The engine in my long serving Irvine Tutor 40 model aeroplane stopped abruptly the other day. Fortunately I was flying at a reasonable altitude and was easily able to make a deadstick landing on the airstrip.
Gently turning the engine by hand a little soon came up against very hard resistance so there was no more to be done at the field. I have more been able to strip the SC 46 engine down and it didn't look good. A small piece of metal on top of the piston was the first find and was another clear sign that the damage was likely to be significant. When I removed the back plate matters got worse as it revealed a mangled strip of metal and then I removed the piston liner which was scored, as was the piston. Next the crankshaft was removed and that was finely scored in the area between the bearings, ah yes the bearings, y these are two ball races, one at the front of the engine and one further back. The front bearing was fine but as soon as I started to remove the rear bearings the while lot just feel apart. Yes, the ball bearing retainers had disintegrated causing the previously mentioned damage. Well that's the end of that engine!
