Rick6a
Well Known Member
It is often said...."There is nothing new under the sun". I wonder if anyone else has experienced this one.
While reading of someones first engine startup experience, I recalled an incident that happened to me, but wasn't quite in the context of an official startup. I was in the hangar by myself, toiling away at completing the wiring of the starter relay, master and ignition switches on my brand new O-320 equipped RV-6A, going over all the electrical details in my mind when it suddenly occurred to me in a brilliant flash of insight that finally....after years of building, it now seemed technically possible to engage the starter and see the prop rotate........or was it? Would the prop turn if I moved the ignition key to "Start"? I thought, " Hmm, the crankcase is filled with oil, the fuel system has not been plumbed in so there is no way the engine could fire." It would be nice to see the first real stirrings of mechanical life in "Darla". Kind of like the warm and fuzzy feeling you get the first time you hook up a control system and delight at its smooth movement! Lets see, this wire goes here, that wire goes there, seems good, seems good......why not? Lets give it a try! So I sat in the cockpit all alone with my thoughts, hesitated for a moment, then with a deep breath and wide eyed wonderment turned the key to "Start". The propeller rotated!!!!! Then......BANG!!!! "What the........Holy Cow, what was that?" I scrambled out of the cockpit, went around to the engine compartment. In my blind enthusiasm to see some real work yields, I neglected to remove the plastic dessicant filled plugs I temporarily replaced the spark plugs with and the top plug on number three instantly went ballistic, shot out of its threads at an ever upward angle and bounced about the roof trusses of the hangar, showering dessicant beebee's all over the place. To this day, I still find a stray beebee lodged somewhere in the hangar. Happy Fourth of July everybody!
Rick Galati RV-6A "Darla"
While reading of someones first engine startup experience, I recalled an incident that happened to me, but wasn't quite in the context of an official startup. I was in the hangar by myself, toiling away at completing the wiring of the starter relay, master and ignition switches on my brand new O-320 equipped RV-6A, going over all the electrical details in my mind when it suddenly occurred to me in a brilliant flash of insight that finally....after years of building, it now seemed technically possible to engage the starter and see the prop rotate........or was it? Would the prop turn if I moved the ignition key to "Start"? I thought, " Hmm, the crankcase is filled with oil, the fuel system has not been plumbed in so there is no way the engine could fire." It would be nice to see the first real stirrings of mechanical life in "Darla". Kind of like the warm and fuzzy feeling you get the first time you hook up a control system and delight at its smooth movement! Lets see, this wire goes here, that wire goes there, seems good, seems good......why not? Lets give it a try! So I sat in the cockpit all alone with my thoughts, hesitated for a moment, then with a deep breath and wide eyed wonderment turned the key to "Start". The propeller rotated!!!!! Then......BANG!!!! "What the........Holy Cow, what was that?" I scrambled out of the cockpit, went around to the engine compartment. In my blind enthusiasm to see some real work yields, I neglected to remove the plastic dessicant filled plugs I temporarily replaced the spark plugs with and the top plug on number three instantly went ballistic, shot out of its threads at an ever upward angle and bounced about the roof trusses of the hangar, showering dessicant beebee's all over the place. To this day, I still find a stray beebee lodged somewhere in the hangar. Happy Fourth of July everybody!
Rick Galati RV-6A "Darla"
