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Steve,
Glad you took the comments in the spirit in which they were intended. I now work as a mechanical engineer. In the modern world where we have computers controlling so many things we tend to forget that the underlying mechanics must first be sound, before the adjustments made by the engine management system will matter.
Bill Jepson
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Brooks <cozy4pilot@gmail.com>
To: Rotary motors in aircraft <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Sent: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 2:53 am
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Hard starting - problem solved
Bill,
I found your comments quite interesting, and also very much on target. It is very easy to forget the simple stuff. My background is on the electrical / electronic. Currently work as a data network engineer, after years of technical management. Though I have worked on motorcycles over the years, and do quite a bit of car maintenance, rebuilding, and adapting the rotary for aircraft use, is definitely my biggest mechanical project. Well, not counting building an airplane in the first place.
I know my limitations in the mechanical realm, and take all helpful hints and suggestions.
Regards,
Steve Brooks
-----Original Message-----
From: Rotary motors in aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net]On Behalf Of wrjjrs@aol.com
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 6:12 PM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Hard starting - problem solved
Steve,
Please understand that I was NOT trying to be critical of your efforts. You did perform the MOST important part of the repair, you actually fixed the problem! I mentioned the old tech training comments because we ALL tend to bypass the simple problems. (To all of our peril.) I just like to remind everyone to look through the basics first when encountering these problems. It will often cut short your repairs because you find the simple problem. If you don't find a simple problem you are still ahead because you KNOW that you haven't forgotten everything. It is amazing how even successful people often start in the middle, mechanics wise. Some time I'll tell the story of the very successful 2 stroke tuners that wouldn't believe us when we told them that the charge in a 2 stroke engine went UNDER the piston and into the crankcase first! These guys were building race-winning engines! They must have had a BIG pile of cut-and-try cylinders behind their shop!
Cheers, happy flying!
Bill,
The spark plug without the conductor would definitely be a strange one. I do sometimes overlook the simple stuff. I always assume that it’s got to be something harder than what it usually turns out to be.
The good news is, that I know for a fact that a lot of things on the engine are in tip-top shape, after checking a lot of different things trying to find it. A few new electrical connectors. Cleaned the injector connectors, etc, etc.
Regards,
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: Rotary motors in aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net]On Behalf Of WRJJRS@aol.com
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 1:53 AM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Hard starting - problem solved
While the turbo is at the shop, I'm going to pressurize the cooling system,
just to make sure that I don't have any other leaks. That way once the
turbo comes back (3-4 weeks) I'll be all set to go.
Thanks for all of the suggestions.
Steve Brooks
Cozy MKIV
13B Turbo
Steve,
You have shown people on the list TWO of the items that were drummed into all of the Kawasaki technical training students when I was there. (A long time ago, probably before dirt!)
1) Check the simple stuff first! (If the engine won't run check for gas in the fuel tank BEFORE any other check is made!)
2) If it was running well and you changed something and then it doesn't run well find out what you messed up.
Not doing these things was grounds for failure. After checking the basics then continue downhill from there in a logical fashion. Some of the problems we gave candidates were diabolical, (clear nail polish on the spark plugs for instance), but instructive. Later these mantras saved me when a spark plug came from NGK that looked perfect, but lacked the copper core conductor. A production line fault. It doesn't happen often but it can happen. Glad that you were able to find both problems on the ground!
Bill Jepson
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