Has anyone converted their air start Olympus to auto start? If so, can you please share your ownership experience. I am debating whether to do the conversion to mine. From a convenience standpoint, it seems like a no-brainer, but I am not sure how reliable the new ECU is.

Thanks,
Dantley

Hi Dantley,
I had a converted Oly, I never ran it though, I sold it to David Hudson from DCM models. I got the engine from Don Yockey who had the conversion done. I believe the conversion is about $800. I assume (but I should really never assume lol) that David has probably run it by now, I'd check with him, his ID on RCU is DCM I believe.

I was hoping you would respond jeremy. nope David hasn't run it yet to my knowledge. he must be skeeered!!!! i give him plenty of poop every chance i get and desperately would love to own one of his Crew-Saders!!!!

I had both an AT400 and AT 280 converteed by US AMT now I think US Micro Jet. The conversions worked flawlessly. If ease is your goal, then the conversion is for you. The AMT's have always been excellent engines for me, they just dont have the glitter and marketing they used to have.

Best of luck.

Kevin Marks

I have converted both an AMT Netherlands Pegasus and an AMT USA 450 (aka Olympus) to electric start with good results. Both require a newer version ECU known as a "Version 2" for AMT Netherlands and "Gen 2 or 3" for AMT USA. They are not interchangable between companies. Both require a 12v ECU battery which is a bit of a drawback.

AMT Netherlands uses a smaller, longer starter motor with the wires coming out the front of the starter. AMT USA uses a HUGE, short motor on the 450 with wires coming out of the front turbine case. The Netherlands starts slow and smooth, the USA in just a few seconds. The AMT USA starter motor spins up so fast I had to up the glowplug voltage considerably to get it to light.

I use Coleman propane for start with both turbines via an external bottle plugged into a quick disconnect Festo and let the ECU meter the flow during start. Works great and keeps the on-board install simple.

I wish I had converted them sooner. No more scuba tanks!

Craig

Do you guys feel the data terminal is a worthwhile purchase when going with the auto start conversion?

Yes. It's very helpful to watch the rpm's, egt etc., during the start...at least until you get familiar with the start sequence/timing. Also good for troubleshooting if necessary. The AMT USA version allows you to change most of the paramaters (glowplug voltage, min/max rpm's, battery type etc..) which is convenient. The Netherlands version is a monitor only and you need their software and computer connection to accomplish the same thing, something I have never been successful with.

Craig

Craig has covered the issue well. I have run autostart Peggy HPNL's, which function identical to the Oly's, on a couple of planes for the last 4 years. Hard to believe, but except when a glowplug went south, I have never missed a start. Can't say that about my Jetcats. I now have one of my Peggy's in my BVM F-100D and one on the bench waiting to go back to Bennie for first check in 4 years with about 50 hours on the timer. I also use Coleman Propane, offboard, but with the solenoid on line to control gas flow. You can also KISS and delete the gas solenoid and control the flow with a flow controller on the Coleman can.

You can run the V2 ECU from Bennie with (4S1P-2300maH) A123's now, rather than the 10 cell, 1700maH Nicad he has been shipping.

I know the conversion is a bit pricey from Bennie with the weak dollar against the Euro.....not sure about exact price now.

I do like the AMT USA feature of a programmable EDT so you don't have to fool with a laptop to change settings, but once I figured the software out, it takes just a few minutes to set up.

I still like the sound of any turbine, full scale or model, during an air start. With Bennie's V2, all you do is disconnect the starter plug from the ECU plug, push in your airline into the air festo on the front of the turbine, and you are back to auto-air start. Those starts are very fast and IMO, sound very cool. Also, if you have driven 900 miles to a JetMeet and your starter dies after your first flight, you can switch to air start in about 10 seconds or less.

I've done that on a Mercury HP (180) it is basically the same conversion. The electric starter was fitted at the factory and I used the original ECU making it a semi autostart. the cost was about 300 euros.I have now converted it to full auto start using an ECU from xicoy which is very light and fully programmable (same ecu as used in jet central turbines)