Problem starting new DLE111

[SnowDog]

agreed...2.5 turns out on either needle would be way too rich...

one other thing I will say...a very experienced gas engine pilot I know has experienced many times where a brand new engine -- of almost any manufacturer -- needs to have the carb taken apart, cleaned with an appropriate cleaning agent, and then reassembled.

Evidently, small filings from the manufacturing process can get in there and clog the ports in the carburetor.

 

[ron_owens]

Oops...
SnowDog... that made me double-check .... and yes, you are perfectly correct... 2.5 was way too rich... my mind was still stuck on glow engines, where 2.5 would be normal for first start....

will try again in a few days when I have some spare time.. I suspect this will be the fix ! My DLE55 started first time (I managed to follow the instructions that time !)
Thanks for the mental nudge !

Ron

 

[SnowDog]

Hope that works for you! I was just repeating what Nate had already mentioned!

 

[3dNater]

Good luck [MENTION=3324]ron_owens[/MENTION]! I hope it runs great for you

 

[ron_owens]

Soooo.. I made a test stand... set up everything as it should be... and what do you know... it started after a few flicks...

Sooo.. back into the plane it went, took it out to the flying field yesterday and had it's first flight..

A bit tricky starting but probably a matter of getting the priming right...

But the plane is amazing (Pilot RC Sbach). I never saw a plane land as gently as this one... it just floated down and the UC hardly flexed. I was surprised as its a fairly heavy plane.

Happy days !

 

[3dNater]

wahoo!

 

[ron_owens]

Another thing I noticed... my High-end needle was open 1 and a half turns. After my third flight, the engine was very hot. You could feel the heat through the cowl ... could this mean that the engine is running too lean, of does it suggest a cowl mod to allow greater air flow. As it was my first flights, I only opened the throttle fully for a few seconds... the rest of the flight, I was flying very slowly

 

[3dNater]

It could be lean. Adding baffles to direct air over the engine is a good idea as well. How is your ratio of exit hole compared to intake on the front of the cowl? It should be about 3:1.

To address a lean issue you should really tune the high end with a tachometer. First tune for max rpms on the tach. You should notice a spot in the needle where you don't gain any additional rpms. Sort of a flat spot in the needle. You should richen to the rich side of that spot an maybe a hundred rpms or so lower on the rich side. You can also pull the plugs for insoection. A lean engine will turn the plugs white while a rich engine will be fouled black.

 

[ron_owens]

Update...(bad news!)
Went out to fly yesterday and engine started but only reached 3600 rpm. So, cowl off and while one cylinder is hot, the other is warm.
Tested both plugs one each lead and found that the ceramic on one plug had cracked (NGKs) ... so great,,,, put the good one back ... turning it by hand (a good few turns)_ until I felt resistance and then using the plug spanner... then disaster struck...it was cross threaded.... managed to ruing the threads on the cylinder.... new one on order now..

So lesson learned ... take greater care putting plugs in...

 

[3dNater]

Ah man! Sorry to hear that could you drill it out and tap it and add a helicopter coil?