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1. 07:43 PM - Engine failure on take-off. (Jim Feldmann)
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| Subject: | Engine failure on take-off. |
I had an engine failure on takeoff today. Fortunately it was a long runway and
it happened at 10 feet altitude. No injuries, no damage, and no idea why it happened.
Actually, the engine (Rotax 912 ULS) did not stop. It was running smoothly during
taxi and warm up. Mag check was fine. I held short for 5 minutes or so for
incoming traffic, running the engine from 2500 to 4000 for short periods. No problems.
On takeoff, the engine pulled cleanly to 5000+ for the 5 or 6 seconds
it took to break ground, then suddenly started running very rough and dropped
to 2500 rpm or so. I immediately pulled the throttle to idle and landed.
While taxiing back to the hanger it ran fine, I tried full throttle again a couple
of times and it ran perfectly. So what I have is an intermittent or one time
problem that could be deadly.
I don't think it was ignition related, because if it was a failure of one "mag"
it would have run much better than it did, and if both failed, it wouldn't have
run at all. That leaves fuel or mechanical.
The carbs have recently been rebuilt. After I calmed down, I checked the float
bowls, they are clean, the gascolator is clean and the fuel pump is putting out
4.5 psi., right on spec. Fuel is flowing freely through all of the inline filters
and the header tank is full. I did recently drain all of the fuel out of
the airplane to fix a leak in the header tank. Then I simply refilled the tanks
from the top. Could there have been air in the fuel line between the header
tank and the gascolater? The engine had been run for half an hour or so since
then, but mostly at low throttle.
I have checked the throttle linkages also. No problem there. The plugs look good
too, but my runups on taxi back would have obscured the evidence anyway.
My A&E suggested that it could be sticky valve.
Has anyone experienced a similar problem? Any thoughts on what to look for? I'm
very hesitant to fly it again until I know what caused the problem
--------
Jim Feldmann, 3rd owner
1994 Kitfox IV Speedster / 912
Working on my Sport Pilot Certificate
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http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=236598#236598
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