After a few unsuccessful attempts on sunday, we finally got the ol' engine to come to life on Monday, March 3rd. It goes without saying that this was pretty darned cool. The engine/prop combo were smooth...it really sounded awesome from the cockpit. I did a 2:20 second engine run, CHT's were low at around 200 deg F, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about as far as break in goes. My philosophy is ground runs are fine if you keep CHT's low.
Dad wheeling her out of the hangar...
As for the unsuccessful engine starts, here is some information for you to help you avoid my pitfalls. First, it was a loose fuel line going to the spider. I thought I had checked that, but somehow missed it...why, because I was in a hurry. Slow down...check hoses.
Second, have a start checklist handy...one particular start attempt for example, I had the fuel selector in the "off" position. Again, being in a hurry.
Third, when I pulled my panel apart to paint it, I reassembled the Pmag switches wrong and I didn't realize we weren't getting any spark. If you have to pull your panel apart, check one more time, after reassembly, that you are getting spark.
Lastly, and this is the big one. Beware, many flywheels have two TC1 marks on them...and although they are marked the same, they are completely different. When I timed my Pmags, I used the TC1 indication on the front of the flywheel. I lined this up with the center of the engine case. That is not correct! There is a TC1 on the backside of the flywheel...and that one will line up with your engine center...not the front one. The front one will be at about your 5 o'clock position and is meant to line up with a hole in the starter case. Its used for convenience to the installer. So, if you time it like I did...expect to get some violent backfires! It will be evident you have a timing problem. Once we got that figured out, it started right up, as you can see in the video.
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