There you are...

Flying along in a Cirrus at 3500 feet, still inside of Class D airspace, but switched to departure. You're at 3500 feet, in the climb to 6,500 when you look at your instruments, and the number 3 CHT has blown well past 500 degrees, and flashing red at you. Boost is already on, but you running slightly lean of peak. You push the mixture to full, with no observable difference. Suddenly, the number 3 CHT temp drops to normal, than suddenly spikes again past 500. The engine begins to run incredibly rough, and the number 3 CHT is at 0. Altitude is now 3800. Look for place to ditch? Attempt the airport? Pull the handle?

Flight conditions at time of incident: VFR, daytime, clear and a million. Departed out of Ryan Field, Tucson (elevation 2417). Winds were light. I was over desert. Only real option for a ditch would have been the interstate, otherwise it was mesquite, creosote, and palo verde trees.

Tell me what you'd do, and I'll tell you what I did. I'd like some feedback about what I did after I get a few replies about it.

If I am at 3800 feet and with in 4 miles of the airport in a perfect senario if the airport is below 500MSL, with the glide that a cirrus, diamond, or any carbon airplane has for that matter, I am going to turn around and head for the airport. Now We don't know what the conditions were, IFR/VFR, wind conditions, would they have been in your face trying to get back, Day or Night, What are you over, city, roads, farms? We need more info man

I would definitely have returned to the airport. The engine is running rough, but still running, and you have plenty of altitude to turn around.

Go back to the airport for sure. You've lost one cylinder, but the other 5 are still firing and even if they don't, I'd imagine that your emergency landing options in the direction of the airport are no worse than right under you.

What was the end result on the engine? Sounds like a sticky or broken valve to me.

Put a piece of duct tape over the instrument panel and continue the flight.

There's 6 cylinders in that thing, might as well use them. Return to airport.

Yea, if you can get it back to the airport, which it sounds like you could have, you did the right thing. Now if the engine crapped the bed completely and you couldn't get it back to the airport, I'd pull the chute before attempting an interstate landing. That's just me though.

You'd pull the chute if you heard a turbulence report.

i'd turn around and land at the departure airport. the engine is running rough right? not completely gone. Even if it were completely gone i imagine you could make a turn around to land at 1500 AGL... what did you do?

Says the kid flying freight in the cush NW.

It's a Cirrus, at the first hint of a hiccup pop the chute and scream like a scared little girl on the ride down!

There is no way I am gonna pop the chute unless I really think I may die... Unrecoverable spin, or an engine failure at night over unfamiliar unlit terrain. Etc.

For me, the chute is the equivalent as an ejection seat. Absolutely complete last resort. That said, I turned to make the field. The engine was still turning, rough, but going.

I had my gf and a 4 year old in the airplane as well so that added a level of excitement to the scenario. And... I had about 150 TT when it happened.

I'm asking because I had a fellow Cirrus owner ask if I contemplated pulling the handle. I was thinking "what a retard", but politely said no. No way. Fly the still flying, still engine running airplane. I flew the approach high, and slipped it in. Landed fine, found a great mechanic on the field and got it fixed. Engine had 20 hours on a full rebuild, and that's another story for another time. The cylinder had a bad valve. Western Skyways should warranty.

I just needed some confirmation that I made the right call.

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Nice work man, Glad to hear that you did the right thing and made it back to the field. I completely agree with you on the chute.

Go back to the airport, stay close to the highway (if that's an option), keeping mind that I have a chute (if it craps out and I cant make it to anywhere that isn't covered in trees).

ha. Called it. did the valve actually break, or just leak horrendously? BTW, my employer uses Western Skyways exclusively for our engine overhauls and we've had very good luck with them.

We've had it looked at by 3 different mechs. They've all concluded the same thing; the pins (?) that hold the valve in place failed, letting the valve fall into the sleeve (?) resulting in detonation in the cylinder. I've already sent it back to WS, but the ceramic on top of the cylinder was melted about 10mm in from the sides. None of the other cylinders showed signs of detonation or overheating.

Thats pretty hot to melt ceramic.