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quad-log-2014

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27th Sept 2014.

The problem appears to be the fuel pump stops while cranking.
I made an external battery pack from 2 12V 9Ah SLA batteries.
Then I replaced the charging port on the quad with an xt60 connector (rated at 85 amps) along with heavier wiring.
With the external pack connected the engine started in a few seconds but it took a while before it ran on both cylinders.
After warm up it started instantly without the external pack.

15th Sept 2014.

Starting.
I've had trouble starting the beast all along. I think I now have a handle on the problem.
Pretty simple really. The battery voltage sags during cranking and either spark or injection isn't happening.
The enigine seems to crank just fine but won't fire.
Recently I've notice it tends to kick when the starter is released.
The same happened today. The engine ran a few days ago after a day of frustration and recharging.
Today I cranked it for a few seconds with no kicks and it started after I released the start button and idled smoothly.
I've had another report of similar issues with a verner quad.
Either the engine needs a jump start when cold or the battery needs an upgrade.
I think a pack based on D cells instead of C cells would make a big difference.

7th August 2014.

Some training progress.
A few more trips to Watt's but haven't been solo.
I'm at solo level but the weather has gotten rough each time.
I've done about 6 hours dual and did "capony" sets last time.
Three of the four sets went well but the second had a "tuck" and was aborted before coming overhead.
I didn't drop the canopy properly on the third set but the fourth was perfect.

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Starting

4th July 2014.

Some more flying.
At last weather and instructor availability lined up and I got a couple of hours more aerochute training.
We had two flights with seven circuits and touch and goes.
My flying improved a lot. Mainly I was just trying too hard and over-controlling.
Adjusting power during landing is harder than I expected.
Full power doesn't give us much climb so a lot of power is needed just the decrease the decent rate.
Throttle is very sluggish compared to the air brakes I'm used too.

On the second flight we flew a little down stream and got a lovely view of the northern end of lake Wivenhoe. Next time I'll try to take some photos.

15th June 2014.

More engine trouble. What a lemon.
It idles a little bit - slow and rough but any throttle kills it.

I suspect the MAP sensor may be dead again.

Also I made a new dipstick because the original black is so hard to read.
The oil was low so the leak is worse than I thought.

(Later)
removed MAP sensor and tested it - it seems to work.
(5 minutes later).
The engine is running again.
The fuel pump sounded a little different.
It was pumping fuel all along but maybe it wasn't primed properly and not giving full pressure.

29th May 2014.

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23th May 2014.

Not much has happened.
I printed mounts for the radios and haven't done much else.
I've gone back to doing work on my large 3D printer while I wait for PPG stuff to sort itself out.
http://nerdipedia.com/tiki-index.php?page=huey
Last Tuesday I finally got back into the air for more PPC training.
Took some video of the other two students flying.
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I am waiting for a 63amp dual circuit breaker to arrive so I can test it as a master switch.

21th March 2014.

Still waiting for cool weather.
I ordered an ICOM IC-A15 airband radio from Godfrey at Parafunalia/flymanilla.
http://www.flymanilla.com/Equipment/ICOMRadios/tabid/331/Default.aspx

I also made a mount for a voltmeter and attached it.
Unfortunately what I hoped was 24V appears to be 5V so it is not connected.

I also took the prop off and super-glued the cracks in the repaired area.
I put it back on for now but will probably use a new prop for the first flight - but that still looks a long way off.

Decided to run the engine - had trouble for a while.
It started but ran rough and stopped after a few seconds. After many attempts I got it to start with throttle on idle but would stop if I tried to run it faster.
It ran very rough for maybe 15 seconds then went smooth and worked properly. I warmed it up mainly to charge the battery.
The last I ran it I accidentally left the battery connected for two days(but with the switch off).
The switch does not appear to isolate the battery but it didn't discharge.

I'd like to have a true master switch at the battery and that would also provide a good place to connect the voltmeter.

24th Feb 2014. Another gotcha.

Engine.
Yesterday I thought I'd better start the engine as it hadn't run since the idle setup of the 9'th of January.
It wouldn't start. I recharged the battery and still no joy.
It kicked and I had the impression it was firing on one side.
Another recharge and today I got it to run using starting fluid but very roughly.
Again I thought it was running on one pot.
There was no sign of unburnt fuel coming through which (if correct) pointed to a fuel problem.
The one pot theory was backed up by the head temperatures being almost 20 deg different.

After stopping it I could feel the difference with my hands and the readings are reversed to my thinking. The gauge showed the right head was cold but it was really the left one.
Also there were bubbles in the left fuel line which didn't purge as they usually do.

While checking the right injector power plug for tightness it came off disturbingly easily.
The left plug was even looser.
The plugs have a locking mechanism which seems quite good but neither plug was locked. Either never locked in the factory or they came loose in transit and engine fitting.

I restarted and it ran rough for maybe 10 seconds then ran normally again.
The temperatures evened up and the air bubbles purged.
The ECU LED is coming on at low RPM but goes out at speed.

This was yet another thing that was good to find on the ground - those plugs could very easily have come off in flight.
However the engine does seem to produce some power when running on one cylinder - possibly better than stopping dead.

Prop.
One negative point is my prop repair is looking a bit ratty - it will need some more attention.

Radio.
I'm getting bored waiting for weather and red-tape to clear up.
I read the manual for my radios. On paper the "Baofeng" radios I bought with the quad look quite good apart from not working on the ozzie air-band.
I also bought a "zastone" not realizing it could only listen on air-band and not transmit - it can transmit on some UHF and VHF bands.
The zastone has one feature which the baofeng lacks.
The zastone has a "ARTS" mode ie "Automatic range transponder system".
This means two radios will check in with each other every 25 seconds and alert you when you move into or out-of radio range.
This sounds like it could be useful when retrieving an outlanded PPG.
What the zastone lacks and the Baofeng has is VOX ie voice activation.

18th Feb 2014.

More time passes.
The weather has been too hot for PPC training - it is still summer after all.
The HGFA ops manual has not been approved by CASA yet so the HGFA path to training is on hold.
I tested my idea for lifting the quad for trailer loading.
The yellow bits are 3D printed in almost solid PLA. They have survived three lifts without breaking so it is looking hopeful.



25th Jan 2014.

Apart from enduring storms and heatwaves I've done a few more mods.
I mounted the reserve and glove box as well as rearview and fuel watch mirrors.

Above is my primer and eco switch mounts.

I bought trolley wheels from "supercheap" and 3d printed plastic axles for them.
So far they seem to be strong enough.

By pulling off the regular wheels and sub axles and putting on my tiny wheels I can fit it in my 6*4 foot trailer.
It can sit inside the box trailer with 50mm to spare in length or hang over the front gate to improve the trailer centre of gravity.
I got it on without ramps of extra gear but it was hard work.
Some lift aid will be next.

The rear wheels aren't really used and some sort of mounting block could be used instead.
It would also help to have a steering lock the kept the wheels straight went pushing into the trailer.
It looks like I can transport the beast any time now.
Unfortunately I can't get it into my shed on the trailer.



Created by eddie. Last Modification: Saturday 09 of July, 2016 21:50:25 GMT-0000 by eddie.

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