I'm a newb at troubleshooting engine problems looking for tips and advice.
I've owned 2 engines and until now they have both run fine. The one I'm having issues with is an O.S. .46ax. I run an APC 11x5 or 11x6,O.S. A3 plug,Omega 15%. I'm guessing it may have 4 gallons through it. I use a home-made exhaust deflector,basically a piece of tubing that runs down and exits at the landing gear.
Just recently,mid flight,I noticed a loss of power and the engine didn't seem to be revving as high at full throttle. It was running ok aside from that. I landed and checked with a tach. It read around 11,000. I leaned the needle til it sounded like it wouldn't go any higher,and then backed off a bit and tached it around 13,300. That put the pep back in it,but I don't know why it dropped in the first place. After the adjustment, I started getting a single surge or stutter when I'd open up the throttle all the way(not during transition,but right after it spools up). I could not replicate this on the ground later.
After getting it home,I pulled the glow plug to check it and noticed it is very black on the bottom(the coil looks normal,but the bottom of the glow plug housing is black). Hooked up to the ignitor,it glows red and appears to be working properly.
Any suggestions on things to check for?
thanks,
Jeff