Mailing List flyrotary@lancaironline.net Message #34897
From: Joe Hull <joeh@PilgrimTech.com>
Subject: RE: [FlyRotary] Re: Dead Rotor at 3000ft
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 16:47:43 -0800
To: 'Rotary motors in aircraft' <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Not sure of the advantages or disadvantages. I remember doing research at
the time and coming to the conclusion that those were good, standard, and
safe for our application. That's all I remember.

Thanx,
Joe

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rotary motors in aircraft [mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net] On
> Behalf Of Bob White
> Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 10:11 AM
> To: Rotary motors in aircraft
> Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Dead Rotor at 3000ft
>
> Hi Joe,
>
> Sorry to hear about your engine troubles, but glad you're back on the
> ground safe and sound.
>
> I wonder if the BUR9EQ's would be a little safer as they seem to be
> more fully enclosed?  Is there an advantage to using the BR9EQ?
>
> Bob W.
>
>
> On Sat, 23 Dec 2006 20:15:55 -0800
> "Joe Hull" <joeh@PilgrimTech.com> wrote:
>
> > The weather today in the Seattle area was marginal for flying - but a
> nice
> > hole opened around my home airport (KAWO) and I was there tinkering with
> the
> > plane anyway (re-torqueing the prop)- so up I went. I did 4 touch and
> goes
> > just for a wee bit of practice and then departed the pattern toward a
> bigger
> > hole that would be legal to climb through VFR. I flew about 30 miles
> > northwest of the airport out to the edge of the Puget Sound and enjoyed
> just
> > being in the air. Power setting was about 4400RPM and I was loping along
> at
> > a lazy 135kts.  I turned around and headed back for Arlington and
> decided to
> > ramp up the power to ramming speed - errr I mean cruising speed. In a
> few
> > minutes I was cruising along at 170kts at about 5500RPM. Then all of a
> > sudden BAM - the engine stumbled and RPM's dropped to 2300RPM.  I
> > immediately throttled back and switched tanks while turning toward the
> > airport. Altitude was 3200FT (about 3000AGL) and I was maybe 7 miles
> from
> > the airport. The engine was running real rough and wouldn't give me more
> > than 2300RPM. Even with that little bit of power I ended up entering the
> 45
> > to the pattern at about 800 above pattern altitude. It was pretty slow
> at
> > the airport so I easily made a normal landing and was able to taxi back
> to
> > the hanger under power.
> >
> >
> >
> > At the hangar I double checked everything I could from the cockpit -
> fuel
> > pressure good at 36PSI, oil pressure good at 55PSI at 2300 RPM,
> MicroTech
> > ECM showed "OK" for the size major areas it monitors. So, I shut it down
> and
> > pulled the cowl. I pulled the prop through a number of times and it
> seemed
> > that there was a couple places where I should have been hearing a "pop"
> in
> > the exhaust but didn't. I also notice that there is a nice ding in the
> prop
> > that is about an inch long - that wasn't there when I left (remember I'm
> a
> > pusher).
> >
> >
> >
> > I got the engine compression gage and proceeded to take the spark plug
> out
> > of the front rotor - top - BR9EQ-14. Hmmm - I don't remember there being
> a
> > casing around the electrode - and why is that casing sliding?
> Apparently
> > the casing around the electrode broke somewhere inside the sparkplug and
> > into two halves long ways down the electrode. Each half slides freely up
> and
> > down the electrode and even sticks out a little from the end.
> >
> >
> >
> > I put the compression gage on and it looks like I get 30-30-70 when I
> turn
> > the engine over. I tried this several times and there is definitely a
> couple
> > of places where it only goes to 30. So I double check the location of
> that
> > ding in the prop - hmmm it's exactly even with the bottom of the exhaust
> -
> > right about where an apex seal would come out.
> >
> >
> >
> > I put two new BR9EQ-14's in both rotors and did a quick run - 2300RPM
> rough
> > is the best I could get.
> >
> >
> >
> > Some time this week I'll go up and yank the exhaust so I can see the
> apex
> > seals - my guess is I'm missing at least one. Bummer.
> >
> >
> >
> > Joe Hull (getting tired of little surprises in the air).
> >
> > Redmond/Seattle WA, Cozy-Mazda Rotary 71hrs
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> N93BD - Rotary Powered BD-4 - http://www.bob-white.com
> First Flight:  11/23/2006 7:50AM - 0.7 Hours Total Time
> Cables for your rotary installation - http://www.roblinphoto.com/shop/

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