Plane Drops Motor in Case of Fire, Then Lands as Glider (Aug, 1929)
Plane Drops Motor in Case of Fire, Then Lands as Glider
Danger of fire breaking out in an airplane engine in flight gives promise of being eliminated by the perfection of a new method of mounting motor and gas tanks which permits them to be dropped from the fuselage of the plane in case of fire. Joaquin Abreu of San Francisco is the inventor of the new motor-mounting device. The photo below shows how the mechanism is attached to a frame underneath the plane, from which it can be dropped at an instant’s notice by simply moving the release lever. After the motor has been dropped, the plane lands easily as a glider.
I’ed think getting a decent shot going at speed would be impossible...
Unfortunately, the moment the engine is jettisoned, the aircraft’s center of gravity shifts dramatically aft, making it uncontrollable.
If the fuel tanks were mounted aft to balance the engine, there MIGHT be a chance of maintaining a reasonable CG, but tanks are typically mounted in a central location to avoid any change in CG as fuel is consumed.
Comment by Rick Auricchio — January 27, 2012 @ 9:56 am
modern aircraft designers don’t seem to feel any need to jettison engines, even if they are on fire. jet engines on airliners have built-in firefighting systems, but no jettisoning abilities, not even though they’re mounted much closer to the fore-aft center of gravity.
then again, who’d want to have a flaming jet engine drop in their back yard at random times? the liability for the airline’d be horrendous.
Comment by Nomen Nescio — January 27, 2012 @ 10:07 am
Even the old piston powered airliners and WWII bombers had built-in fire suppression systems (much like what are on jets today.)
Comment by Kosher Ham — January 27, 2012 @ 1:11 pm
What happens if the pilot accidentally bumps the release lever when there’s NOT a fire? Or if the jettisoning mechanism accidentally fails in some other way? In other words, how many problems could be caused by the mechanism, compared to the problems solved by it?
Comment by Richard — January 27, 2012 @ 1:51 pm
…meanwhile, people on the ground die screaming in flames when some idiot drops a burning engine on them.
Comment by Warren — January 27, 2012 @ 2:32 pm
“Pilot to bombardier, we’re approaching the drop zone.”
“Wilco, preparing to drop bombs.”
*pulls the wrong lever
Why does it sound like something out of an episode of “The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show” ?
Comment by whoozle whaazle — January 27, 2012 @ 2:33 pm
No wonder train travel was popular into the ’50s.
Comment by Hirudinea — January 27, 2012 @ 2:41 pm
In addition to the flaming motor dropping in for a visit, the attached fuel tank would also insure that the fire department would see the where it landed for a nice long time.
Comment by Brian — January 27, 2012 @ 3:18 pm
Dropping a burning engine and fuel tank at random? What could go wrong!?
Comment by Deth — January 27, 2012 @ 4:09 pm