THE PILOT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL HOME BUILT AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED ENGINE AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE AT 5;500 FT. NO RESTART WAS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE ELECTRICAL FAILURE; SO HE LANDED SAFELY IN A FIELD.

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I PERFORMED A COMPLETE PREFLT OF THE ACFT USING THE CHKLIST; INCLUDING VISUAL AND TACTILE INSPECTION OF FUEL TANKS AND VISUAL INSPECTION OF FUEL FROM THE GASCOLATOR. I DETECTED NO ABNORMALITIES. THE ACFT DOES NOT HAVE CARB HEAT. I STARTED THE ACFT FOLLOWING THE CHKLIST STEPS. I TAXIED TO RWY 31 AT ZZZ. I PERFORMED A PRE TKOF TEST OF EACH IGNITION SYSTEM FOLLOWING THE CHKLIST. I CHKED ALL GAUGES; FOLLOWING THE CHKLIST STEPS. THE IGNITION SYSTEM PERFORMED PROPERLY ON EACH INDIVIDUAL MAGNETO. THE GAUGES WERE ALL IN THE NORMAL RANGE. ALL GAUGES WERE WORKING PROPERLY. I THEN DEPARTED FROM RWY XX AT ZZZ1. AFTER REACHING 800 FT; I RETRACTED TKOF FLAPS AND TURNED TOWARDS THE SE TOWARDS MY DEST. I CONTINUED TO CLB UNTIL I REACHED 5500 FT MSL. I THEN LEVELED OFF AT 5500 FT MSL. WITHIN 1 MIN OR SO OF LEVELING OFF; APPROX 5 MINS INTO THE FLT; THE ENG ABRUPTLY STOPPED. THE PROP STOPPED AND DID NOT WINDMILL. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE RADIO WAS DARK; INDICATING TO ME AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE AS WELL. I IMMEDIATELY OBTAINED BEST GLIDE SPD AND CHKED BOTH FUEL SWITCHES; WHICH WERE BOTH STILL IN THE 'ON' POSITION. I WAS TOO FAR FROM ZZZ1 TO RETURN TO THE FIELD. I CHOSE A SUITABLE FIELD TO LAND IN IF NECESSARY AND BEGAN MANEUVERING TO SET UP FOR AN UPWIND LNDG ON THAT FIELD. I VERIFIED THAT BOTH IGNITION SWITCHES WERE ON. I ATTEMPTED TO ACTIVATE THE EMER FUEL PUMP; BUT THE CHARACTERISTIC NOISE WAS NOT PRESENT WHEN THE SWITCH WAS TURNED TO THE 'ON' POSITION. I TURNED THE MASTER SWITCH TO 'START;' BUT THE STARTER DID NOT ENGAGE. I TURNED THE KEY TO THE 'OFF' POSITION; AND THEN AGAIN TURNED THE MASTER SWITCH TO 'START.' AGAIN THERE WAS NO ENGAGEMENT OF THE STARTER. SUBSEQUENT MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO RESTART ALSO FAILED. I ATTEMPTED TO DEPLOY FLAPS A MINIMAL AMOUNT TO CHK FOR ANY ELECTRICAL FUNCTION. THE FLAPS DID NOT WORK EITHER. I WAS WITHOUT ENG OR ELECTRICAL PWR. I HAD NO RADIO; SO I WAS NOT ABLE TO ANNOUNCE AN EMER. I MAINTAINED BEST GLIDE SPD WHILE DSNDING TO MAKE THE FIELD I HAD CHOSEN. I TURNED THE MASTER SWITCH TO THE 'OFF' POSITION; I TURNED OFF THE IGNITION SWITCHES. I TURNED OFF ALL OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENT SWITCHES. I TURNED OFF THE FUEL VALVES. I UNLOCKED AND OPENED BOTH DOORS. I REMOVED ALL LOOSE ITEMS IN THE FRONT AREA OF THE COCKPIT AND PLACED THEM BEHIND THE SEAT TO MINIMIZE THEIR DANGER AS PROJECTILES. I RETRIEVED MY SARSAT PLB AND ATTEMPTED TO ACTIVATE IT. MY HVY GLOVES APPARENTLY PREVENTED ME FROM SUCCESSFULLY ACTIVATING THE PLB. I BELIEVED I HAD ACTIVATED THE PLB. AS I WAS DSNDING TOWARDS THE FIELD; I WAS A LITTLE HIGH; SO I SLIPPED TO LOSE ALT. I MADE A SUCCESSFUL UPWIND LNDG IN THE FIELD. THE ACFT CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP REMAINING ON THE LNDG GEAR. THE LNDG WAS MUCH LIKE ANY LNDG ON A ROUGH GRASS FIELD; BUT WITH A LOT MORE ADRENALINE FLOWING IN THE PLT. THE PLANE APPEARED TO HAVE NO DAMAGE FROM THE LNDG WHATSOEVER. LATER; THE FBO REPRESENTATIVES STATED THAT THE WHEEL PANTS WEREN'T EVEN SCUFFED ON THE ACFT. MY TOUCHDOWN SPD WAS APPROX 55 KTS PER HR. I EGRESSED THE ACFT. IT WAS CLEAR THAT THERE WERE NO FUEL LEAKS OR OTHER PROBS; SO I POLICED UP MY GEAR; SECURED THE PLANE; AND RECEIVED AID FROM THE PROPERTY OWNER; WHO CAME TO SEE WHY SOMEONE WAS LNDG AN AIRPLANE DEAD-STICK IN HIS FIELD. THE PROPERTY OWNER BROUGHT ME TO HIS HOUSE. I CONTACTED THE FBO; ADVISED THEM OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED; AND ASKED THEM TO LOOK UP THE AIR FORCE RESCUE COORD CTR (AFRCC). THE FBO GAVE ME THE NUMBER FOR THE AFRCC. I CONTACTED THE AFRCC TO LET THEM KNOW I HAD ACTIVATED MY PLB BUT NO EMER RESPONSE WAS NEEDED. THE AFRCC INDICATED THAT THEY WERE NOT SHOWING A SIGNAL. I FEEL THAT ONCE THE INFLT EMER OCCURRED; I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT. I PERFORMED THE CHKLIST FLOW FROM MEMORY AND COVERED EACH OF THE ITEMS IN THE PROPER SEQUENCE. THIS IS DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF TIME I SPENT MEMORIZING THE EMER PROCS AND THE FOLLOW-UP TIME I HAVE SPENT REVIEWING THEM. IT IS CLEAR TO ME THAT ONCE SUCH AN EMER OCCURS AT LOWER ALTS; A PLT DOES NOT HAVE MUCH; IF ANY; TIME TO PULL OUT AND CONSULT A CHKLIST AND ATTEMPT TO FOLLOW THE ACTION STEPS; WHICH ARE USUALLY IN A VERY SMALL PRINT. A PLT MUST KNOW BY HEART THE EMER PROCS IN ORDER TO COVER ALL THE STEPS.