Brief Description: Engine - starting tries and trouble shooting
Before trying the first engine start I wrote out a procedure that I had at hand in the cockpit for quick reference: -main wheels chocked -tail tied down to the ground -fire extinquisher nearby -observer/safetyman nearby -check fuel level (premium auto gas 95 octane) and gascolator discharge -burp the engine and check oil level -check engine coolant level -push in right side of Master Switch and check Dynon EFIS displays -push in left side of Master Switch -open main fuel cut-off valve -switch on electric fuel pump -pull throttle lever to full idle -pull starting carburetor lever to full on -turn ignition switch to start (for max 10 seconds, followed by 2 minute cool down if no start) -watch for oil pressure in green (30 psi plus) within 10 seconds -pull starting carbureter lever to full off while adding a little throttle -warm up at 2500 rpm for 2 minutes -when CHT exceeds 120F increase throttle as desired -do mag check (right and left ignition modules separately) at 4000 rpm -find full throttle max static rpm (target is 5300 rpm) to determine if prop pitch is correct -cool down at 3000 rpm -ignition to off, Dynon will shut off automatically after a delay -remove key from ignition switch -figure out what went wrong, correct and repeat
Before success was final won I had three unsuccessful days trying to start the engine. Each day I tried five or six times until the battery volts died enough to prevent turning the engine over at near 300 rpm, I got frustrated, or I thought I needed to return the plane to the hangar for corrective actions.
Every time the engine turned over nicely with the starter providing 300 rpm plus and the oil pressure quickly registered and climbed to 30 psi and up to 90 psi in the 10 second run. But it just wouldn't fire and start. Some times we sprayed high octane starting fluid into the carb entries and into the spark plug holes with no luck. We tried to figure out a way to check if individual spark plugs were firing with no luck.
