Two weeks ago I was ferrying my Grumman Tiger from Detroit to Wash DC area to show it to a prospective buyer. Hard IFR......2000 foot ceiling, tops to 10,000, and a 40 knot headwind with a lot of bumps. After an hour of slogging along through moderate rainshowers, I was thinking: gee......this really isnt much fun ! Just then the #2 cylinder swallowed an intake valve, causing a drastic loss of power and shaking the whole plane as if part of the prop had come off. Now my thinking changes to : "Oh F##K!"

I declared an emergency.....and the controller at Toledo told me that Metcalf airport was five miles behind me. He did a great job of helping me get turned around and down.....and when I came out of the clouds, there were three very pretty runways to choose from. I managed to get the plane on the ground in one piece. (By the way....the guy in Virginia bought it anyway....he's putting a new engine on now)