Hi guys, hope you all had a good holiday season...

The other day after take off I noticed low fuel pressure (less then 2 psi) on my gauge, but being the brave (and perhaps stupid) soul that I am I carried on to my destination. Redline on my gauge is 2 psi.
 
The engine ran fine for this 1.5 hour flight. The electric fuel pump made no difference to the pressure indication. After departure from my destination that evening, the pressure read 4-5 psi on the ground (responding to the electric fuel pump) then , immediately after take off hovered at 1 psi. As I climbed out to 7,000 feet the pressure headed even further south (0.5 psi).  I also heard (?real or imagined) the engine hesitate for a nano second. This happened 3 times.

I returned to the aerodrome 15 minutes after departure as I thought it was the prudent thing to do (even though it meant a 6 hour drive instead).
On descent the fuel pressure returned to 4-5 psi and the landing was uneventful.

I tried the electric fuel pump after I shut down and the pressure pumped up to 6 psi no problems.

I have over 300 hours in this airplane and on all flights have observed that the fuel pressure normally sits at 2 psi, just above redline in the cruise, but intermittently (and apparently spontaneously) wanders to 5psi before returning to 2 psi.

Any one care to comment on potential probems or reasons for this? Mine is a carburetted 0-320.

In the interim, I have decided not to fly until it is checked out be a LAME.


Gerard O Connell
Melbourne, Australia
VH-LPD (LNC2)

 

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