Richard,
Thanks for the follow up! Maybe, maybe you can keep me from doing the
same... ;)
Ralph
Richard Schultz wrote:
>
> For those keeping up with the story of the engine problem.
>
> I used my enclosed trailer to recover the aircraft from its temporary
> exile in Iowa and have returned it to Houston. I had hoped that the
> time apart would give the plane a chance to think about it attitude.
>
> I was off today and finally got around to pulling the cowls and going
> back through the engine fuel system one step at a time. The fuel
> filters, as before were clean. Testing the pumps showed the normal
> amount of unregulated fuel flow of about 5 gallons in 10 minutes.
> Looking at the carburetor system for how it works the mixture. I
> pulled each of the vacuum lines and checked them for holes and cracks.
> I also inspected the 3-way valve for any dirt or blockage. I pulled
> the airbox pressure sensor and checked that it was clean of dirt and
> open to the back. I then pulled the static port that plugs in through
> the firewall. I was surprised to feel it stick in the firewall as I
> pulled it out. Looking back through the hole I noticed a rubber tube
> end facing the inside of the hole?
>
> Not remembering adding a vent hose to the sensor end I opened the
> access panel to the firewall and removed the radios from the stack to
> get my hands inside the panel to see what I had done. I found the
> source of my problem attached to a 3 inch piece of tape clearly marked
> REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT.
>
> I had left the cover over the end of the static port during sanding
> and painting and had made plans to remove it before installing the
> instrument panel. Guess what I forgot to do! UGH I left the rubber end
> cap on the static port. I guess the first 80 hours the engine was run
> in a lower and cooler environment then the last part of the Oshkosh
> trip. The added height and temp was enough the cause the fuel-air
> mixture to be too lean with the static port plugged.
>
> I will give the plane a good going over this weekend while I have it
> stripped down as I am at the 100 hour mark and want to check every
> thing but I plan to get a flight test in the early part of next week
> weather permitting.
>
> Lesson learned if you plan to do something later, ADD it to your annex
> E check list so you double check you got back to it. While this had a
> happy ending it could have been a lot more exciting if the power
> failure had been complete and at night.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *
>
>
> *
|