Inverted LA .46 Starting

I flew my new Accentor with an LA .46 last weekend. It seems to be very susceptible to flooding prior to starting; in fact, I had to start it with the plane inverted (engine upright), which I am hoping to avoid in the future.

Does anyone have any tips on a pre-start "routine" they use to help avoid flooding inverted mounted engines? Also, has anyone had any problems with the LA 40 or 46 flooding while starting inverted? Any insight would be appreciated.

Rick

yes the .46 floods very easily, what works for me is to not choke it after fueling it and it will hit after about 3 flips. BEN

Hi Rick,
I fly both an Oriental & an origanal Stunter 131 with OS LA .46s inverted.
I choke the engines 3-4 times then check for a bump. If it bumps, my LAs start 1st flip.
If I fly back to back flights I do not choke at all. Just flip & my LAs will start in 1-3 flips hot.
Your engine may work with my method or you may have to only choke say 2 times or less.
I have flooded my LAs. I took the plug out & let the fuel run out.
Engine set up, venturi size etc play a role in how your engine behaives. Work on your starting routine. It will not take long to see what your engine likes.
Good luck.

My method exactly. I have flooded it, but not often.

On the FP with the blocked boost port we found we couldn't choke it 3 or 4 times. Our procedure when cold was to fuel the plane, signal the judges, then choke once and immediately flip start it. One choke, one flip, it went. When hot the choke was not needed. Just flip and go.

I think the key here is to find out how your engine works. If you are flooding, then you are choking too much. The engine should not flood on its own, because any fuel coming out of the needle while fueling should drain down, not into the engine.

Choke the minimum necessary to prime the engine. If one choke is all you need, then stop right there. Easy enough.

Here is a technique that has helped alot in my starting routine.

Many times, when choking an inverted engine, if you completely cover the venturi and flip, there is no air/fuel mixture getting to the cylinder--it just pulls out of the spraybar and sits ontop of your finger until you let it go--then it runs out.

This leads to inconsistent starts and random flooding because you have to choke way too much.

So...my technique--and I know alot of others as well--choke completely closed 1 or two cranks. Then rock your finger lightly as you flip a couple of more times. Leave a small opening for air to go in when you flip. This will go in with high velocity since it is a restriction--it will pull some of the raw fuel in with it.

more or less flips when hot.

After you do it this way for a while, it will become very consistent.

It only takes a little fuel to get into the cylinder, then a couple of non-glow flipls to vaporize the mix.

FWIW

My mehtod is very simple: I use an electric starter.

>My mehtod is very simple: I use an electric starter.
>
>Steve

Everyone loves to fly with the guy with an electric starter!!!!

No waiting!!!

Ditto for me. Laugh at my electric starter, but I use it on every thing.

One problem here, Curt, is he is already getting the engine flooded. Each engine is different, and each may require a little different technique.

As I said with the FP (35/40) which should be close to the LA for starting technique. We fueled, applied the glow plug battery, made sure the plug was lit (meter on the glowdriver), then signaled the judges, one choke (fully over the intake) and immediately one flip to start. If we choked, signaled, then flipped it was too late. If we choked more than once it was flooded. But choke, flip worked most every time. Once in a great while we would have to give a second flip of the prop.

Now, on the Magnum engine, we would hold the finger over the venturi and choke, choke, choke until we finally felt the "bump". Then we would signal, flip, and away it would go. Interestingly here we could signal in between and we would need to choke numerous times. One big difference may be the type of venturi. The OS uses the restrictor with the spray bar through the middle. The Magnum uses the true venturi (sprinkler, whatever).

On the PA engines the choking proceedure is pretty much the same. Three, four, five times until you feel the "bump". Then signal and back flip against the compression. Yup, a different procedure again.

But this is what we worked out on our various engines to get the one flip start. In all cases when flying back to back flights with the engine hot it is usually no additional choke. Just fuel, flip, and go. And with the pipe engine, we will often "burp" it upside down before its first flight because of the possibility of oil draining from the pipe back into the engine, especially when it is stored nose down (as in the car).

The key is to learn your engine and develop a consistent method of starting. If you are flooding the engine, then you are choking too much. Try fueling and flipping with no choke. If it doesn't fire, try one choke. If not, try a second choke. See what happens and try that procedure the next time.

I have found that an inverted engine will often start easier than the same engine upright once you have learned the proper procedure. Once you get the prime into the engine, it is easier to get it to the cylinder for that one flip start.

And when you are Paul Walker with four engines and only 7 mintues to get all started, set, and the entire flight completed and back on the ground to a full stop, you had better have your procedure down. I think I will stick with one. P-51s do look nice, don't they?

My .46LA was upright, and I always turned it over to start it inverted. Not really, but I honestly think an inverted engine is tougher to flood than an upright. Excess fuel runs out the venturi. On my 2Star .60bb, I found the Bruline air filter to be a great benefit. Choke it, let the fuel run down into the filter, hit the prop, and the vapor drawn into the engine was just right. Work on the inverted starting drill, until you get it...much safer. I was flying off a stooge, so didn't have any choice. Steve