Broken Propeller Perils Voyager Flight

The two pilots who hope to be the first to fly nonstop around the world without refueling suffered a major setback Tuesday when a propeller on their experimental aircraft broke during a test flight, forcing them to make an emergency landing at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert.

Pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager landed safely, but their hopes of departing this year on their global flight could be in jeopardy, according to officials with the Voyager program.

The flight must begin by the end of November in order for the aviators to have satisfactory weather for their 12-day journey. Tuesday’s flight was to have been the last test flight before the departure, but the damaged propeller could delay the flight considerably.

The 1,850-pound Voyager has two engines, one forward and one aft, but it is designed to fly most of the route only on its rear engine to conserve fuel. Special propellers made in Germany were installed on both engines last month to give the plane added lift when it takes off with 8,934 pounds of fuel.

Crewmen were examining the plane Tuesday night in an effort to determine what caused the prop to break.

“It’s really a major setback,” said Voyager spokesperson Wanda Wolf.

“We could still go this year,” she said, “but if the props have to come from Germany it means (a delay of) weeks and weeks.”

That could push the departure close to the end of November and possibly even delay it until the fall of 1987.

Strong Fuel Odor

The pilots also complained of smelling fuel in the tiny cockpit of the Voyager, and according to radio conversations between Rutan and Edwards officials, the odor was quite strong. There was no explanation of what caused the smell.

The purpose of Tuesday’s flight was to test a new system for balancing the aircraft as its engines burn fuel from tanks that are scattered throughout the wings and the tail section. There are 17 tanks in the Voyager, and the fuel must be switched from tank to tank so as not to upset the delicate controls on the spindly craft.

The Voyager went up Tuesday morning “with a heavy load,” Wolf said, to test its handling with a weight near what it will have to carry when it lifts off for the global flight.

Of particular concern is how the plane will handle if it encounters severe air turbulence. The Voyager, which cruises at only about 90 m.p.h., will have to fly through the inter-tropical convergence zone near the Equator, an area where different weather fronts mesh together, often spawning major tropical storms.