"It goes through cylinders like flapjacks"

Ask the A&Ps

Rough idle, electronic ignition basics, airplanes to avoid (or not), and the difference between detonation and pre-ignition are on tap for this episode. Email us at [e-mail] for a chance to get on the show.

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Full notes below:

Stephen wants to get the engine on his Cessna 206 purring. At idle the engine stumbles down to 600 rpm. It never quits, but doesn’t run smoothly either. Mike asks if they’ve done an rpm rise test at 600 rpm. Paul explains it’s part of the installation process of a new engine. You set the engine at a set rpm, then pull the mixture back slowly to get a 25 rpm rise. More than 25 rpm means it’s running rich. Less than 25 rpm means it’s running lean. Engines don’t come out of a crate ready to go. They need to be set up properly. Mike also said that landing with full mixture rich is an issue as well. He said there are only two times you should have full mixture. One is when starting cold, and the other is when applying 100 percent power (at lower density altitudes).

Mark is interested in electronic ignition for his 210, particularly the Surefly. Paul loves the Surefly on his airplane. He doesn’t love the advanced variable timing. He thinks a bit aggressive. But it is selectable, so you can turn it off if you like. Mike said he would try it with the variable timing on, and only turn it off if the CHTs are too high. Colleen said her husband has done the dual Surefly on his Legacy. He has higher CHTs, but not unacceptably high. The fuel burn is also lower, but the biggest benefit is easier starting.

Erick is looking for any angle to justify buying his first love, a Cessna 337. He would prefer a turbocharged Skymaster. He’s wondering if there’s any hope for the future of these engines being affordable. You must go and buy a turbocharged Skymaster, Mike said. The engines that Mike has previously been worried about are on the pressurized Skymaster. The turbocharged engines are rated at 210 horsepower, and the pressurized ones are rated at 225 horsepower, which he thinks impacts longevity. He thinks engine longevity is related to horsepower per cubic inch. An O-470 is about .5 horsepower pre cubic inch. The TSIO-360 is around .625 horsepower per cubic inch.

Warren is wondering if detonation caused a power failure in an accident he’s studied. The NTSB data shows that the cylinder reached about 700 degrees, and it went up by about 1.3 F degrees per second. Mike said CHT increases greater than 1 degree per second can only be caused by a pre-ignition event. It means that something in the cylinder was either acting like a glow plug, or if there’s a magneto failure. A cracked spark plug insulator can act like a glow plug, for example.