REFLECTOR:Confession Week!!!

[reflector at tvbf.org]

Well, I could probably write on book on my "stupid human tricks" but I will submit this one..... 

One time when I was still in the fly off stage on the XL I landed for some reason or another and was ready to fly again in about 15 minutes. 

So I needed to do a hot start. About 10 years ago an old A&P taught me how to hot start a Lycoming and I have NEVER had a problem with a hot start on a Lyco since- Mixture ICO and wide open throttle while cranking then when it catches reverse them quick. So I set up that way and that awesome Skytech starter WHIRLS those blades and 10 seconds later still no startie. Hmmm. Maybe it was not as hot as I thought? So I tried a normal start (mixture rich- throttle cracked) after 10 seconds of cranking still no rumble. Huh? Surely it does not need a prime? What the hey shoot some juice in there and try again. Still no joy. Well it's flooded by now for sure so back to the hot start setup. Nope, still no noise! 

Now it was nice spring Sunday, I was in a large shared hanger with 5 experimentals- 3 of them Velocities so there were always lots of folks hanging out and hanger flying. So as I crank and crank without a start folks start drifting over to the open gull wing door and I start getting a *lot* of advice, hell I'm not proud, my techniques are obviously not working so I am open to suggestions! So I am getting all kinds of techniques from the various folks hanging around and I try every last one of them and none of them work! My big automotive battery finally starts to loose it's wind and the prop is spinning noticeably slower. So I announce to the gathered advice giving masses that I guess we all just have to give up and let it set and cool off before it will start! The crowd moans collectively! Man they were really into this and they wanted CLOSURE by golly! 

So before I get out I go through the shut down check list and I get to "Mags - OFF" and I reach up to the overhead to turn off the mags and oh.... my........GAWD! You guessed it! They have both been off the whole time! 20 minutes of cranking and trying every harebrained hot start technique anybody ever thought might even possibly work and I had *never* turned on the mags! Oy vay! 

Now the manly thing to do at this point would have been to go "DOH!" fess up, smack myself in the forehead, start up and go flying! Sadly, I was just not that manly though! I let it "cool off" for about a half hour then I climbed back in. The Sunday crowd gathers around in hushed anticipation- Voila! It starts in 2 blades! The crowd consensus was "Yep! Hot starts are a bitch- she just needed to cool down some!" and with a total lack of manly courage I agreed whole heartedly and never said a word about mag switches till today!

DM Rob