Engine failure with Tempest

[Youtch]

I just went through a very odd situation and was seeking for advice on how to mitigate that.

 

I was flying Wind of Furry campaign with the Tempest in ennemy territory and I totally blacked-out in the middle of an agressive Split-S.

 

I recovered by miracle and to my biggest surprise the plane prefered to keep flying while i was out instead of heading for the ground.

 

All happy i went back to base, when the RPM started decreasing, and decreasing till it was no longer enough to keep my plane in the air.

 

Fact is a part of the RPM all the other indicators were correct, oil level/temp, water temp. I could figure out what was failing till I went external view and saw a few bullet holes in the engine. I had probably be shot by something in my long black-out.

 

My question is if any other indicators that should have shown early sign of failure before the drop of RPM?

 

Many thanks in advance,

Y.

[I./JG52_Woutwocampe]

You use realistic engine management?

 

Did you notice a manifold pressure drop?

Edited April 12, 2022 by I./JG52_Woutwocampe

[Wilhelm_Heidkamp]

In the Republic radial engine, engine damage is indicated minutes before the critical failure by a pronounced oscillation of the tachometer needle.

Usually I check on each plane I fly: temps (oil and water), oil and fuel pressure, manifold pressure, tachometer.... and engine's sound.

[Youtch]

I didn t specially pay attention to the oscillation on tachimeter before, i was so sure the plane was intact, i couldn t imagine that i had been shot by a ghost during my black-out. 

1 hour ago, I./JG52_Woutwocampe said:

You use realistic engine management?

 

Did you notice a manifold pressure drop?

No, i have it on automatic. This is the next step for me when i get a new throttle probably

[I./JG52_Woutwocampe]

Sounds to me like you were leaking coolant for a long while without realising it. Then you ran out of coolant. 

 

But you should have seen the coolant temp rise way above normal levels?

[Youtch]

I am 100% sure that temperature of coolant did not raise, hence my surprise.

 

Plus the drop of RPM was quite sudden and decreasing fast, but engine never stopped.

 

 

[CountZero]

1 hour ago, Youtch said:

I am 100% sure that temperature of coolant did not raise, hence my surprise.

 

Plus the drop of RPM was quite sudden and decreasing fast, but engine never stopped.

 

 

Are you sure its not engine timer, how long were you flying in emergancy mode, when timer runs out engine brakes and its like you describe, rpm drop fast. And you dont get any warnings on what happend as messages that should warn you dont work properly in game.

Edited April 13, 2022 by CountZero

[IckyATLAS]

22 hours ago, Youtch said:

recovered by miracle and to my biggest surprise the plane prefered to keep flying while i was out instead of heading for the ground.

Can you explain what do you mean by keep flying. Was it level and stable like with a Left Shift A command, or simply not vertical to the ground, going up or down slightly in a turn.

[Youtch]

4 hours ago, IckyATLAS said:

Can you explain what do you mean by keep flying. Was it level and stable like with a Left Shift A command, or simply not vertical to the ground, going up or down slightly in a turn.

Perfectly leveled and stable, going in a straight line, i apparently completed the split S perfectly despite the passing out.

4 hours ago, CountZero said:

Are you sure its not engine timer, how long were you flying in emergancy mode, when timer runs out engine brakes and its like you describe, rpm drop fast. And you dont get any warnings on what happend as messages that should warn you dont work properly in game.

I was not flying emergency mode, and i don t generally abuse of emergency mode, i am flying all automatic for the engine and never ever reached a point with the Tempest engine would die due to emergency mode, there was no boost engage (for some reason i cannot get the boost to work on the Tempest in automatic mode).

Plus, here were bullets holes in the engine which i believe was the culprit of this failure which i had nto seem previously on tempest.

 

Plenty of planes failed to me due to engine getting cooked, Spitfires, early Fw190, etc, but not the Tempest yet.

 

 

On 4/12/2022 at 5:43 PM, I./JG52_Woutwocampe said:

Did you notice a manifold pressure drop

I recon i was not checking the manifold pressure as it is kind of harder to see with Tempest.

[FlyingH]

Feels like fuel starvation to me The bullets cut or bent some fuel line . And the prop kept windmilling after the engine died.

[Youtch]

Could be fuel starvation, this would explain why temp were all ok. The RPM showing only the windmill? I coud still hear the engine though. How long does a plane require to go from 3/4 full tank to starvation? It seemed quick as it happened quite soon after.

[ShamrockOneFive]

On 4/12/2022 at 10:54 AM, Youtch said:

My question is if any other indicators that should have shown early sign of failure before the drop of RPM?

 

I think you may be looking for something that wouldn't necessarily happen. An engine can be damaged and initially everything might be ok before bad things start to happen quickly.

 

There are plenty of accounts where there'd be a fight going on, an aircraft would be hit, and they'd tell their wingmates that everything was fine and then their aircraft would explode or come to pieces or otherwise catastrophically meet its end. That's the just part of the horror and tragedy of air combat.