Hi all,
got my first gallon through the engine now and am very happy with this little motor.
Running fine, turning a APC 14x6 at 9000 on ground giving plenty of thrust to my Phoenix 185 which is same as the Cessna 195.
Had the motor built in a Sig Sun Dancer first, but this was no good, because air flow was quite bad within this boxer cowl. The motor ran way to hot (150 ° Celsius) even after I milled away nearly half of the cowl. Running under bad air flow means overheat and loss of RPM as well as impossible adjustment on the needles.
So mounted it into a VQ Texan next. The Texan has a real huge cowl (radial engine) and perfect air flow was easy to achieve. Ran much better, but the plane did not taxi straight, even with fixed gear and gyro on rudder. Way to risky for my precious Saito.
Finally, this engine ended up in the big cowl of that Phoenix Cessna giving me tons of fun. Although I'm mainly a aerobatic freak.
My basic lessons learned on that sensible missy of a motor:
- Needs really a lot of cool air flow so go the extra mile for best air flow.
- Carb tends to lean out engine in the air when peaked too hot on the ground. So lean the main needle just a little above sputtering (8500 RPM @ Apc 14x6). Gives 9000 in the air.
- Besides full throttle and idle position, you may need a switch on the transmitter to go to "throttle completely closed" position. This helps getting pumping fuel from the tank on first start. Same effect is your thumb on the air intake if you can reach it.
Sound is great, smells fine. Who wants to fly electric?
Bye
Tobias