting aircraft builder would deem that safe. Glad you were able to walk away from that, sad it is your license and reputation that take the hit. A very complex airplane for which your risk analysis could not account for the shortcuts in engineering. Fly safe!

[@awol2019]

Thank you so much sir. The aviation community can study and learn from this for decades to come . You truly are a great Test Pilot . Cool under incredible pressure .

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks man

[@ctpctp]

That owner was VERY VERY lucky to have you testing out his plane.

[@utopiasnow]

It could have been worse. Thanks for the note!!

[@twizz420]

I'm wondering what makes someone who isn't a pilot buy an experimental kit plane?

[@Pantdino]

@@twizz420 I love warbirds and Mustangs in particular. Makes much more sense to pay a competent pilot to take off and land for me than get a license and just enough skill to kill myself.

[@crashalexander7232]

That is a marine hyd power trim pump for mercruiser ...that pump alone requires a 30 amp buss ....wow thats a big mistake ....

[@bobburns3497]

one thing that anybody flight testing a experimental should take note of, you were flying an aircraft as you noted that had over a 100 hrs on it, the basic airworthiness was not really in question. however, you still went at it with safety as the number one concern. the biggest take a way for the experimental crowd to take noteof is: notice the gear, flight suit, gloves, flight boots, helmet and mask. i cringe every time I see a phase one flight with somebody wearing a tee shirt, shorts and a tennis shoes on.

[@jonathanpainter4452]

Elliot, Really glad you were able to bring these emergencies to the ground safely. Have been waiting for the back story since the thumbnail weeks ago. Agreed, you are the right man, and by extension Justin and your company, to represent flight test to the world. Nothing cowboy about this. You created a build up plan, worked the plan, and had the experience to get this done when the plan took the less desirable path in the mental flowchart. Solid debrief. I would've watched 3 hours of this debrief (twice). Thanks for putting in the work to let us all along! Fly safe

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks for saying that! Great to hear from you and to have you along!!

[@deansiracusa3966]

Well done all around! As someone who’s declared emergencies and had engine failures before, I can attest to the feeling of exhaustion after it’s all over and you’re out of the plane! I really appreciated the extensive and detailed explanation of the entire course of events. There’s so much to learn from all of it!

[@markborg9595]

That was a really close call, how does it make you feel about getting back in that same type of aircraft?

[@utopiasnow]

Yeah, good question. I havent had the opportunity to get in another one since this flight, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Thanks

[@sinisterisrandom8537]

A beautiful aircraft, considering she's a replica of the P-51's(my opinion for this, a replica still is a P-51 no matter what she keeps the mustang spirit alive and proud).

[@utopiasnow]

Thanks man

[@MYOB990]

I landed at Compton thirty years ago with my instructor. He told me, "do not stop, just taxi back and take off again". Even back then Compton was a shit hole.