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Re: Europa-List: Re: Heavy In-flight Vibration Riddle /The Solution /The

Subject: Re: Europa-List: Re: Heavy In-flight Vibration Riddle /The Solution /The
From: Raimo Toivio <raimo.toivio@rwm.fi>
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:58:24

Marcel, Frans and rest of you fine people

My plan is to open and check the engine by 
professional during a winter delay.
So far I think the piston # 3 is essential to 
check.

Before that I will happily fly about 10 hrs. It 
runs so smoothly after replacing the spark plugs 
that I will not worry about possible damaged 
engine.

Pls notice - the heavy  (infact very frightening 
and scary)  vibration and shaking was only quite 
momentous. I found quite soon a MAP & RPM 
combination which made sense. During the flight I 
tried couple of times if it will go better outside 
that combination but immediately came back.

I was not worried my engine so much - that is only 
an engine  and w/o it a plane is still very well 
flyable. Instantly I worried about the engine 
fixing, structural things, engine separation and 
such things. I was happy I completed that Mod "an 
engine mounting frame strenghtening". I knew I 
have to make a soon decision to quit the engine 
and made a forced landing. When I managed to find 
a good power /rpm -selection, I was happy, relaxad 
a bit and went on flying. I was so satisfied that 
I did not try to find a solution and try magnetos 
A ja B separately. Maybe I thought -"the situation 
is good enough now - do not try to irritate it and 
dig any blood from my nose!".

I have earlier forgot to mention one thing: when I 
tried to increase power by moving a power lever 
forward, I got significantly less power!

That combination was somekind a sweet pot.

The spark plug head was blue, you remember?

I think it has been very hot. Maybe because it was 
totally short circuited. Then it was red glowing 
all time long - that is why I was talking about 
detonation. The mixture was maybe full time and 
totally exploded before the correct time. That is 
known to happen when for example one valve is red 
hot. If there has been detonation - there should 
also be some marks in the piston: after a hard 
load detonation the piston will be burned, a low 
load detonation can even split the piston.

Also, I assume the coils are somehow connected 
together. I mean, a missfiring in one spark and in 
one cylinder, could it also disturb another one 
(spark /cylinder) ??? If so, that means more 
vibra.

Anyway - this is quite an unusual think to happen. 
A Rotax Service Agent in Finland told me that 
there has only once before reported him about an 
inflight broken spark plug. That means about 1 
plug failures let us say in every 25.000 flight 
hours or less (under his thumb there are about 100 
Rotaxes, 10 years and +50 hrs /year / engine).

So, obviously there are no reasons to worry about 
loosing a spark plug during a flight. We all are 
changing them every 100 hrs flight time, are not 
we?

Raimo OH-XRT Finland, will be in Sicily in few 
hours


Viestit: 121
Liittynyt: 13:35 Tiistai 10 02 2004
Paikkakunta: Toijala
-----Alkuperinen viesti----- 
From: zwakie
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 3:01 PM
Subject: Europa-List: Re: Heavy In-flight 
Vibration Riddle /The Solution /The Winner(

<mz@cariama.nl>

I have another thought on top: what will this have 
done to the crankshaft and/or piston rod and 
bearings?

Should one be worried about increased tolerances, 
excessive wear a.s.o., especially having continued 
flight for an hour?

I have made the same mental note that Frans has 
made, I too would not have expected vibrations to 
become so imminent by one failing spark plug.

Thanks Raimo!

--------
Marcel
(Europa Classic Tri-Gear PH-MZW)


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