Forwarded from the bounce bin. Message is from
"Dave Simpson" <davesimpson@londonweb.net>
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Stop me if I've posted this already...oh you can't.
Some years ago I conducted a survey of the causes of engine power failures on
microlights.
The BMAA has an excellent accident and incident reporting network
and I was able to pin down most causes. While the original scapegoat was
"unreliable
two stroke engines" it turned out rather different in fact. Over 60%
of stoppages were due to faulty engine installation, and of these 39% could be
certainly put down to lack of plentiful clean supply of fuel to the engine.
Foreign
matter and air ingestion on suction systems were the main culprits, and
there were others which were 2 stroke fuel specific. (Solubisors in the two
stroke oil's detergent react with water in the fuel and produce a colloidal
suspension
which, while invisible in the fuel, completely clogs a paper filter.
For this reason paper filters are banned in the UK airworthiness requirements
for microlights). Almost all of these problems can be FORESEEN by the simple
addition of a fuel pressure meter, and I completely agree with Klaus that it's
an essential, not a nice to have. Wonderful idea to have it hooked up to an
audible warning so we can look out the window more.
I get no commission, but they're available from Skydrive and they're not
expensive.
They come with the required constriction which is needed whenever monitoring
fuel lines are brought into the cockpit.
Dave Simpson
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