Ed,
I am here to testify that turning off the fuel pumps, and/or the injectors first should be considered a safety factor rather than a personal preference. I'm not certain of the exact sequence, but on one run I waited until the engine totally stopped before shutting off the fuel pumps. I think I had shut off the two EC-2 switches first. This was after a good hard ground run and it resulted in a fire. Luckily, a fire extinguisher was close at hand or this story could have had a much different ending. Raw fuel in a hot exhaust manifold, plugs up or not, can result in a spontaneous combustion. I vote for shutting off the fuel pumps first. No fuel, no fire. For me there is no discussion, turn the fuel pumps off first... always!
Mark S.
On 6/24/07, Ed Anderson <eanderson@carolina.rr.com> wrote:
Thanks, Jim
That's two for fuel pump shut off.
Ed
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2007 10:35 AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Method of killing power??
Ed,
I prefer the Fuel Pump shutoff method.
On my airplane the fuel system will remain pressurized for a long time after shut down.
I don't like the idea of highly pressurized fuel inside a very hot engine compartment.
So by turning off the fuel pumps with the engine still running it serves to de-pressurize the fuel system.
This way if you do happen to get a stuck open injector it will not flood the rotor housing with fuel.
It only takes a second or two for the engine to quit after fuel pump shutoff.
To everyone running a rotary engine and particularly flying with one - what is your normal method of killing the engine.
1. Turning off Main Power
2. Turning off EC2 Power
3. Turning off ignition
4. Turning off Fuel Pumps
5. Turning off injectors
6. Other
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