Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.

Have you ever had an engine failure in an SEP?

Yes, total
32
21%
Yes, partial
43
29%
No, never
75
50%
User avatar
By rf3flyer
#1520430
Dave_Ett wrote:I have to say I'm now more worried about engine failures than I was before this thread. More than 50% have suffered partial or full failure. OK they lived to tell us about it, but even so!

Are there some common factors here, like engine type? Is there a database showing which engine is the most reliable?

John Roncz wrote for Sport Aviation in the early nineties describing his design process for for a personal homebuilt. One of his design criteria was that it have a good glide ratio because he had had an engine failure, at night, in a Rockwell Commander and he reckoned that its good glide ratio is what got him back to a lit field. He went on to remark that piston aero engines will fail at some time.
It's probably true that there are some that never have and never will fail but really you should plan for the worst case and assume it might.