Original:ahicks
"Whatever you do, and however you do it, just keep in mind that the best ground tuned engine in the world will STILL very likely require some adjusting once airborne. Point being, don't get carried away with it (adjusting on the ground/test stand), and don't waste a lot of time on it when you could be flying. In the end all you're trying to do is get it running good enough to get it airborne?

With that in mind, my experience has been that a rich engine rarely quits. To that end, I leave both needles fat when adjusting on the ground - so unplanned glider practice is minimized? THEN, once airborne, you can fine tune with an educated guess on which way you need to go to get to optimum (usually a compromise you can live with, seldom perfect)."

The take with your point is that a rich engine rarely quits in the air. Many guys are setting up the low speed as lean as possible, looking for a smooth idle, concerned that it's going to "load up" - and that's biting them in the butt once airborne. That's not the plan when setting up a gasser. Properly set on idle that engine should actually be running kind of uneven, not hitting on every stroke? These engines are pretty capable of running rich without loading up to the point they'll get you in trouble because of it..... -Al