The pilot of an experimental epic lt experienced a complete electrical failure during climb; resulti...

Narrative:

I took off from ZZZ and lost electrical power almost immediately during the climb. The engine started to shudder and I noticed the voltage was only at 15 volts. My directional gyro on the EFIS was not providing true heading; so I asked departure for turn guidance; which they provided. The engine continued to shudder and I feared that I might lose my engine; so I stated it was an emergency and I needed to land immediately. Center turned me back toward ZZZ and had me descend to 3;000 ft. I entered the IMC at approximately 4;500 ft with course guidance from center. I came out of the clouds at around 3;000 ft and saw the airport at my 12 o'clock position and 7 miles. I attempted to lower the gear and flaps but had insufficient electrical power to operate both at once. I flew over the field and received a visual from the ground that 2 of the 3 wheels were down. By the time I had completed a go-around; I had 3 greens but no flaps. I came in with extra speed and landed without incident. It took a few moments to compose myself as well as the passengers (my family). I exited the airplane and called center to cancel the flight plan and let them know that we had landed safely.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The pilot of an experimental Epic LT experienced a complete electrical failure during climb; resulting in a rough running engine. He declared an emergency and returned to his departure airport.

Narrative: I took off from ZZZ and lost electrical power almost immediately during the climb. The engine started to shudder and I noticed the voltage was only at 15 volts. My directional gyro on the EFIS was not providing true heading; so I asked Departure for turn guidance; which they provided. The engine continued to shudder and I feared that I might lose my engine; so I stated it was an emergency and I needed to land immediately. Center turned me back toward ZZZ and had me descend to 3;000 FT. I entered the IMC at approximately 4;500 FT with course guidance from Center. I came out of the clouds at around 3;000 FT and saw the airport at my 12 o'clock position and 7 miles. I attempted to lower the gear and flaps but had insufficient electrical power to operate both at once. I flew over the field and received a visual from the ground that 2 of the 3 wheels were down. By the time I had completed a go-around; I had 3 greens but no flaps. I came in with extra speed and landed without incident. It took a few moments to compose myself as well as the passengers (my family). I exited the airplane and called Center to cancel the flight plan and let them know that we had landed safely.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	829356
Time
Date	200903
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Experimental
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Electrical Power
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 40 Flight Crew Total 800 Flight Crew Type 125
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

The pilot of an experimental epic lt experienced a complete electrical failure during climb; resulting in a rough running engine. He declared an emergency and returned to his departure airport.