FW 190 down in France

M Alan Brady said on the 14-Jun-2010 at 21:27

OK look...why are we using a Chinese made engine here?? Better to restore an original BMW 801 and be done with it!! These are beautiful replica's except for the engine...and the details of the cowling are slightly off too. The twelfth time the engine has quit?? What?? Why was the aircraft not grounded until the problem was resolved?

Indrek Aavisto said on the 15-Jun-2010 at 00:27

I read an article in French about the incident recently. My French is not very good, but I understood the pilot to have said that this was the twelfth engine failure that he has experience during his career.

drabslab said on the 15-Jun-2010 at 16:29

The twelft time that the engine had failed???

Is that pilot suicidal?

Who on earth gets in a plane with a repetitively failing engine

M Alan Brady said on the 16-Jun-2010 at 23:17

To quote Mr. Mathis..."the twelfth time it has done so"...failed. meaning the the exact engine in the FW-190 replica. Perhaps he was able to get it re-started the other 11 times before the plane went down. In any case, it's a shame that there are no serviceable BMW-801's around. Why not? There are several DB 601/605's. Take one from the museum in Munich if necessary. or put in a more suitable substitute engine. I understand this is more easily said than done, but in the interests of authenticity, it would be worth it. The FW-190 is one of the greatest fighters ever.

Mr Richard Samwell. said on the 17-Jun-2010 at 17:28

When oh when are these people going to wake up?. Here we have one of the 'best fighters ever built, fitted with an inferior engine. Even if there are ne B.M.W. 801's that are seviceable around anymore, I'm sure that there are some ''more'' serviceable ''Radials'' around.
Has anybody ever thought of asking BMW if they could build an ''801'' .
These aircraft are expensive to run, but to continue to operate it with an engine that keeps cutting out, to me seems that the 'operators' were thinking more of pennies
than of the aircraft or the safety of the pilot.

M Alan Brady said on the 18-Jun-2010 at 20:11

Yes you're right Mr. Samwell. I bet BMW could custom make a brand new "801" if the price were right...we are talking about 70 year old technology after all. But the reality is that we don't live in a perfect world, and this was probably the cheapest way to go about it.

drabslab said on the 22-Jun-2010 at 11:58

@Alan Brady,

Dumping the plane in the ocean definitiely was cheap ;--)

but i understand what you mean, this Focke-Wulf was probably one of those dreams for which there was not enough money in the first place.

Still, one has to be suicidal to continue taking of with a plane (and fly above an ocean) that has such regualr engine troubles

Raf Crick said on the 1-Jul-2010 at 20:20

Such a pity , I saw this plane last year (2009) at the show Flying Legends at Duxford !! It was a marveillous warbird !!

It is not understandable that risks are taken with such a beautifull plane and flying above the sea !

Engine troubles are to be solved as quick as possible !!

I go back to Duxford on 10 july , without seeïng this beautifull plane !!

Raf CRick



Raf Crick

martin said on the 11-Jul-2010 at 21:04

Chap's just to point out; it's the twelfth engine failure that the pilot has experinced during his career. not the twelfth time that the FW engine had failed in flight.

Mr Richard Samwell. said on the 12-Jul-2010 at 14:08

I'm sorry if Imisunderstood, but the Pilot, Mr. Mathis, said when interviewed after the crash
that 'The Engine Had Failed' and that it was'The Twelth time it had done so'', So, could we please have some clarification on what was said and what wasn't by Mr Mathis concerning the crash so there are no future 'Misunderstandings.
Having said all this, it is still a tragedy as far as losing a wonderful 'Warbird' is concerned, I along with everybody else is thank ful that nobody was hurt. Regards Richard.

Joe Papp said on the 29-Dec-2010 at 02:36

Didn't the pilot actually say that, "It was the 12th time that my engine let go..." not that it was the 12th time that "the" engine (referring to that particular power plant) let go.

http://www.nicematin.com/article/derniere-minute/un-as-de-la-voltige-sort-indemne-dun-crash-en-baie-dhyeres-var

"C'est la douzième fois que mon moteur me lâche et que je dois me poser en catastrophe", a confié, très calme, le pilote qui compte près de 1600 heures de voltige.

fred said on the 5-Jan-2011 at 02:14

the web site [it is gone now] said that they were going to use a german radial engine that had been made folr a 4 engine transport plane. these were not
chinese junk,,,sure wish the flugwerk site wasd still there,,,,,

Yves Ferrer said on the 7-Jan-2011 at 10:06

Indeed, the French is quite clear: 'it is the twelwth time than an engine has failed [on me] and that I had to mut down 'rather quickly'.
It does not say that it was the engine on the FW that had failed 12 times.

Raf Crick said on the 13-Sep-2012 at 19:37

I hope to see this beautifull FW
190 again as soon as possible.