Carbsmart on a gasser

[transport50]

Hello Has any one here used a carbsmart on a gasser heli? I overheated mine last sunday. bird is a tottal loss. vary glad i have two gasser.the day was cool at 8:00am but by 10:00am the temp had changed by 20 deg. was on our 11 flight of the day working for a radar company just flying with no cam mount and the engine loss power sould not recover!! I am thinking a carbsmart would have comensated for the heat by richening up the main needle jet.

Mike HeliPics Northwest

[cbergen]

Did the engine exhibit any signs of overheating? Different sound, vibes, power loss BEFORE it quit?

What was your fuel/oil mixture?

No Auto?

[transport50]

Chris yes it did show signs of power loss. the craft would not resond well to colletive inputes We could not hear the engine it was to far down range and with all the jet engine nose comeing from the runways. Our oil is mixed 32-1 useing zenoah brand oil. The plastic isalator between the carb and intake port may have started to crack. Hard to tell now because it broke on inpacked. Also tore the exhaust off too. want to see the pics?:) Thanks for any input Mike

[cbergen]

How long had you been flying on this particular flight? Just a few minutes or 20 minutes?

[transport50]

Chris we were coming up on 7 min setting up for landing when power loss happened was comeing down from a high elv run 1000 to 1300 ft

Mike

[cbergen]

high elv run 1000 to 1300 ft

AGL?

[transport50]

Yes Chris AGL ASLwould have put us at 1400 t0 1700 we were at 2000 to 2400 ASL the weekend before with no problem but was cooler air. Have you ever installed the carbsmart or onything like that before on any gassers?? I am wanting a Large ELC helli and your model is sounding vary Nice!! BTW without our Helicommand I dont think we could fly the elvation and still fly nice long patterns the radar folks need for data they were looking for!!!

Mike

[transport50]

http://www.helifreak.com/easyaction/attach/jpg.gif P7130025.jpg (http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55393&stc=1&d=1216443089) (175.6 KB)

http://www.helifreak.com/easyaction/attach/jpg.gif P7130026.jpg (http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55394&stc=1&d=1216443089) (170.8 KB)

http://www.helifreak.com/easyaction/attach/jpg.gif P7130020.jpg (http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55395&stc=1&d=1216443089) (48.8 KB)

http://www.helifreak.com/easyaction/attach/jpg.gif IMG_1198.jpg (http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55396&stc=1&d=1216443089) (60.4 KB)

A few pics of the crash site

[cbergen]

I have not tried a carbsmart, or anything similar myself.

By my questions I was trying to get an idea of any signs that may have been missed, signs that that the engine was giving you, letting you know there was a problem.

I have flown in many different conditions, from below freezing in the snow, to the heat and humidity that is normally present at IRCHA in August, and everything in between.

I can always tell when the engine needs adjustment, but it is something that needs to be learned over time. Luckily I had my father to teach me what to listen and look for, over a great many years.......

At the same time, I have never burned up an engine, and darn sure not in 7 minutes!! I just think that something had to be wrong, other than the OAT change. Would that alone require an adjustment? Certainly. But the engine should have talked to you, vibrating, a change in tone and power, BEFORE seizing.

Definitely suspect the insulator, it is a known leak area. It may have been leaking previously, adding the higher temps complicated things. But this is just conjecture since I wasn't there.

Would something like a Carb Smart have prevented this? Until someone tries it, makes it work, or figures out that it will NOT work, that is the question of the day.

It's a setback, but gather it up, rebuild it, make it better.

[bcook01]

transport50

Although it might add some weight you might want to consider some sort of telemetry downlink.
you can monitor servo positions, receiver dropouts, EGT and CHT and more important ROTOR RPM, battery condition etc. .
Once set up an aural alarm can be set to identify decaying RPM and rising CHT which might have been able to provide an early warning detection.

You can appreciate further the helicopter is away from you and the prevailing wind direction there is no early warning of any kind other than visual. :arggg:

It is also a good diagnostics tool to identify trends.

I find it to be extremely valuable....... treat it as insurance..... :thumbup:

http://www.eagletreesystems.com/UAV/uav.html

fyi

Bob