REFLECTOR:Confession Week!!!

Phil Hooper reflector@tvbf.org
Thu Jun 3 17:00:02 CDT 2004


Rob, very well written and entertaining.  Why don't you write that book
after all?  Sounds like you have more and could give us a great chapter
every day.  BTW and IMHO, I think the sucking-the-rug-into-the-prop story
was the best.  Perhaps we should all vote.  ;-)  Phil

-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-admin@tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-admin@tvbf.org] On Behalf
Of RJohn15183@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 8:36 AM
To: reflector@tvbf.org
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR:Confession Week!!!

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
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