-----Original Message-----
From: Rotary motors in aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net] On
Behalf Of Bob White
Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 10:11 AM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Dead Rotor at 3000ft

Hi Joe,

Sorry to hear about your engine troubles, but glad you're back on the
ground safe and sound.

I wonder if the BUR9EQ's would be a little safer as they seem to be
more fully enclosed?  Is there an advantage to using the BR9EQ?

Bob W.


On Sat, 23 Dec 2006 20:15:55 -0800
"Joe Hull" <joeh@PilgrimTech.com> wrote:

> The weather today in the Seattle area was marginal for flying - but a
nice
> hole opened around my home airport (KAWO) and I was there tinkering with
the
> plane anyway (re-torqueing the prop)- so up I went. I did 4 touch and
goes
> just for a wee bit of practice and then departed the pattern toward a
bigger
> hole that would be legal to climb through VFR. I flew about 30 miles
> northwest of the airport out to the edge of the Puget Sound and enjoyed
just
> being in the air. Power setting was about 4400RPM and I was loping along
at
> a lazy 135kts.  I turned around and headed back for Arlington and
decided to
> ramp up the power to ramming speed - errr I mean cruising speed. In a
few
> minutes I was cruising along at 170kts at about 5500RPM. Then all of a
> sudden BAM - the engine stumbled and RPM's dropped to 2300RPM.  I
> immediately throttled back and switched tanks while turning toward the
> airport. Altitude was 3200FT (about 3000AGL) and I was maybe 7 miles
from
> the airport. The engine was running real rough and wouldn't give me more
> than 2300RPM. Even with that little bit of power I ended up entering the
45
> to the pattern at about 800 above pattern altitude. It was pretty slow
at
> the airport so I easily made a normal landing and was able to taxi back
to
> the hanger under power.
>
>
>
> At the hangar I double checked everything I could from the cockpit -
fuel
> pressure good at 36PSI, oil pressure good at 55PSI at 2300 RPM,
MicroTech
> ECM showed "OK" for the size major areas it monitors. So, I shut it down
and
> pulled the cowl. I pulled the prop through a number of times and it
seemed
> that there was a couple places where I should have been hearing a "pop"
in
> the exhaust but didn't. I also notice that there is a nice ding in the
prop
> that is about an inch long - that wasn't there when I left (remember I'm
a
> pusher).
>
>
>
> I got the engine compression gage and proceeded to take the spark plug
out
> of the front rotor - top - BR9EQ-14. Hmmm - I don't remember there being
a
> casing around the electrode - and why is that casing sliding?
Apparently
> the casing around the electrode broke somewhere inside the sparkplug and
> into two halves long ways down the electrode. Each half slides freely up
and
> down the electrode and even sticks out a little from the end.
>
>
>
> I put the compression gage on and it looks like I get 30-30-70 when I
turn
> the engine over. I tried this several times and there is definitely a
couple
> of places where it only goes to 30. So I double check the location of
that
> ding in the prop - hmmm it's exactly even with the bottom of the exhaust
-
> right about where an apex seal would come out.
>
>
>
> I put two new BR9EQ-14's in both rotors and did a quick run - 2300RPM
rough
> is the best I could get.
>
>
>
> Some time this week I'll go up and yank the exhaust so I can see the
apex
> seals - my guess is I'm missing at least one. Bummer.
>
>
>
> Joe Hull (getting tired of little surprises in the air).
>
> Redmond/Seattle WA, Cozy-Mazda Rotary 71hrs
>
>
>
>


--
N93BD - Rotary Powered BD-4 - http://www.bob-white.com
First Flight:  11/23/2006 7:50AM - 0.7 Hours Total Time
Cables for your rotary installation - http://www.roblinphoto.com/shop/