The Propeller Fell off My Airplane 

Thank you all for your kind words, wisdom, and support. It has truly meant a lot to read through your experiences and feedback. I'm sad to say due to the reasons listed in the video along with starting a career and moving to a new state, it makes the most sense for me to part ways with this plane :( This certainly won't be the end of the flying adventures and I look forward to sharing more videos with you soon!

The propeller in an airplane is actually just for keeping the pilot cool. You can see the pilots start to sweat when it falls off.

Trevor Jacob: Badly fakes engine failure and gets arrested for lying to feds about it. Ethan McIntosh: Handles real engine failure like a boss and is transparent.

"You can't park there!" 😂 Classic, never gets old!

@ethanmcintosh1777 Former VW mechanic here. I worked on air-cooled VW engines for many years in the 70s and 80s. The crankshaft failure you experienced is a known issue (or at least, was known to those of us that worked on a lot of VW engines back in the day.). I have seen crankshafts develop a hairline crack that quickly develops into a full-on separation. It's been too long so I don't remember where the cracks would commonly occur, but I believe it was in between the lands for rods 3 and 4. I didn't see a huge number of these -- maybe 3 or 4 over the years -- but my memory is that these were all in non-VW (non-OEM) replacement cranks that, in those days, were made in Brazil or Mexico. From my distant memory on this, the concerns had to do with problems with the casting of the crank itself (before each rod bearing was machined during manufacture.) The better German cranks were supposedly x-rayed during final inspection. I don't know if similar procedures were in place for the Brazilian or Mexican cranks. I suspect that these days there are not very many manufacturers still even making crankshafts for these old engines, and it would not surprise me if the quality control procedures that existed back in the day aren't in place. I know for sure, when I have worked on the occasional VW engine for a friend over the past 20 years, that parts are harder to find, with far fewer selection, and some of highly dubious quality. I could imagine that the stress placed on the crank of having a large propeller subject to lateral forces of wind could easily, if there is any kind of hairline fracture or imperfection in the metal casting of the body of the crankshaft, cause the kind of failure you are describing. Back in the day, there were machine shops that specialized in VW performance parts that custom machined VW racing crankshafts from a solid block of steel. These were exquisitely balanced and worked extremely well in VW racing engines. If I were going to work with a VW engine in this application, I would probably seek out a machinist who could make the crank and cam, and find (if they still exist) racing lifters, valves, valve stems, and other key parts. Glad you are OK, and honestly, glad you are turning the page on this phase of your aviation career.

Congratulations on the safe landing. I heard you declare an emergency on 121.5 that day but didn't hear the outcome as we were on our way to the west coast and were out of range by the time you landed. I looked it up on the internet the next morning and was happy to hear that you made a safe landing. You sounded calm and professional on the radio.

Former A&P here. This is the first video of yours that I've seen. There's just a couple of points that I want to make. First is you've handled your situation VERY well. Your purchase, your modifications (as far as I can tell) even your in-flight emergency was handled very well. I've seen many pilots (even some professional ones) that handled in-flight emergencies of lesser magnitude poorly, but there you are, in a high stress situation, acing it like just another test at school. Well done! Toward the end, you mention getting out of the Sonex for the reliability of something certificated... I'll tell you a little secret. Just because it's certificated don't mean it's safer. It just means that it has a government seal of approval on it, which means it has been tested and is presumably safer. I'm not sure exactly why your crankshaft suffered a catastrophic failure (perhaps it WAS because of the CF prop.. I don't have knowledge of this) and I don't know what mods were made on yours to make it an aero conversion but I would suggest trying to find the answer to that question before tossing the baby out with the wash water. Several automotive engines have been very successfully used in the aviation world following a good aero conversion. A lot of G/A guys get their nose bent out of shape because someone else is out there flying and didn't have to spend as much as they did (like it's some kind of country club that only rich elites can attend) that don't make those G/A engines safer... I've seen more carnage inside of G/A engines than I care to see, and these days, the costs of those repairs cost more than a good 2 bedroom house used to just a few short years ago. There are only a couple of automotive engines I would consider hanging in front of that firewall. My #2 choice is VW. My #1 choice is Corvair. Having said that, they can both be bad if the wrong practices/parts/conversions are used. How then can one be safe? Always do your research on practices and parts and ALWAYS be careful who you take advice from lots of well meaning people will give advice from where THEY are without knowing all the facts about where YOU are and in spite of their best intentions give advice that's bad for YOU. I wish you well and happy flying.

I'm so sorry this happened, must be devastating... Have you considered mounting a more reliable/certified engine? Sonex makes a Rotax 912 mount for legacy aircraft.

I began my flying career 53 years ago in a Luscombe 8F. I was in heaven as a 17 yr. old lad who tooled around western Washington between jobs that afforded me the funds for: 1/5th ownership, gas and hanger. (We assesed ourselves funds for our annual as necessary.)) Our club charged ourselves $5/hour "wet"! I finished my career a few years ago from the left seat of a B-747-400... From Luscombe to T-38's to the "Whale" - and all the 20,000+ hours in between, I remain that happy lad who lived a dream. Good luck to you, Ethan. An adventurous life, with many stories to tell, await you.

Sorry you had this experience. Im surprised nobody mentioned the REAL issue. The reason that engine failed is because the front crank bearing of the VW engine IS NOT MEANT to support the weight of a prop on it. Looks like you were running a direct drive setup. The prop even when balanced sticks out pretty far from the nose of the engine block, further side loading that little bearing up front. VW engines can be built to be extremely reliable in cars AND aircraft. If you look at the nose of the crank bearing of a Lycoming or any other "certified" engine that runs a prop with direct prop drive, you will see how long and beefed up it is. VW engines nose crank bearing is very small and is made to support the cooling fan pulley only. Ive seen many setups that run the prop on the rear of the engine so that the flywheel faces forward. This bearing would do a much better job of supporting a prop. Also, you could run a reduction box that runs the prop on a stronger, upper shaft, made to support the weight, with the engine driving only a pullley on the front of the crank. Dont sell the whole plane just because of this failure. Especially after all the upgrades you have made. I understand that you might feel spooked, but at least you already know what you have serviced or changed. Buy another plane, and you are buying a whole new set of potential problems. And yes, glad you are ok. Mike

I like how responsible you are at admitting you made an error and are informing people that with these machines, you truly get what you pay for. Very humbling. I’d trust you to teach me. Keep flying my friend! The honesty and education of possible errors is super important for any teacher to admit and recognize.

I’ve owned 4 different VW powered aircraft, never had a crankshaft fail like that, I have a friend whose Continental O -200 failed like that. Great landing well done.

After 57 years and 22,000 hours of flying military, commercial and private, my instinct in daytime VMC rightly or wrongly, is immediately to reduce power at the first hint of trouble and start looking for somewhere to make an emergency landing. I never assume that I'll be able to reach an airport and during the descent I try to analyse the problem. Vibration such as you've described can only originate in the engine, so getting down safely would be my highest priority. Nevertheless you did extremely well the way you handled things, not least because you were deliberately following a road. This is my ten cents worth and I'm sure that others will have different philosophies.

from one Indiana university (ND) grad to another (Purdue) -- all of this is in the greatest tradition of the best engineers Purdue has ever produced, man. you should be incredibly proud not only of what you've accomplished so far with this aircraft, but the absolute-zero icewater you clearly had in your veins when dealing with one of the worst emergencies any pilot could ever encounter. really glad you're okay - Boiler up and keep kicking ass.

I am glad to hear you're okay. I recently found your first video with this plane and am sad to hear this plane's journey was short lived but fortunate that yours will still continue with your passion for flying. I thoroughly enjoy your story telling and look forward to your future endeavors. Stay safe out there, you made the tough but smart choice to retire this plane.

So the front fell off. This isn’t very typical, I’d like to make that point.

Almost had a "propeller separation" back in the 90's. Long story, but basically bought a Great Planes 2180VW motor built for me & a buddy that went in on a experimental aircraft project. Since the propeller pitch is something that needs to be specific for the application, we decided to go with a 3 blade ground adjustable carbon prop. After a few hundred hours, while pushing it back into the hangar, the prop had a little "wiggle" to it. At first I thought that the motor mounts were softened up because of the heat of the summer day, but no...closer inspection revealed a fractured crankshaft. When I took it apart there was only about a 1/4" square left that was holding it together. The nose of the crank came off in my hand when I pried out the keyway. The "experts" told me it broke because the carbon propeller assembly had too much rotational (disk) stress and I should have been using a wood prop (lighter and able to adsorb some vibrations). I bought a new (replacement) forged Skat crankshaft, had it magnafluxed, then rebuilt the motor. It ran fine with the new wood prop but looking back, (at the time) probably should have spent the extra $$ and bought the BRAND NEW Rotax 912, that just came out. Glad that you were able to land safely!! And without any other issues... (power lines,cars,trees...ect). Be safe!!

Your Mom helped you recover your airplane. What a legend!

What a beautifully concisely narrated story.

I'm so glad youre okay man. I started following you after your video about your trip to Maine in this plane. I live in southern Maine and am studying to get my PPL. I'm just glad you landed safely and are okay buddy. Godspeed!

Glad you’re okay! Do you know what the actual point of failure was with the camshaft? Did a fastener fail or did the metal of the shaft itself fail from stress/fatigue?

PRACTICE YOUR PFLs PEOPLE!!!!! This was an amazing outcome and demonstrates great airmanship. I am going to book a lesson to just smash a load of force landings out. Great work chap, sounds like you haven't let it get to you. Keep on flying and enjoying doing so. Inspiration to us pilots and non pilots.

So young, but stayed so calm and professional on the radio. Not panicking can go a long way. Ive saved quite a few icy out of control slides in a semi truck by remaining calm, once i put it into the guard rail, but on purpose to avoid sliding into a pile of wrecked cars and killing people. Bravo to this young man, nerves of steel!

Glad you are okay man! Keep doing what you love and sharing it with the world. Stay safe!

The good thing about your first single engine light aircraft engine failure is that it gets you past the surprise factor when the thing ceases to work as advertised for the first time, and that it's now up to the pilot to get it to a survivable stop. After, when later emergencies happen with more complex aircraft the pilot is conditioned to more smoothly react and hit the checklists with more brain space available. You're valuable. Your level of professionalism with maintaining and flying the aircraft, and with this video, is outstanding. Any civilian or military flying organisation on the planet would want you to fly for them (after doing a pile of paperwork).

It's always nice to hear stories like this. Not that it ended in a failure, but that you walked away unharmed, no one on the ground got hurt, people were kind and stopped to help.

Man thats crazy, I literally just watched your video about buying this Plane two weeks ago. Really glad you're okay, and there was no injuries or loss of life / damage of property on the elanding. The Plane is an object, it's replaceable, your life and body are not. Keep your chin up, and keep doing your thing! Another opportunity will come.

Excellent job Ethan! You stayed calm and survived! Many haven’t. To be such a young instructor and deal with an emergency in such a professional way, you’ve achieved more than many other pilots! You have done the right thing explaining your situation. Your actions will undoubtedly save the lives of many pilots and passengers in the future. Well done!

What an incredibly comprehensive and well made video for such a young person. You have wisdom and maturity beyond your years. Well done.

I watched your first video when it came out, and I also saw the " You can't park there" tik tok and I had no idea that was you! What a wild thing to have happen on your first major flight away from home. Glad you're ok

Man this was absolutely incredible. The landing, the time and labor you spent making an experimental craft IFR capable. It is truly impressive. I love it. This is the first video of yours that I have seen, and I am already sad honestly that you are moving on from it. It has so much potential to be something REALLY cool. Best of luck on your future adventures!

I'm so glad you were able to land safely! I stumbled upon your "Flying the most affordable airplane across America" video and was hooked by your storytelling and videography, I went looking for more videos and was really bummed to see this one (but happy you're alright)! Definitely looking forward to your future videos, you have really great vibes. Wishing you luck with your move and new career :)

"What happened?" "The front fell off."

As a pilot myself, God bless you were able to land without any loss of life or injuries. I think that sums it up. Definitely a learning experience but not one I would want to face. You did well. Please take some lessons from it.

Glad to hear that you made it out safe. I hope your journey keeps going. Just your story inspires others. Boiler up!

Great job, Ethan - and thank you for sharing your story. It will inspire other pilots to think through - and hopefully chair fly - what they would do in a similar situation and could very well save lives. I look forward to your future adventures.

Did you find the propeller?

I wondered how such a young man handled an engine failure and highway landing so calmly, then I heard you are a flight instructor. Good for you. But I chuckled when your plan is to move to a certified engine to avoid problems. My first in flight engine failure was with a Lycoming 0-320 with only 320 hrs smoh. Tappets were polished and reused during overhaul, a practice thats no longer permitted. With no warning the cam lobes went and I could not maintain altitude over a lake. Barely made it to a tiny airport. Second failure was due to horrible A&P who plumbed a drain port from the ED pump to a pressure port on the fuel servo. Engine suddenly quit and I was on glide on my very first flight in that airplane. Barely made an airport. Thats two failures with certified engines. I'm sure your experience has taught you something very valuable- that you remain cool under pressure! Excellent.

Really glad you are ok! I’ve seen too many of those flight incident videos here on youtube. Really glad that you had a happy ending.

Nerves of steel, and good piloting! Glad the departing prop didn't damage any control surfaces. You are blessed!

when you said Maine to Indiana I laughed, because I moved from Indiana to Maine and never looked back, I'm loving it out here in Maine glad you are ok. It's been a bucket list item of mine to go flying sometime

Hey buddy you can't park there

Sucks but I’m glad you’re safe and the landing worked out…learned lots I’m sure and now that you’ve shared the video, so have I. Looking forward to whatever’s next on your journey, thankful you lived to tell the tale.

Hi Fella , i found you're adventure about 2 months ago , im 53 and have never flown. I was amazed on you're test flights and is a bummer what has happened. As for finances im sure you took a bad hit but the experience ( i felt like a co pilot ) . Im sure someone will see this and pay it forward, im looking forward to you're next adventure.

DON'T GIVE UP! fix the engine, take it apart and put it back together again, you'll find the parts that need replacing, then take the whole plane apart, do a major inspection. After that, it will be safe flying it again. This is the lesson to learn, those who succeed, didn't succeed the first time the tried.

So you could say that the front fell off?

900 hours myself, CFI CFII and MEI and you handled that situation extremely well! Im very glad you're safe and you sounded confident and calm on the radios. Excellently done, don't let anything deter you from continuing this passion/profession, you're an outstanding example as a pilot and deserve to be recognized as such. Best wishes!

Glad to hear you are ok dude! As part of the flying community in Maine I am very proud.

SIMPLY BRILLIANT BRO!!! DONT EVER PLAY DOWN THE ACTIONS THAT YOU TOOK DURING THIS FLIGHT, YOUR ALIVE BECAUSE OF SKILL, LUCK HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. AND DONT EVER LET SOMEONE TELL YOU ANYTHING DIFFERENT!!! KEEP UP WITH YOUR VIDEOS... LIFE IS MUCH BETTER AT 10,000 FT. AND ABOVE!!!

I will bet that bro's major in college is not Mechanical Engineering or similar, because if it was, I would not expect him to say that the crankshaft failure was "unrelated" to the vapor lock issue, due to the fact that the crankshaft (very likely) failed due to fatigue, which the lean combustion mixtures caused by intermittent vapor lock in the fuel lines would have significantly contributed to, by causing abnormal combustion such as preignition and knock that likely applied counter-acting forces to it, especially since he indicated that the issue occurred for a significant amount of time before it was mitigated. Anyway, I'm very glad he's OK and I have much respect for him and his efforts, ambition, and wherewithal.

Congratulations on a safe landing! Your distress call sounded like ""another day in the park" with your calm demeanor. I am sure you will continue your dream!

Watched both vids. What a ride. Glad you made it. I hope you keep making content and can get back in the air because this is all cool af. Love a good scrapper doin what they can with what they got.

Just replace the engine man.

"you cant park there" lol

You're a badass for handling that landing like that. Glad you're okay. It's incredible you didn't hurt anything/anyone at all. Really skillful.

The whiplash I got from watching the video where you first got the plane, going to my RU-vid homepage, then seeing this video. I wish you the best.

Can we get an engine failure analysis? Crankshafts don't just break and from the look of the failure it looks like a fatigue failure, something that again should never happen to a crankshaft since they are typically made from a hardened steel that due to the thickness and hardening has an infinite fatigue life, especially in an airplane where the forces are all in tension, essentially trying to pull the crankshaft out of the engine, again hardened steel is extraordinarily strong in tension and should've easily handled any load applied. The crankshaft had to have been damaged at some point, potentially something smacking the propeller causing a slight bend in the shaft which led to a fatigue crack that expanded over time, causing the vibrations and eventual failure. Another person (@calchip) here mentioned the potential of a casting failure specifically in VM cranks in that engine and that could certainly cause it.

I for one am not surprised a single engine homemade plane fell apart

That´s one of the scariest things that could happen while on plane! I´m so happy you managed it perfectly and you had luck for amazing people around you (police, traffic controller,...) which seem not to add towards stressfull situation.

Ethan, so sorry to hear about the plane. But it more important you handled it very well and even more importantly you are safe. You can always get another plane, take you time and select the right plane on the future.

If you fly a homemade plane again please don't fly it over my house or my car.

It's very wonderful you have the money to chase your dreams! Not all of us can do this. Thanks for sharing and glad you're safe!

Glad you are ok and you handled your in flight emergency very well. Wishing you the best with safe skies ...God Speed

So sorry to hear about the loss of your aircraft, but I'm happy you're safe! You've made an excellent point about the difference between "legal" and "safe". Hopefully others wil take this to heart when it comes to custom mods and may save a life or two.

Great story, your too smart to be that young :D Glad your ok. Epic handling of the emergency. Sorry your plane is broke tho. Your still lucky. Thanks for the good video. I was in the Air Force as a Comm/Nav Avionics tech (2A133) in the 90's so hearing the talk about avionic equipment was extremely interesting to me, thanks for that too.

Welp, This video came up on my algorithm randomly. but I'm glad that you are ok! That must've been scary losing a propeller mid air. I'm glad you were able to land the plane safely without you or anyone else getting hurt!

Happy your OK. Don't stop with this plane. Keep going. Remotor the plane and continue flying it. You've come to far on this plane to just quit. Best of luck in your future endevors.

Bro, you are cranking out some awesome videos. Stay safe and have fun!

What a scary (but incredible) experience. I'm glad you're okay, and I'm happy you aren't just another Trevor Jacob. I'm sure you've thoroughly learned from this, and though I'm not certain of USA air law, I do reckon you'll be used as a case study for things that can go wrong when teaching new pilots in the future. From my perspective, you handled it well.

I'm from Olean, and passed your plane on my way to Ellicottville. I'm so glad that everything turned out alright, and that you're okay. I hope you make another visit out this way sometime, and get to enjoy what we have. Letchworth State Park is lovely and worth a visit. By land or air. Also, thank you for saying Olean correctly!

I went to school to become an Aviation Mechanic did three years learned to fly first then hands on Maintenance but I never finished that was 30 years ago everyone said no don't do it it's not worth it flying is dangerous and I listened and threw it all away. I wished I would've completed it. That's a nice plane and things happen.You accomplished alot .SUCCESSFULLY and on your own. Don't give up on your dream Buddy no matter what others say .Get a parachute for it..They aren't real expensive. Finish it. VW beetle engines are used all the time but you can go different routes...Proud of you my friend

Man!!! I shared the video of you buying this plane with so many people to try and prove to them that it isn’t as expensive as everyone thinks. This is not the follow-up I expected. I’m really glad you made it down safe. I can’t even imagine how wild that landing must have been.

You should be extremely proud of how far you came. Hats off to you brother. Thank you for making this follow up. Honestly I learned so much from this and it is so awesome to see how much fun you had and see your still here with us even despite the engine failure. I wonder if the engine ran too lean and fail subsequently. With car engines I know from experience too lean is way worse than too rich and you can cause engine failure. Please brother keep us posted no matter where your journey takes you. I’d love to see more content even if it’s just a hey how I’m doing video. You are a very intelligent and fun to listen to person. I wish you well and thank you so much for this journey you took us on. Your parents must be extremely proud of you. Keep it up brother and I hope we see some more content out of you. ❤

Amazing young man- great persistence in your career and creative work arounds for securing the upgrades to the aircraft. Furthrr kudos for the clean installation work and calm, very professional response to an emergency - I'd fly with you any time

What a great video, so much more than just the title, and a great telling. You dodged a big one there, I think life will be good to you....but not just randomly but because you are willing to have a go and put the effort in.

We're all so glad you walked away from this. This is amazing for a man of your young age. You've got balls of steel and more importantly the ability to stay cool under pressure. I'll bet you were so glad for those upgraded brakes when you had to land on the highway. Along with the other gearheads out here I think you can fix this plane and fly it again provided there's no irreparable structural damage. Nicely done!

Well done sir. Don’t let it discourage you. You clearly have a smart head on your shoulders. You’ll figure your way through and get to live your dream. Might just take longer than planned.

Love your videos! Keep them coming! Glad you are ok sir.

ah man i am glad you are all right what an intriguing tale. Like many my intro to you was the last video of your trip. The very first thing i thought was "man, i sure dont like hearing the words budget and aircraft in the same sentence..." and then of course the next suggested video is "my prop fell of". Very well shot and edited videos man - and i really honestly feel bad for you as if this thing kept trucking along you likely could have done youtube fulltime with your initial boost of popularity. what a heartbreaking thing to happen but man yeah cheap planes just are not the way to go. glad you got away with your life big dog keep making vids!

I know this has been pretty recent and you must still be feeling upset about it (understandably so), but know you just learn and move on. Don't let it bring you down, don't beat yourself up over it, just learn and move on. Next time you'll naturally make it better, but these things happen. In argentina we say 'los fierros son fierros' when talking about cars, bikes, etc They break down, it sucks, you fix them, learn in the process, and then you move on to do bigger and better things. I loved both your videos, you clearly are very knowledgeable. Keep going, great things await!

i'm happy that you are alright, the whole situation makes me very interested in your future endeavors

Sucks to see the old gal go, but glad you got out of it alive, with so much experience! I hope you can find your way into another small personal plane some day. Loved watching the journey.

Holy shit man, that's a crazy story! Glad you and everyone around you were safe and nobody was hurt or nothing damaged (except the plane unfortunately)

Very well done Ethan! Glad you're ok! Having experienced engine out- off airport landings myself several times increases your heartrate quite a bit but keeping your head cool and flying the plane is mandatory as you found out! My engine out landings were also with Car-conversion engines and I made an agreement with my loved ones and myself that I'll never fly behind one again! Only purpose build aircraft engines lower the risk of an unfortunate event, but it's mechanical and there's always a chance something breaks! Blue skies!!

Deng props to you for keeping calm and landing smoothly. Sounds scary af.

Speaking as a CFI, I'm absolutely in awe of the ADM and professional attitude you display in this breakdown. I can only imagine how disappointed and frustrated this outcome must have left you, but i hope you take some well-earned pride in how you've handled all of this. You *absolutely* have the mindset of a career aviator, and I wish you fair skies wherever the rest of your journey takes you.

While this must have been wild for you, I can imagine how your dad’s heart must have dropped if he was tracking your location right at that moment… The thoughts that went through his mind and the sheer panic. Glad you are safe man - I literally just watched your other video of the half-cross country trip, not thirty minutes ago lol.

Great story, so glad that you're alright. I used to fly as crew for aerial mapping for many years and as much as I adore aviation, I kinda lost my mojo for taking flights in anything not operated by a major airline as it seems with all small aircraft there's a decenly high chance of something wild eventually happening. I've heard of many stories some closer to home than others and it just has made me decide not to take to the skies any more.

Wonderful, you’re OK, first time I saw you was this morning just picked your video. Take care young man.

I am glad you are ok ethan! I was worried about you after seeing the first videos!

Hey Ethan! Glad you made a safe landing! I enjoyed you breakdown of all the safety procedures and the gear used. Maybe a good idea for future videos (If you're looking to make more): airplane equipment & technicality breakdowns/reviews/chats, or what it's like teaching, or lessons to learn and keep in mind -- kind of like an 'Ethan Talks Everything Airplanes' lol. All-in-all thanks for sharing your story and super glad you got home safe. Cheers!

BtW I built and flew a Jabiru for 15 years, it as beautiful.You a so professional,thanks for sharing your adventure.

Glad your alright bud! Much love from the coast of Maine 🤙

First of all, I'm glad you're okay! Great landing! It's too bad about feeling like you should fly a different plane. Money has been the main barrier to my entrance into the world of becoming a pilot. I've been flying simulators since the late 80s and taught myself how to fly by trial and error from a program I discovered on the computer my dad brought home because of his job (dad was a computer guy for a military contractor working closely with the Air Force). I only ever got to fly a real plane once because a friend of mine took me and some other friends flying one day. It was a blast! I'm always one of these people whose head is practically glued to the window in commercial flights because I love seeing things from a higher vantage point like that. Never could afford even basic ground training though and I was too cowardly to join the military and see if they would train me to fly. Now it will probably never happen so I'm glad you got to experience it and I wish that more of us could because it's outstanding to fly a plane! Seems like mostly what you need is a new prop, perhaps a new engine, and perhaps some more redundancies built into your plane. You're alive to have learned from this and so you might as well put that insight into practice if you can. I can see why you might feel some kind of way after having a mishap in that plane and I can totally understand that. I crashed a motorcycle and, before I knew if it was totaled for sure, I will honestly say that I kind of feared that they'd repair it and give it back to me because I felt afraid to ride it again. I don't know if I would be afraid to ride any motorcycle because I haven't tried. I damn near lost my life in that accident and I did lose all the ligaments in one arm, but only because I was lucky enough to be able to scramble to the side a little bit from the trajectory of my motorcycle. It ended up between the wheel wells of a truck and I scrambled my way far enough not to hit the truck at all. I'm just not sure I would have been able to get back on that specific motorcycle but I feel like it might have been different on a different one. If I had had the money, I might have gotten another one but another thing I realized that is completely separate from the accident is that it's a pain in the ass to get stuff home from the store on a motorcycle and it was very dangerous to ride in the summer because it gets so hot here. In fact, I might have saved myself some road rash if I had worn my jacket that day but I considered the risk of heat stroke to be more immediately dangerous and I will honestly say that that decision was correct but I just happened to get unlucky on that particular day when I would have rendered my mind less effective on thousands of other similar days had I worn my jacket in the heat.

So glad you were able and skilled enough to land safely! When I saw the crankshaft extension behind the prop, I had a red flag pop up. Although not an expert, I would suggest that the period of rough running make have stressed the crankshaft and started the process of failure. Neither here, nor there, but just my opinion. I used to hear about Subaru engines being used on homebuilt aircraft, but seldom hear of that anymore. What I do hear is that modern Subaru cars seem to have a lot of problems with head gasket failure. Of course, one might consider this a sign that only older engines (both VW and Subaru) are to be considered for aircraft use. I think you really cut to the truth regarding safety and legality. Not obvious until pointed out by a perceptive and wise individual. You will go far, young man!

You’re an inspiration. Great learning experience. Upgrade and stay safe.

Brilliant survival story. You can be proud of how well you handled this remarkable incident. Best regards from Sydney AU.

it warmed my heart seeing your dads text messages.

You just gained a lot of experience. Best whishes for future endeavours !. Subscribed

Great job handling your emergency landing bro. You are very lucky to be alive. I bet you had a really bad scare of your life. Glad you are okay brother.