I have been flying my Alpha 40 for the last year and trying to figure out why it keeps dead sticking when doing touch and go landings. First couple of touch and goes are fine and then after that it is a crap shoot. As I advance the throttle on the third or so touch and go, the engine dies. Feels like it goes lean.

I have taken of the guards on the needles off and done a ton of research on setting them. I feel I have a decent knowledge of setting the HS and LS needles. On the ground when tuning, I get a crisp transition form idle to high rpm. In the air flying around it just screams.

But on the 3rd or so T&G, the thing quits on climb out. I have changed all the fuel lines and check for tightness on the engine bolts etc...

My current needle settings are LSN 1 turn out, HSN 2 turns out and I am at 600 ft above sea level. Fuel is Powermaster 15% nitro fuel.

Sounds like it is too lean, i.e quitting on climb after a couple minutes, screaming power while cruising, etc. Try richening it 1 or 2 clicks, it may be a touch rich at first but it will lean out as you progress through the flight and as the prop unloads in the air. In other words, tune a few hundred rpm down on the rich side after a quick warm up. Might need to richen the low speed a touch also.

Jeff,

If you restart it right after it dead-sticks, what do you have to do to get it to start? IE: choke it , open the throttle all the way to clean it out, etc?

CR

These engines behave in their own way. First, they should be able to idle on the ground for 25-30 seconds and then take shoving the throttle wide open without much hesitation or stumbling. That is the standard you should work towards.

The Evolution engines, especially the .455 runs wet. The crankcase loads up quickly of excess fuel. The OS 8 isn't hot enough to burn most of the fuel so change that to an A3. The A3 should show an immediate sign of more power. The .455 really needs the low speed leaned out until it will pass the 25 30 second idle test.

With the OS 8 I bet the engine is a little difficult to crank up and take full throttle. I always had to nurse the throttle up slowly in increments on it and the 46NT until I started using A3 plugs. That's the excess and unburned fuel messing up the engine that is causing it to run wet when you crank it.

I could be wrong and you are too lean, but it sounds like the .455 being normal to me.