Ed, I also turn off the fuel pump for the same reasons as Jim. Also, until my latest mods, it was almost the only reliable way. The EC2 sneak would prevent turning off the EC2 power from being a reliable method. Even turning off the master power would not work because I no longer have an alternator switch. Turning the mixture to full lean would also do the trick. Now the EC2 sneak fixed and I installed injector switches - so many choices... but I will continue to use the fuel pump.
BTW, I was doing a lot of formation flying with the Lyc guys. We like to continue the formation though taxi and shut down. So when lead nods his head, everyone pulls the mixture knob at the same time. Problem is that mine would always come to a stop within a couple seconds (after turning off the pump) while everyone else would still have props turning for another 5 seconds or so (waiting for the carb bowl to drain?). I could usually time it by waiting 3-5 seconds or so, but it was still a different look and feel... running full idle then stopping in a few revs while the others gradually came to a stop. I knew my plane was always a blemish on the unity of the formation - shutdown, different prop rotation, and the different sound in particular. But no one ever said anything - that would be taking ourselves a little too seriously.
On 6/24/07, James Maher <deltaflyer@prodigy.net> wrote:
Ed,
I prefer the Fuel Pump shutoff method.
On my airplane the fuel system will remain pressurized for a long time after shut down.
I don't like the idea of highly pressurized fuel inside a very hot engine compartment.
So by turning off the fuel pumps with the engine still running it serves to de-pressurize the fuel system.
This way if you do happen to get a stuck open injector it will not flood the rotor housing with fuel.
It only takes a second or two for the engine to quit after fuel pump shutoff.
To everyone running a rotary engine and particularly flying with one - what is your normal method of killing the engine.
1. Turning off Main Power
2. Turning off EC2 Power
3. Turning off ignition
4. Turning off Fuel Pumps
5. Turning off injectors
6. Other
|