Posted for "Jim Nordin" <panelmaker@earthlink.net>:

 This problem … was not in a Lancair 360 but a 360 powered RV6A so anyone not
 interested in solving problems for an RV can delete this now.
 
 
 
 The plumbing in this plane was … in my opinion … not ideal …and maybe ideal
 doesn’t exist in many similar planes. The fuel tank is below the Facet pump
 by 6-7 inches. The pump then moves fuel up to a loop (like an inverted “U”)
 passing through the firewall, then down to the gascolator – on to the
 mechanical pump.
 
 
 
 The plane was being prepped for sale. The owner/builder was performing a
 condition inspection. The buyer was here watching and getting briefed on the
 process.
 
 The plane was flown the previous day to the inspection with no “funny”
 noises. There’s always funny noises when you sell an airplane.
 
 
 
 The next morning the owner flipped the master to on and for what ever reason
 checked the Facet. It made the loud noise of pumping dry.
 
 
 
 Owner had installed a new fire sleeve over the fuel line from the gascolator
 to the engine driven pump and wanted to change the filter too thinking
 “something” could have gotten into the line somehow. So he did, which of
 course drained all the fuel from the “loop”. Re-connected all the plumbing
 after the sleeve changeout. Turned on the pump, after 5 seconds of pumping
 air it re-primed. We waited 5 minutes and then it made a loud pumping noise
 again … dry … and it wouldn’t pick up fuel.
 
 after initial pressurization from the last time it was turned on. So the new
 owner, who was witnessing the procedure, got nervous … first about the loud
 noises coming from the Facet (he’d never heard that before … he was an F-4
 driver in Nam) … then nervous that the Facet wouldn’t pick up fuel from the
 tank. And this concerned me too. Additionally, you wouldn’t expect the fuel
 to drain back into the tank because of the ball valve in the pump.
 
 
 
 A long story made short … we purged the air from the line by opening the
 drain at the bottom of the gascolator and turned on the Facet and it picked
 up the fuel from the tank. Earlier the pump wouldn’t pick up fuel because
 the fuel system was pressurized, and with air in the pump and “loop”
 wouldn’t pull from the tank.
 
 
 
 Problem solved. The only item that could not be explained, was the draining
 of the gascolator should not cause the Facet to be dry. So there could have
 been a piece of “something” that got under the ball valve and allowed the
 fuel to drain back. Then after purging or running the engine at high
 consumption, the ball valve cleared itself of the “something”. We didn’t
 look to see if there was “something” in the filter … it could be very small
 and couldn’t be large. I still don’t like the idea that there’s this large
 inverted “U” at the highest point of the system.
 
 
 
 Jim