LESSON 1 - STARTING THE ENGINE
To start a glow engine, follow these steps
- Turn on your Transmitter
- Turn on your Receiver - wait for the on board electronics to initialise. - especially the heading lock gyro.
- Move both sticks up/down/left/right and observe the movements of the servos. Make sure they are all moving in the correct direction.
- Step away about 20meters and continue to move the sticks. Ensure that the servos are still moving, and that there is no range problems.
- Turn down your throttle to IDLE position. This can usually be done by moving the control stick all the way to the bottom, and adjusting the Throttle Settings on the Radio to about 10% at low stick.
- Make sure your transmitter is no where near you where you can accidentally hit the throttle stick.
- Attach the 12V Starter Motor to the starting shaft of the heli and turn the engine a few times. See that the Fuel is being sucked into the Engine. Stop just when the fuel touches the engine. Do not flood the Engine.
- Attach the Glow booster to the glow plug.
- Use one hand to hold the Rotor Mast Head firmly. Hold the 12V Starter in the other hand.
- Use the 12V Starter to turn the engine. Keep the Starter Motor running until you hear the engine fire.
- Once the engine fires up, remove the 12V Starter and Remove the Glow Connector.
- Adjust the throttle stick slightly so that you get a good a steady idle. You may need to adjust your throttle curve for the 0 stick position so that the idling speed is good.
What if the Engine can't start?
The most likely cause of a brand new engine not starting is flooding.
- Remove the glow plug from the Engine.
- Attach the glow booster to the Glow Plug. Check that the fillament glows. If it doesn't, you either have a faulty glow booster or you forgot to re-charge the batteries. (Game Over - go home!)
- Use the 12V Starter to turn the Engine a few rounds.
- Put back the glow plug
- Try to start the Engine again.
If you've successfully started the Engine
I should mention earlier that all glow engine helicopters have a bell-clutch that only engages when the engine revs up to a higher RPM. The clutch spins with the Engine, and has a pair of extensions that will move outwards due to the strong centrifugal force when spinning at high RPM. The extensions will then come into contact with the Clutch Bell, and in turn begin to engage the gears that moves the main rotor blades.
That's the reason why when starting, you should start with idle throttle settings and hold the rotor mast at the same time, to prevent a run-away engine from turning the blades and hitting you.
If you follow the above points, starting the engine of the heli is a very safe process.
Run up and Test the Engine
On your very first engine run, you would need to 'break-in' the engine. This is a process to allow the metal parts inside the engine to move about and settle in. Breaking in engines today are relatively simple due to the high quality out of the factory. You basically just need to alternate between high and low speed for a few minutes. You will notice the difference when the engine starts to idle without showing signs of coughing or dying.
To run up, make sure your heli is either on grass on gravel. This is to provide good traction. If you're on solid tarmac, the heli will skid around once the blade starts to spin up. Make sure you have your training skids on as well.
Stand back about 10 to 20meters, then slowly increase the throttle. DO NOT GO BEYOND 50%.
As the main blade starts to pick up speed, pay very close attention to the movements of the heli on the ground. If the heli shows signs of lifting off, lower the stick a little so that it doesn't take off. Leave it running for 30 seconds then reduce the engine back to idle. Keep it idle for 30 seconds and repeat this cycle again for 5 minutes.
By now, your engine should have been broken in properly.
Note: If the engine shows any signs of coughing or dying when the throttle is inceased, it most likely mean that the engine needs to be adjusted. There is usually an idling valve and needle valve that controls the amount of air/fuel mixture that enters the engine. I shall not go into the details of this now, but if your engine shows signs of this, it is best to have an experience pilot check it out.
HOW DO I STOP THE ENGINE
On most transmitters, there is a cut off switch. If you've programmed this switch properly according to your owner's manual, flipping this switch while your throttle stick is in the low position will move the Throttle Servo completely to the CLOSED position.
For non-computerised transmitters (you shouldn't even be using this), turning off the engine is done by moving the throttle stick AND the throttle trim levers to the lowest position.
If the engine doesn't stop even if you've done the above, then your throttle linkages and servo settings are not correct. ie: at the servos lowest possible position, the throttle is not fully closed.
Pinch the fuel line to stop the flow of fuel to the engine. Hold your rotor mast firmly when doing this. As the fuel is starved, the engine RPM will usually rise faster. It is possible for the clutch to engage. After a short RPM increase, the engine will shut off.
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