My brand-new IO-240 (43.1 hours) had been suffering from some odd performance characteristics, such as running very well at high rpms (once started after many tries and a lot of boost), a little irregularly at low rpms, and quitting at idle (even at around 800 or 900). I just now got back from a visit with an A&P who knows this engine well. He tried almost everything in the book, and the symptoms persisted. Then the hidden obvious reared its ugly head. We decided to drop the bottom cowl. The fuel line that runs in front of the forward port cylinder was BADLY kinked. It had been installed improperly (at the factory?), backwards at the bottom end and bent to fit a 90 ell when it should have been a 45, facing forward instead of aft, in a nice, clean, unkinked arc. The outer sleeve was cracked open, just slightly, and the inner tubing felt weaker than the unbent parts of it. Adjacent to this, a nut was missing from the manifold. The rear starboard head nut, barely visible behind the baffling, still had a socket attached, held in place by the baffling.

I ain't no mechanic, but I'm sure glad I got this one. He pointed out some other flaws, such as missing washers on some of the struts (but not all), indicating that the same person most likely had "help," and some less-than-perfect safety wiring. Needless to say, I will be going over this airplane much, much more carefully, along with this mechanic, and, I hope, learning the easy way. The mechanic said that finding those "few" flaws led him to wonder how many others there might be.

The mechanic admired the workmanship--the builder had two other prize-winners under his belt. But he was very ill toward the end of this, his last build, and he had to have help finishing it. He died before he could fly it, leaving a lot of grieving friends behind, all of whom were very helpful to me as a non-builder, much in the way this forum has been a tremendous help. So, I'm learning. S l  o   w    l     y.

With respect to fire, I wonder what would have happened if a tiny crack had developed in the fuel line, and the fuel, atomized under pressure, enveloped the manifold with the missing nut and the engine compartment, either in flight or on the ramp? We had no fire extinguisher handy, and the one in the hangar, fifty feet away, might have proven too little too late. Would we have shut down quickly enough? Would we have turned the cranky fuel valve to off? Or would we have just gotten the hell out and let 'er burn? In flight, would we have gotten on the ground quickly enough? Would a fire suppression system, if installed, have been effective, or fall just slightly short of extinguishing the initial fire and any post-suppression flare-ups?

I'm happy that I have not yet had to endure a baptismal by fire.

PS: First, every fitting, every line, every bit of the fuel system and engine should be checked by a knowledgeable professional, not just self-styled know-it-alls, however well-intentioned. This will ensure that there are no "accidents" waiting to happen. Should a fire occur at start-up, is adequate suppression equipment and trained "personnel) standing by? In flight, is adequate suppression equipment available?  How thoroughly have we checked our own work and that of others? Have we used check-lists during the build? Have we had others check our work?

I look forward to comments on this, but I also look forward to additional discussion on this subject in general. (I have purposely made this thread very narrow, but I encourage other posts under the heading FIRE.

WT