Well, It Started - Sort Of. If You Have P-Mags - Take Note.....

The old adage of RTFI springs to mind.

We are getting close and enjoyed this today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lkJfrD_y_c

Stunned that it started so quick, it has been on the airframe for 3 years, pickled. Went through a standard de pickling process with pre oiling etc.

Problem was it ran OK, but only on one P-Mag. It was the one firing the top auto plugs, the left P-Mag was dead as a dead thing.

Head scratching, multimeter out, all OK, power through, P leads checked, no spark.

Re timed....... hang on, why does the right P-Mag time OK and the left one stay green as you turn the engine.

RTFI.

The engine arrived from Mattituck with Slicks and LASAR which we removed in favour of P-Mags due to lack of support from Unison and less weight.

On page 9, it quite clearly says to ensure if you had impulse on the left mag, to remove the spacer collar........ Buttocks !

The left P-Mag was not engaged in the drive gear, it was stationary.

20 minutes of hacking, chewing, swearing, knuckle baring and 'adapter' making as the stud was locktite'd into the case, we tried again.


Oh - Yesssssssss !

We have a running engine.

Plenum seems to be working fine, all temps even and stable, oil pressure rather high - 95psi but I am on Shell 100 straight, so we will see how it drops when I run it for more than 5 mins and it warms through.

Need to get cracking with the paint now and hopefully 'that grin' will appear before the summer.

Mike Congrats on the 1/2 start and full restsart.

Oil pressure normal for 100 mineral and short run.

Good luck!!!

I hear you on the quick start. Back when we did the first start on my O-290 we were all stunned that it started as quickly as yours.

Those P-mags are amazing!

Congrats on you first start!

WARNING

It is not safe to start your plane without the wings for stability.
There was an old video of a plane being turned over on a none wing engine start. I know it wasn't an RV but its still not worth taking the chance.

As Larry says "Lets be careful out there"

Glenn Wilkinson

Glenn, it was a Lancair and ended terribly.

We were minded of that and took precautions with strategic weights inside the airplane, careful chocking and no power above 1500 rpm.

We have problems at our fly location with tools and equipment and needed to check the fuel and electric systems.

Pleased that we found and resolved the goofs and can now move on.

Testing over, it's back inside and covered in T-9 until early summer when it should be assembled and flown.

The engine start did not flip that Lancair, the gear started retracting. They were in too big of a hurry. That is what tears up airplanes.

RV's have been started without the wings on em since the beginning. Never heard a report of an RV being damaged from this.

I however would not do it because there is no real reason to be in that kind of a hurry.....What good does it do for you to run your engine and then have it sit there and corrode for the next few months while you finish the plane?

Reasons to start your engine....

Brantel said:

What good does it do for you to run your engine and then have it sit there and corrode for the next few months while you finish the plane?

Click to expand...

Starting the engine has several advantages. First, if it runs properly, a major item gets checked off the endless Honey Do list. Second, if it does not run properly or even start, completion of the entire project is not heavily impacted because there's lots more to do whilst you debug the engine problem. Third, it feels really good to hear life breathe into the engine you just painstakingly assembled. In our case, we had a defective EGT which we had to isolate and replace. It also gave me time to read (over and over) the glass panel settings and learn how each and every one of them interfaced with the engine.

We actually ran it several times in accordance with the Lycoming recommendations while the rest of the project approached completion. I doubt any rust built up thanks to the Tucson climate. Yes, we chained the fuse to a building, had the wings installed, wheels chocked, and fire ext were nearby.

Just my .02.

Barry,

I understand starting when you are close...at the airport, wings on, panel fired up etc. I did the same.

I just don't see much value in doing it a home with no wings.

Just an opinion. Not worth much!

Brantel said:

The engine start did not flip that Lancair, the gear started retracting. They were in too big of a hurry. That is what tears up airplanes.

RV's have been started without the wings on em since the beginning. Never heard a report of an RV being damaged from this.

I however would not do it because there is no real reason to be in that kind of a hurry.....What good does it do for you to run your engine and then have it sit there and corrode for the next few months while you finish the plane?

Click to expand...

Actually there have been cases in the past of RV's having tail control surface skins damaged by an engine start without wings attached.
I have not heard of any for a long time and I think I know why (but I can't say for certain).
The early RV's were predominantly equipped with wood propellers. Because of there low weight, they accelerate very quickly and also stop very quickly.
Having wings attach provides a lot of inertial damping in the roll axis during engine start and shut down. With a heavy metal propeller installed the shake signature is probably very different than it is with a light weight propeller.

I agree with Brian that a first engine start should be delayed as long as possible. The OP of this thread admitted that he had to "un-pickle" his engine for the first engine start. His now has an engine that is no longer treated for long term storage and it could realistically sit idle for 6 months (or more, all of the final finish and painting stuff takes a lot longer than any one would ever imagine).

No, your opinion is worth a lot.

We are not based at an airport, we operate out of a farm field and don't have electrics,air or ........ anything really.

We could actually be flying in under month if we chose not to paint. The way forward now though will be to paint but there were so many system issues I wanted to clear up with Dynons, P-Mags, Avionics, Alternators, Fuel pumps etc that we decided to run.

We had to re inhibit the engine last year in any case according to Mahlon's advice from Mattituck so it has been turned regularly since then. We are on Nicosil cylinders in a dry shop, so corrosion won't be an issue.

I thought the Lancair accident was a torque reaction on spindly legs, must have mixed my messages.

Anyhow, it has certainly galvanised our build schedule, I have been frantically sanding composite bits today so look grayer than yesterday.

The main reason for the post was to highlight the goofs we made so other guys don't get inconvenienced along the path to righteousness

Opinions

Are like ....

Mike, do what keeps you motivated, no need to apologize. Having completed several, the most critical component is builder motivation and diligence. Keep progressing and enjoy the process!

Best,

Great to hear your engine run. Good luck on the painting process. I think it took us three weeks to paint ours. Wife said no more aircraft painting in the house...

I don't know what your engine was treated with, my new Superior engine came with a printed tag safety wired to the crank flange that said "CAUTION: Crankcase and internals have been treated with engine preservative, do not move the crankshaft until all preservative has been drained from the engine"

Ours had a waxy preservative in - we purged it out last year with light weight oil and then filled with break in oil after that according to their recommendations.

Sounds good to me!