Engine went off while hovering

[aliali]

I have Bergen Gas-EB....
today was my third flight....while hovering, the engine went off completly....
i manage to bring the heli down without any problem, but, wonder why it happened?......i am using Z-RC insulator and low/high needles are set on 1-3/8 turns. i am using Colman white gas with 6 oz zenoah sythetic oil mix per gallon.

any help?...

[cbergen]

Is the engine seized, or did it just quit in flight and you can restart it?

What headspeed were you running? What was the outside temperature?

If you have the stock muffler, take it off and look inside the engine, tell me what you see.

[aliali]

Engine is not seized. i started the engine right after that and it worked fine.
i dont know what headspeed i was on (dont have a setup yet:) )
i am using Century torpedo Muffler.

[cbergen]

Do you know what the temperature was outside?

How long had you been flying before it quit?

[aliali]

temperature was about 80 degrees...
i took total of two flights with a break of about 1/2 hour between them...
the first one was perfect...
it took about 2 minutes in the second flight in hover before the engine stopped.

[cbergen]

Did you refuel? :)

[aliali]

yes, i did refuel before the second flight.....
i had only almost quater of tank when i took my first flight....lasted for about 10 minutes....
then before the second flight, i refueled and fill up the whole tank.

[MarkWebber]

Happened once to me after the choke lever had partially closed off the carb. Did you notice where it was after you refueled?

[aliali]

i have'nt checked that....but, i did noticed that its quite loose....this can definitly be a cause due to vibration....

if i assume this the cause, then is there a way to tighten this up?.....all the screws on it are well tight....but, that lever is quite loose.

[cbergen]

Under the screwhead that goes through the lever, there is supposed to be a rubber washer. It may be that you swapped screws unknowingly, putting the rubber washer under the "other" screw.

You can also put a slight bend in the choke lever, making it contact the housing to prevent moving by itself.

[Helisin]

Just happened to one of the guys (not me) here in Calgary the other day. Followed by a successfull auto!:) Smooth flying on Mark's part.

Happened once to me after the choke lever had partially closed off the carb. Did you notice where it was after you refueled?

[fling-winger]

No smooth flying involved - Just a gi-normous horse shoe!!

My choke plate was missing the rubber ring. What's everyone's feelings on just removing the choke plate? I've never have had to use the choke to get it started - 5 squeezes on the primer bulb - 2 pulls and she's running. Anyone ever had to use the choke to kill the engine?

Mark

[MarkWebber]

Since you've already got your setup right, you shouldn't have to stop it with the choke. You could always close the throttle manually by overpowering the servo in a pinch.

[v22chap]

I have never had to use it to stop the motor ,,just hit the trim down to close the venture plate and its dead ... have had one that needed the choke to start though.

[aliali]

No smooth flying involved - Just a gi-normous horse shoe!!

My choke plate was missing the rubber ring. What's everyone's feelings on just removing the choke plate? I've never have had to use the choke to get it started - 5 squeezes on the primer bulb - 2 pulls and she's running. Anyone ever had to use the choke to kill the engine?

Mark

I use the choke to kill the engine....i never used the choke for starting...engine starts in 2-3 pulls....

[aliali]

i am guessing (since i have'nt found any clues on the reason of engine stop) that, it must be the choke lever....

is it ok to just get rid of it?.....since i never needed it to start the engine till now....do you think i will ever need this ?

[hookmaker]

Do you use a fuel filter between the tank and carb - if so don't. I did and had a stop (on the ground) - I noticed large air bubbles in the fuel line around filter and I GUESS this caused the problem, so I removed the filter. No more bubbles.
/Henrik

[aliali]

Do you use a fuel filter between the tank and carb - if so don't. I did and had a stop (on the ground) - I noticed large air bubbles in the fuel line around filter and I GUESS this caused the problem, so I removed the filter. No more bubbles.
/Henrik

no, i dont use a fuel filter.

[cbergen]

You can remove the choke lever, no big deal.

The only difficulty I see with it, is that you no longer have an emergency shutoff feature!! You may consider adding an electrical kill switch to the black grounding wire coming from the primary coil.

[aliali]

You can remove the choke lever, no big deal.

The only difficulty I see with it, is that you no longer have an emergency shutoff feature!! You may consider adding an electrical kill switch to the black grounding wire coming from the primary coil.

electric kill switch?.....thats sounds cool.....
how can i do that?....what type of signal it needs for switching off the engine?....
i do have a spare channel....can i use that?...

[mister2u]

aliali, what type of radio do you have? I have a 9CHPS and have been able to utilize a switch on the Tx for the 'throttle kill' feature for my EB. This actually kills the engine depending on the position of the throttle stick (that you must setup). I am a noob and have found this feature to be a pretty cool one. If you have the same type of Tx, I can help you with it; i'm sure that your Tx would have the same feature/option also. It looks like you are in the metroplex as well.

[aliali]

aliali, what type of radio do you have? I have a 9CHPS and have been able to utilize a switch on the Tx for the 'throttle kill' feature for my EB. This actually kills the engine depending on the position of the throttle stick (that you must setup). I am a noob and have found this feature to be a pretty cool one. If you have the same type of Tx, I can help you with it; i'm sure that your Tx would have the same feature/option also. It looks like you are in the metroplex as well.

at the moment, i am using DX7 but, have plans to get JR 9303...once released and available.



what type of signal that black wire needs to switch the engine off?

[MarkWebber]

The black wire just needs shorted to the engine to kill the ignition.

[ErichF]

When we first gout our Observer EB, the engine died suddenly while hovering at 4 feet after about 4 minutes.

What I found was that the carb screws were loose when the engine was hot, letting the choke fall closed.

The cause: Z-RC insulator.

The ZRC unit is awesome, but you have to seat the nylon seals after the first hot run. Once the engine is at operating temp, land and quickly re-torque the carb screws while everything is still hot.

After doing this, I never have a loose carb screw again. Also, when removing the carb, the nylon seals have a perfect impression of the carb and engine faces. Perfect seal.

[aliali]

ok, i have found the problem....it was the choke lever....i have faced the same problem again and specially checked the lever position....it was almost closed due to vibration...
so, i have removed it since i never needed it.
Thanks for all your help on this. :)