---------------------------------------------------------- Lightning-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Sat 02/06/10: 2 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 07:48 PM - Rotec TBI Update - It's on and waiting for a test flight (Bill Strahan) 2. 07:58 PM - Re: Lightning Construction Manual (Bill Strahan) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 07:48:55 PM PST US Subject: Lightning-List: Rotec TBI Update - It's on and waiting for a test flight From: "Bill Strahan" Wow, that was a lot to piece together. Yesterday I was getting anxious to see if the dang thing even worked, and a pilot buddy dropped by the airport so I just installed the TBI and hooked up the fuel and air intake intending to work the throttle standing next to the engine. He sat in the plane and cranked the engine, and even without hitting the regulator override (equivalent of primer) the engine fired right up. It idled smoothly, and I moved the throttle by hand and it sounded great and response was good. We shutdown and started the engine 8 or 9 times and it fired up immediately every time. I also used the mixture control to shut off the engine, and it took a few seconds but at idle cutoff the engine did shut down. Ah...gave me motivation to get back to work. So today I finished fabricating all the brackets to hold the ends of the mixture cable and regulator override (primer) cable and got the entire assembly ready to install. Then I installed the new throttle cable, the new mixture cable, and re-purposed (grin) my choke cable to be my primer control. I put my mixture control next to the throttle where my choke was, and put the primer down on the console between fuel valves. It all took about 5 hours, but by late tonight I had it all hooked up and even got another pilot friend to come by and lend a second set of eyes to check for anything out of place. It was very nice to see that bright red knob next to my throttle control. Ah, the way it's supposed to be. Wish there was a blue knob as well, but I guess that would be overkill. :) I turned on the master and then the fuel pump and let it run for 30 seconds and checked for leaks. Bone dry. Let it run another 30 seconds, and checked again. Everything checked out okay. Then I hit the regulator override and fuel came spraying out the back of the TBI!! I had not connected the scat tubing to the back of the unit, as I did not intend to start it yet, and the mixture was full lean. If you look at the design of the TBI you'll know that means the holes that let fuel come out were pointing straight backwards. So when the regulator was overriden, the fuel pump just pumped the fuel out the back of the intake in a fine spray! I don't think I'll have to use the override often, especially since it fired right up without it in 45 degree weather, but lack of fuel will never be the problem. If it needs to be primed, I'm thinking that 1 second will do it in the coldest weather you'd want to run the thing in. I considered just not installing a control to the override, in fact, but decided that if I ever had some air in the lines from running a tank dry I'd want the override just to be on the safe side. And that's my long winded update. Next update will be a flight report. And then I'll grab my O2 bottle and who's up for a time to climb contest? :) Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=285166#285166 ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 07:58:49 PM PST US Subject: Lightning-List: Re: Lightning Construction Manual From: "Bill Strahan" Man! Where IS the love? Sheesh! :) I have two partners in the Grumman. You know when you have a perfect partner in an airplane? When they call after the plane has been sitting a few states away for several months and say "Hey, did you ever get the Grumman?" When you tell them you haven't they say "Well, let's go get it soon. I might want to do some flying." Part of my delay this time was my business partner and I had a big push to finish our moving map software and started shipping units! Oh yeah! Now that that's done, I guess I don't have a good excuse. But if someone would just accidentally drive a truck into that thing I could collect insurance and not have to fly it back. Fingers crossed. Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=285168#285168 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message lightning-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Lightning-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/lightning-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/lightning-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.