Little Nugget

[GrassStripFlyBoy]

I recently completed my BFR with Phil Wade, long time LS owner and heck of a pilot, was the best check ride I've had being so CT specific.  One of the items he did when flying was a new bit of info I thought worth passing along.  We were cruising along and leaving the ignition right on both, he reaches over and removes the key - have to say that got my attention not knowing what he was doing next.  It was part of discussion if you had to shut fuel off, the key prohibits the valve from closing, but when on BOTH the key can be removed.

As winter season comes I'll probably be using this to burn fuel from carb bowls prior to shut down, whenever I expect I won't be flying for a while.

[Garrett Gee]

Awesome timing.  I unintentionally removed my key about a week ago and thought that it was a malfunctioning key switch.  Never crossed my mind about the fuel shutoff valve.

[sandpiper]

Darrell - thanks for the tip. After 14 years and 700 hours in mine, I did not know that.

You would think it would be in the manual, maybe under emergency procedures. 

[Tip]

I never knew that? Great to hear that you Michigan guys are flying together!

[Stacy]

17 hours ago, GrassStripFlyBoy said:

I recently completed my BFR with Phil Wade, long time LS owner and heck of a pilot, was the best check ride I've had being so CT specific.  One of the items he did when flying was a new bit of info I thought worth passing along.  We were cruising along and leaving the ignition right on both, he reaches over and removes the key - have to say that got my attention not knowing what he was doing next.  It was part of discussion if you had to shut fuel off, the key prohibits the valve from closing, but when on BOTH the key can be removed.

As winter season comes I'll probably be using this to burn fuel from carb bowls prior to shut down, whenever I expect I won't be flying for a while.

I would be interested in how your engine starts after you’ve burned your fuel out. My play use to start quickly, even after it had not run for six weeks. Now, if I’ve not flown in 3 weeks, it takes a lot of cranking before it starts. 
 

if someone knows what I should do to solve my starting problem, I would appreciate your input. 

[GrassStripFlyBoy]

I'd consider how old is the battery and do you keep it on a charger / maintainer?  In winter the most my plane has set is about 4 weeks, but I also preheat engine, keep battery charged, and it fires right up.  The fuel pressure from gravity feed should have the bowls back to full shortly after opening valve?

[Stacy]

On 8/14/2021 at 3:42 PM, GrassStripFlyBoy said:

I recently completed my BFR with Phil Wade, long time LS owner and heck of a pilot, was the best check ride I've had being so CT specific.  One of the items he did when flying was a new bit of info I thought worth passing along.  We were cruising along and leaving the ignition right on both, he reaches over and removes the key - have to say that got my attention not knowing what he was doing next.  It was part of discussion if you had to shut fuel off, the key prohibits the valve from closing, but when on BOTH the key can be removed.

As winter season comes I'll probably be using this to burn fuel from carb bowls prior to shut down, whenever I expect I won't be flying for a while.

I don’t have a battery problem. My plane won’t start after, I think, because it has no fuel in the bowls. 

[Tom Baker]

7 hours ago, Stacy said:

I would be interested in how your engine starts after you’ve burned your fuel out. My play use to start quickly, even after it had not run for six weeks. Now, if I’ve not flown in 3 weeks, it takes a lot of cranking before it starts. 
 

if someone knows what I should do to solve my starting problem, I would appreciate your input. 

What fuel are you running? Did you switch suppliers? Recent rubber replacement? I've never had problems starting a 912 the had 100LL, but we know that is not the best for the engine. I have had some with auto fuel that were hard to start after they had sat for a while. Not all auto fuel is blended the same, and is different for the seasons. This can lead to starting issues.

[Stacy]

Same fuel supplier that I always use; 91 octane ethanol free. Full rubber replacement not quite three years ago. 
I’ve only had the starting problem the last 18 months. It does help to pull the key and shut the fuel off, but it still cranks longer than I would like to see it crank. If I don’t fly for 3 weeks, and don’t shut the fuel off, it will run a fully charged battery dead. After recharging the battery, it will start after a lot of cranking. 

[Garrett Gee]

3 hours ago, Stacy said:

Same fuel supplier that I always use; 91 octane ethanol free. Full rubber replacement not quite three years ago. 
I’ve only had the starting problem the last 18 months. It does help to pull the key and shut the fuel off, but it still cranks longer than I would like to see it crank. If I don’t fly for 3 weeks, and don’t shut the fuel off, it will run a fully charged battery dead. After recharging the battery, it will start after a lot of cranking. 

Looking back at an old post about your ignition modules, did you ever get that issue fixed?  Could it be back.  Try the ice pack trick and see if that helps.

[Runtoeat]

I run on 93 octane MoGas and use 4oz. Marvel Mystery oil in every 5 gallons of fuel.  Never have a problem starting and my carbs have remained "balanced" with no adjustments needed for the last 4 years.

[FlyingMonkey]

23 hours ago, Runtoeat said:

I run on 93 octane MoGas and use 4oz. Marvel Mystery oil in every 5 gallons of fuel.  Never have a problem starting and my carbs have remained "balanced" with no adjustments needed for the last 4 years.

Hmm...you know I love ya Dick, but I'm not sure you can attribute synced carbs to Mystery Oil.  That would be a mystery indeed!  

[GlennM]

It has mystery in the name, so why not?

[Runtoeat]

Ha, ha.  I know, old wives tales.  Still, my CT has run extremely well the last 10 years on MoGas with no carb syncing needed for the last 3 years.  I mistakenly said 4oz MMO per 5 gallons.  It is 2oz per 5 gallons.  I do use clean fuel that comes from a high volume gas station.  My oil (Mobil 4T Racing full synthetic) is extremely clean with no lead sludge found during the changes.

[Anticept]

You won't have carbs go out of sync very much unless you disturb the carbs or have crud in them. It's definitely not the MMO that does it !

The big caution that you need to worry about is how it will affect the gearbox. Mainly, the overload clutch and the dog gears. Those exist because the rotax engine has *horrible* harmonics, and the engineers had to create that overly complex gearbox to compensate. The dog gears absorb the small pulses, the overload clutch absorbs the large ones that can occur in certain circumstances. The fact it protects the engine in a prop strike is just a side effect!

[airhound]

On 8/23/2021 at 3:10 PM, Runtoeat said:

Ha, ha.  I know, old wives tales.  Still, my CT has run extremely well the last 10 years on MoGas with no carb syncing needed for the last 3 years.  I mistakenly said 4oz MMO per 5 gallons.  It is 2oz per 5 gallons.  I do use clean fuel that comes from a high volume gas station.  My oil (Mobil 4T Racing full synthetic) is extremely clean with no lead sludge found during the changes.

Dick, roughly how many hours have you put on her?

[Runtoeat]

Hi Doug.  I've put about 1100 hours on my CTSW.  The last time I looked, I had over 3,500 landings and luckily I've walked away after all of them.