EFII Fuel Injection System
I have 150 hours (over 15 months) on Robert's Dual EFII system in my 7a, and would not change a single thing. The engine is smooth, purrs at idle, and has excellent power. I fly with the throttle at the firewall all the time, always looking for speed versus fuel savings, and I'm burning on average 9.6 gallons/hour with an I/O 360 built by the Barretts of Oklahoma. I have dialed things back to test speeds as low fuel burn settings and while I can get fuel burn into the 6.5 - 7.0 gals/hour range and speeds around 145 - 150 knots, I just want to go fast so I push the throttle forward typically cruising between 170 and 175 knots true depending on altitude and aircraft loading.
The 7a is hangered in Tahoe where most of the year the temps are very low in the mornings. I pre-heat the engine when temps are below 60F. When starting, I do enrich by 50% via the fuel mixture knob, and the engine comes to life after a few blades. After the initial "cold start", I leave the mixture knob centered, and never touch it again until the next cold start. Via the programming interface, I could adjust further the fuel requirements for very cold starts, but I know have a very consistent, and known start procedure that is very simple.
During run-up at my field elevation (6200 MSL), I can *just* barely hold the plane with the brakes if I give it full throttle, and the static RPM is near 2500. If I try that at sea level, the brakes won't hold the aircraft at full power, unless I'm at max gross weight. If it's just me and 1/2 tanks, forget it, the brakes won't hold the plane stationary at full power during the static runup -- it will creep forward, skidding the tires.
I would highly recommend Roberts EFII system. Robert's support is excellent -- the best you will find, and his products are top quality.
Michael O'Brien
N707SM, 2009 RV-7a, Barrett IO-360, Paisley's EFII, Constant-speed prop
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Linear Mode
