I soloed the pattern this past Saturday.

[AirCommandPilot]

I finally got to make the pattern in my gyro! I started off with a few crow hops to make sure everything felt right, then , with a thumbs up from my mentor, Danny Whitten, I took to the pattern. The winds were strong enough to make me "weather-vane" as I headed down wind/base, but didn't cause any problems.
After landing, I pushed the throttle forward to do another trip around the pattern, but the engine decided it did not want to go. RPMs would not come up, so i decided to abort the takeoff (not that I had a choice), and head back to see if I could figure out what happened.
Rotax 532 w/dual Bing 54s, and fresh 100ll avgas/oil mix. All jets are set by the book for 0' elevation and 86 degrees. The temps were in the mid 90s with high humidity. EGTs were showing 908/926 degrees while at full throttle. Water temp 212 degrees.
I anchored it down and ran it at full throttle for a bout 1-2 minutes and the RPMs dropped from 6100 to 5500 and stayed there. I then brought the throttle back to idle and back up full. The RPMs would then only get to about 4700.
Next week I'll replace the plugs, add fresh fuel, and test it some more. Any suggestions?

 

[farmer jim]

A BIG step ...very cool!

A BIG step ...very cool!

WTG Bobby!!! Good job

 

[GyrOZprey]

Great job CONGRATS Bobby!

Great job CONGRATS Bobby!

Nicely done Bobby ... WTG :whoo: ... showing all those patient stages & steps ... getting the balancing & crow-hops dialed in ... then the progression to the pattern ...it all falls into place nicely!
Grrr ... bloody engines ...always SOMETHING !! ( esp the "affordable" 2 strokes!! )

Thank you for the GoPro documentation ... I'm VERY glad I did the same!

What was your alt??? ... looked a bit low to me ... (just in case you had to do an engine out @ any stage of the pattern) ... when the thrust goes away ... you drop FAST!

Looks fwds to see you flying like an ole-pro@ Anahuac fly-in! eace:

 

[Vance]

Congratulations!

Good decision to abort.

 

[Wiplash]

Is your fuel tank vented and if so is the vent clear?

 

[Brent_Brown]

might be the main jets are to big

 

[Stan V]

High lead content of the 100LL, fouled plugs? Congratulations on your solo around the pattern.

 

[perbgyro]

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

I know the feeling of finally getting there. Echoing Stan's comments...

High lead content of the 100LL, fouled plugs? Congratulations on your solo around the pattern.

I use 87oct in my 582... Low compression engines. Use seafoam with your 100LL to reduce lead issues. If you need any Decalin, have much more than I need.

 

[All_In]

Way to make it happen Bobby!! Thanks for sharing it with us!

 

[Mike484]

Great job Bobby, proud of you.

 

[swilliams]

Congradulations.

Sincerely SWilliams

 

[Mike Stone]

Nice job! Congrats

 

[rickloon]

Great job!! However your egt temps are way to low.You should have at least 1000-1100, also use no lead car gas (I use 91oct.pump gas in a 503 and it runs great) . The lead in av gas "low lead"has tons of lead and will give you plug troubles. You may have been able to get in the first flight with that rich carb setting because your 532 had not gotten heat soaked yet.
Rick

 

[greg spicola]

Congratulations Bobby:first:

 

[Jazzenjohn]

Congratulations! As far as the engine, the easiest, and what I hope is the problem, is if the throttle cable is slipping. You can check at the carb to see if when the throttle is full forward, whether the throttle valve is full open. If all that looks OK, then you might want to pull the exhaust and look at the pistons just to be sure they are OK. If you have replaced the pistons with aftermarket cheapo pistons it can also behave that way. I believe it's called a cold seizure. That would be the best and worst possibilities of what the problem might be.

 

[AirCommandPilot]

What was your alt??? ... looked a bit low to me ... (just in case you had to do an engine out @ any stage of the pattern) ... when the thrust goes away ... you drop FAST!

My Alt was about 200'. I wanted to get to about 500, but it wasn't climbing as fast as I had hoped. I kept that in mind though, and had a landing spot in mind at all times. (as I should)

Is your fuel tank vented and if so is the vent clear?

The cap is vented. When testing afterwards, I shut the engine down while it was reducing in power and imediatly checked the float bowls. Both were around the 3/4 mark and no air in the fuel lines.

I use 87oct in my 582... Low compression engines. Use seafoam with your 100LL to reduce lead issues. If you need any Decalin, have much more than I need.

I've been using mostly avgas because I haven't been flying a tankful at a time, and did not want to leave unused mogas in the system for long. Now that I'll be "flying" instead of "hoping" I intend to switch to mogas. I'm changing the plugs out next Saturday and start using mogas. Does the gas make a difference in heat on the EGTs?

Congratulations! As far as the engine, the easiest, and what I hope is the problem, is if the throttle cable is slipping. You can check at the carb to see if when the throttle is full forward, whether the throttle valve is full open. If all that looks OK, then you might want to pull the exhaust and look at the pistons just to be sure they are OK. If you have replaced the pistons with aftermarket cheapo pistons it can also behave that way. I believe it's called a cold seizure. That would be the best and worst possibilities of what the problem might be.

I have checked the cables, carb syncing, and jets a few times this past couple of months.


Thanks all for your suggestions. I'll take heed and report back with any findings.

 

[farmer jim]

You GO, BOBBY !!

fj

 

[Doug Riley]

What others have said about the apparent low EGT. 1100 is the target.

The actual numbers on the EGT guage can vary, depending on probe placement. If the plug color is right (chocolate brown, not black, gray or -- God forbid -- white/silver) but the guage says something's wrong, believe the plug color.

It would be worthwhile also to pull the exhaust manifold and examine the pistons and rings. A mini-seizure is possible, though not likely. See if the rings are locked up with carbon; crow-hopping involves more idling than sustained flight, and it may be dirty in there.