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Message
Guys,
I'm signed off and ready to fly, but I'm a
little concerned about cooling issues. I don't want to melt anything in the
first go around the pattern.
I'm finding that the engine gets REALLY hot
after about 10 - 15 minutes ground running, and I'm wondering if that's to be
expected, or if I have a cooling problem. Maybe I should just taxi gently
to the runway and launch to get airflow as soon as
possible.
For example, today I ran it up and down the
taxiway for a few minutes at fairly low speeds and around 2500 - 3000rpm. Then I
did some static runups (maybe 3800 - 4000 rpm - all the brakes will hold) and
some EC2 tuning. Then I did some mode 1 programing at various rpm. During
this run I watched the water temp gradually go up until it was
over 200 and I shut her down. The oil was still down around 140 - 160. I took
the cowl off and found that everything in the engine compartment was HOT.
Radiator, oil coolers, hoses, intake, the cowl itself. Apart from giving my cowl
a REAL GOOD post cure I dont think I've done any damage, but this doesnt give me
a lot of confidence about whether I'll make it around the
pattern.
The thermostat is now in place, and I get the
feeling that I'd be much better without it. Once the engine gets a little hot
the water temps seem to "run away" if I'm producing any kind of power. So... to
remove the thermostat [3rd gen rew engine] I have to remove the water pump and
have the by-pass hole welded shut - right?
Do you 13B drivers tend to just taxi out at low
rpm then launch? Would your engine overheat if you did a 15 minute medium power
runup? I'd appreciate any general thoughts, or comments
on how much ground running I should expect to get away with before the temps get
too high. Anything else I should
check?
Regards,
John Slade
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