My first Gas Giant scale plane....

Well I'm finally to the stage where EVERYTHING is installed in my new Lanier Ultimate Pitts, and I was going to start up the engine and get it adjusted correctly before this weekend. After discovering that my normal starter just wasn't up to the task, I switched to a strong cordless drill! I primed the engine till gas was dripping out the carb, used the modified drill/starter, and turned the engine over for about 10 seconds....not even a hiccup from the engine. I pulled the sparkplug out, touched it to the body of the engine and turned the prop over quickly looking for a spark. I didn't see even a HINT of a spark.

This is a new standard G38 engine, and has never been started before. Can some of the gas experts give me a few steps to take to get this engine running? Do I need to get a new plug?

Thanks for your help

Switch? coil or mag gap.
Pull the leads off the switch and try it.

No spark means you have the ignition grounded - check your kill switch - it's probably wired backward, or you have the 'switchology' backwards - continuity means it is grounded and will not spark.

I have not wired in my kill switch yet. (I bought one tho, and will install it prior to taking it to the field)
I have not checked the gap on the plug, but I should still get somewhat of a spark correct?

If your motor is brandnew there is no need to worry about the plug. I believe you may have the prop set at an improper position and may not be able to accelerate the magnets on the flywheel over the coil fast enough. I also assume that you have teh G-38 in a hanging position. If so it can easily flood the cylinder when you prime too much and thus "drowning" the plug. Does your G-38 have a choke on its carb? If yes, all it takes is to close the choke, flip the prop several times until the engine pops. Then open the choke and flip the prop from a two o'clock position as fast as you can to your left. She should fire up now. If not then there is not enough gas inside the cylinder. In any case, a powerful electric starter is always a good idea to have.

by gap I meant the gap between the coil pickup and the magnet, it needs to be real close, paper thin and can be moved by undoing the screws and adjusting, 2 far away = no spark.
The carb has no involvment if you cannot get it to spark, as you have no switch it only leaves the coil and gap, maybe plug, if you had a spare change it just to verify spark, also check inside the boot for poor connections.
It a real simple setup, fuel, spark, bang!!

Thanks Andy, I'll check to make sure the magneto - to - flywheel gap is as close as possible without actually touching.

How fast does the flywheel have to spin to get a spark?

A G38 is one of the easiest mag engines to hand start, doesn't take much of a flip....

The Gap between the wheel and the coil is NOT that critical. Also , the G-38 starts very easily by hand. Try flipping it fast. Its not rocket science, if you flip it fast, it should start, even if the gaps are not to the nearest millimeter.

My guess is, you are not turning it fast enough with the drill. Try hand flipping, as RCIGN says, its EASY to start by hand, but you need to flip it past the magnets.

Second guess, you flooded it so badly, it does not have a prayer of sparking.


Dnot start taking stuff off and adjusting it, chances are you will screw up a perfectly good engine.

JettPilot

1. The gap between the pickup and the magnet does make a difference, I found out the hard way.
2. If the plug is not in the engine flooding it makes no difference at all and he should have a spark assuming it is grounded to the head and he flips it ,especially with a drill.
Yeh I know lots of assuming.
I agree with Ralph that it is very easy to start assuming it all works.

I purchased my first gas engine about four years ago, a G-38. I had difficulty starting it and an individual at the local flying field came up and fired it on two flips. He indicated that I was not spinning it fast enough. He was correct. Today, I use a padded glove and let my hand get a running start before hitting the prop.

When this engine was new I would turn the choke on and flip it until I heard a pop. Well, I never did hear a pop and the engine would flood. Today, I choke it and flip it about six to eight times. I can feel the engine get looser because of the gas into the piston. Then I turn the choke off and use one click up on the throttle stick. It starts within a few flips.

Today the engine is easier to start than when it was new. It does not require quite the flit it did when new, out of the box. I do not know if I am getting better or gas engines do start easier once broken in.

I love this engine. It is one great, smooth running gas engine.

I hope this helps.

Ed

Be careful of the magneto gap. Don't get too close. In general the gap should be around .010" - .012", or about the thickness of a business card.

I tried a cordless drill too on one of my gassers and it did not have the rpms to get the job done.

Keep at it. It will run.

Bedford

I suppose all of you know that the drill has to be in reverse to turn the prop in the desired direction Right??

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm going to make another attempt at starting it after work today.

Is there anything connected to the spade lug on the magneto? You said earlier you had not yet connected a kill switch. If there is anything on it (say a wire intended for the kill switch), you may inadvertently be grounding the mag if the wire is touching any part of the engine, and killing any spark. Just a thought.

Good catch, but nothing is attached to the mag yet. I hope the problem is just that I'm not flipping the prop over quick enough. I'll give an update tomorrow if I got it started or not. I'll get some pictures as well.

A spring starter is cheap and easy to install - and will save wear and tear on you rotator cuff (that's your shoulder). It will also turn over the prop faster than you can.

I wasn't able to attempt to start the engine last night, but I will try tonight

Well I got the engine started this weekend. It runs like a top! Using the stock muffler, I was getting close to 7k with the APC 18X8W prop. With a new muffler and break in proccess, this engine is going to be awesome. Even being new and stock muffler, I had it at full throttle, and with my 13.5 lb lanier ultimate pitts, there is MORE than a 1:1 thrust / weight ratio! For everyone that is wondering if the G38 is a good fit for this engine, I will tell you that it's a GREAT match to the plane.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I should maiden the plane this comming weekend. Pics and maybe video to come!