budyerly@msn.com
Joined: 05 Oct 2019
Posts: 286
Location: Florida USA
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 Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2022 8:32 am Post subject: What did you do with your Europa this week - 18/11/22 |
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I agree whole heartedly.
Those of us that have learned how to tune comes down to our power of observation, but also inspections. We look at the engine smoothness (from idle to full), plugs, exhaust tip color, temperatures, and find at the power range we run in it doesn't matter whether it is carbureted or injected. Now fixed timing is a bit of a problem in aircraft engines but if timing is optimized to the engine power band, performance is similar in the long run between the two. As for a FART being necessary, it is a nice tool, but not essential. I don't have one as my wife doesn't like me to play "pull my finger" with the grand kids.
The biggest issue we have in Florida is these lean on the ground 912iS and 915 can't get to the end of the runway without overheating. If you want to run lean at all times you need a much larger cooling system, fans and ducting. I have found the latest 914 intake and carb jetting runs a bit richer than the original, but the new one does run cooler and smoother. I'm OK with a slightly rich mixture, as stated, a turbo boosted engine can go bad fast if there is an air leak, or a leaning carb. In my plane I burn about a tenth of a gallon more per hour on average. If I'm worried about a quart of fuel over a long leg, I needed to plan better.
Guys think I am crazy for doing a 25 hour inspection on the engine. Carb leaks, fuel staining, and top plug inspections can be done while the oil drains.
If the two EGTs, CHTs, oil temp and pressure are like it was in my logs, I leave it alone. If there is a change, I look and test. My oil pressure gauge was an issue this year. It was reading lower than originally installed:
During my hose change (8 years and the R7 or better are still good but the clamping areas tended to look a bit too tight, so I yanked them all) I just did a calibration on all my instruments. It took an hour. I have had to install a 15-ohm resistor on my new oil pressure sensor to adjust the offset and improve the gauge reading. CHTs are pretty good still, measured with my Harbor Freight temp sensor. I swapped out an EGT probe that was going bad, (plugs looked great) took out my torch and compared the now mismatched set (one Westach and the other off the shelf something I had) and two probes were equal enough (OK at 900F and off <50F at 1400 F so I got lucky). On my website I have how I do all that testing and calibrate the gauges. Yes, I still have round dials as installed in 2005 in my panel as I used gauges from another Europa getting an EIS upgrade. Right off the shelf I found all of them fairly accurate when I tested them. My original oil sensor was replaced this year (10 years old), and pressures back then were 10 PSI low across the board and I just memorized that. Now it is 2022, and the oil sensor is being replaced and a new one installed on the firewall (I hate adding weight, but it is a test) The new sender and gauge now needs a 15 ohm resistor to read nearly spot on from 10 to 100 PSI.
Learn your engine. Educate yourself, ask questions and be a disciplined observer. I never trust a gauge reading only (look for symptoms, test and verify). Look at your engine during the oil changes or at a 25 hour. Those of you trying to extend your oil change (some to 100 hours) look at your oil closely. If it doesn't look like new when running unleaded gas, change it (even 50 hours is a bit long for me). (100LL grays up fairly soon, so a 25 hour oil change is sensible.) The smallest impurities are not always picked up by the oil filter. The solution is not a finer oil filter, as that affects pressure and bearing bathing, the solution is don't be cheap, change the oil. That rids the blow by debris, turbo carbon and water contamination from the engine the fastest. Spend the $60 and inspect the engine for potential issues and catch and fix issues early.
Now back to the shop to replumb my fuel system and a couple of upgrades to old N12AY.
Just my thoughts,
Bud Yerly
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