----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Hi Jerry,
I don't want to start a big argument here on the net, but I don't
think your trouble was due to a "vapor lock". Here's why I say this......
A very similar thing happenned to me a few years ago in my '46 415C
with a C75 and Stromberg carburetor.
I was making a downwind departure from a flyin when mine happenned.
Luckily, I was just past the point where I would have been turning onto
the base leg if I had planned on landing again but I had more altitude as
I was still climbing out for the trip back home.
When my RPM dropped I checked everything (including carb heat) but to
no avail. While I was doing all this I made a 180 and headed back towards
the airport that I had just left. I was a little to high so I had to do
the famous 'coupe-slip' to get down to a reasonable altitude to make the
field and then get the nose back up to get my airspeed down in order to
not run out of runway due to landing tooooo hot.
To make a long story short, I got down fine and taxied back to the
hangar where we'd had the BBQ. (The engine never did quit completely.)
We checked the entire fuel system, rechecked the gascolator and jiffy
drains in the tanks for water but found none. Thinking that it must have
been a vapor lock we drained fuel out of the bottom of the carburetor
supply line to be sure there was no air in the system.
Then we did another runup and checked everything out and it checked
fine, just as it had before my prior take off. We even checked the fuel
cap to be sure that the vent hole wasn't plugged up. (BTW, it was cool
when I flew up there that morning but the weather had gotten quite a bit
warmer and the coupe was sitting in the hot sun until late in the
afternoon. Another reason we jumped to the conclusion of a vapor lock.)
I told the guys that I was going up and try it again and that I'd stay
in the pattern until I got some altitude and lost the 'butterflies' from
my stomach. If all was okay I'd head the direction of home at about 5,000
AGL directly over the runway and 'wag' my wings to let them know that I
was okay and headed for home.
Well, I got to about the same place as I'd been before and the same
thing happenned so I repeated my 180 and landed. I taxied over to the
tiedown area and parked it. Luckily there was someone there who could give
me a ride home in his coupe so I didn't have to hitchhike or take a bus.
When I got home I called my AP/IA at his home and told him what had
happenned.
He agreed that it 'sounded' like a vapor lock but how could that be when
there are no 'high spots' in the fuel line? It's all down hill, gravity
flow in the Ercoupe fuel system. so there must be a restriction in the
nose tank or the fuel line itself.
The next morning I drove to his house and we took his truck and all
his tools and headed up to the airport where I'd left my coupe. We
inspecteded for a 'high' spot in the fuel line but found none. We drove
over to the FBO and bought a new piece of fuel line to replace the old one
(from the tank to the gascolator) and then we cut the old one open from
end to end and found no problem with the hose.
It was still only about 'mid morning' and it hadn't started getting
hot yet so I told my AP the same story, that I'd go up and test it and if
it seemed okay I'd wag my wings at 5,000 feet directly over the runway and
I'd meet him back at the airport wher he does most of his annuals. Since
my annual was due the following month anyway I'd just leave it there and
let him do a complete annual on it (assisted by me) and we'd find the
cause of the incident.
It was about a week before he could get to it but we spent a LOT of
time going over the entire plane and gave it a 'super' annual as well as
just the engine. Guess what we found that was 'evidently' the cause of
the problem? I had the old Eissmann magnetos on it and the coil in one of
the mags was weak and breaking down under high heat. Since, at that time,
there were not preplacement parts readily available for those old mags and
there was a good REBATE plan on the new Slick mags I just ordered two new
mags and a new harness all in a kit. (I had been thiniking about adapting
my old mags to a new harness anyway as the original harness was not
shielded and my hand held radio was worthless.)
I also forgot to mention, I bought my coupe in 1986 and have always
used car gas in it as did the previous two owners before me. This was the
first problem I've had and I don't think that the car gas had anything to
do with it as I also don't think that it was a fuel problem at all since a
true 'vapor lock' is an air bubble in the highest point of the fuel system
which doesn't allow the fuel to flow. Since the fuel line is all down
hill and there is no 'high spot' for an air bubble to form, then of course
it can't vapor lock.
You might want to check your fuel line and make certain that there
isn't anywhere in the line that is a little higher than the rest of it. If
the line is a little to long and has a high spot in it I'd suggest
shortening the line a little to be sure that it's down hill all the way.
After checking your line, I'd suggest doing a little 'pattern work' to
brush up on your landing skills as well as to check out your fuel system
again. Mine's been flying for over 30 years (that I know of) on car gas
and as far as I'm concerned it's working fine.
Just one word of caution though, be sure and transport your gas in
clean containers and always watch for moisture in the empty cans as well
as from the wing drains and gascolator drain. I keep my coupe hangared
and I've never found any water at all in any of my drains which I check
very religiously.
Good luck and keep us posted on your next few flights as to any
recurring problems.
Bob Saville
N3396H 415C
Eugene, OR
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following
any advice in this forum.]----
>
> I've been paying close attention to the recent stuff on car gas and
hadn'nt had any problems of my own. I pretty much wrote it off to
"hype".. I live in the northeast. When I gassed up two weeks ago, it was
36 degrees out. I scheduled my plane 1958 Forney F1 for its annual. The
first opportunity to fly again was yesterday afternoon at a temperature of
86 degrees. 1-1/2 minutes into the flight, past the runway, at 200 AGL,
the RPM dropped to 1000 and wouldn't budge. I did the scan, radioed to
the field I was going down and was lucky enough, God was in my right seat)
to land in a small farmers field. No injury, no damage to the plane. As
it was, there were 8 or 10 people at the airport doing some hangar flying.
In less than twenty minutes a force was organized and trailer made
available to get the plane out of the field and back to the airport. I'm
a new pilot and I'm still learning, but the response was awe inspiring and
the results were good, complete and darn nea!
> r miraculous.
>
> Two lessons learned I want to share
>
> Vapor lock caused the incident and I've permanently switched to
100LL.
>
> President Bush was right. With the cooperative spirit and automatic
response we have to help each other (all out when neccesary) are what
make this country a place to be proud of and part of.
>
> N7526C, Sidney NY
>
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