So after a weekend of working on starting the engine, which meant chainsaw'n off all that custom baffling, et al... Tavis (aka Buttface) got my engine started. I did the first part, I checked and had no spark... I luckily had a spare DA ignition that took care of that. But, the engine still wouldn't start or even pop. I called Tavis and he said, "Walbro carb?" I said, yeah. He said, "was the carb drip'n gas like a fountain after you kept trying to get it to pop with the choke on?" I said, yeah. He said, "remove the plugs and tell me what you see." I said, perfectly clean and dry like they just came out of the factory box. He said, "you have a dollar?" I said, what? He said, "paypal me a dollar and I'll tell you how to fix it." I said something that can't be repeated here. haha He said, "drop the carb, pull it all apart, use some 2-stroke oil to lube all the gaskets, especially the 1/2 circle ones under the two screw metal plate. Start the engine. Send me my money." lol
I got off the phone with that redneck and just shook my head. But, I had tried everything I could think of, so feeling like a fool the whole time I did what Tavis said. I put it all back together and the motor, she fired right up! Well, after about 30 flips (which is 270 flips less than I already had on the motor). It still wouldn't pop, and was hard to start. I called Tavis back and reported what I had done and experienced. Tavis said, "run it up good for a couple of minutes, and let it run at low throttle for awhile. Then let it cool down, try to start it again with the choke and it will pop and always start easy after that." I did, it did. :O I will be giving a little more credence to what Tavis has to say from now on. haha
I put the plane back together (my whole weekend spent trying to get the engine to start) and it was around 3pm and getting dark at just before 5pm with the field 35 minutes away. I was putting on the cowl when it started to rain, it had been storming all day with gusty high winds. The devil on my left shoulder said, "just go." I obeyed, as I usually do. I got to the field and all went well with setup, engine starting, and range check. But, the wind was trying to flip the plane over in the pits. It was getting dark, and the angel on my right shoulder did a nice job of convincing me that tomorrow is another day. But, the devil on my left shoulder said, "just do it!" The hearing in my left ear always seems just a little more clear than that of my right ear. I almost took off down the runway, but thought to top off the fuel. While I was doing that I remember I had set no rates nor expos. Five minutes later I had those programmed in. Thanks god because on low rates this plane can do more than any plane I've ever owned on high rates.
It was dark, it was cold, it was blowing gusty, I was alone with my new plane and engine... I punched it. I can't tell you much about how the plane flies, the wind had better control over it than I did. I was just grateful that five minutes later... when I decided I had pushed my luck beyond all reason... and was now porpoising up and down the runway looking at some kind of smackdown (bad or worse than bad)... that I somehow picked the perfect gust to settle the plane down on. The tires touched down the runway like a feather landing on a pillow. I got to it just before the wind was going to pick it up and flip it over. I put my headlamp on, packed up, drove off, and smiled. Another uneventful maiden.
