Mike, I have a 415C with a C 85 12F Continental engine. When I first got the plane fuel consumption was quite high. Upon examination I found that the connection between the gascolator and the carburettor had fractured. It only leaked when airborne, and there was little evidence when on the ground. When I took the assembly apart the fitting broke in two. Since replacing the fitting and, by the way all the fuel hoses, the fuel consumption is more reasonable.
On my C 85 at 2550 RPM, indicating 130 mph (GPS more like 105 knots) I see 5 to 5.2 gallons per clock hour - very very predictable. At lower power settings I still see 5 gallons per tach hour. I do lean the stromberg carburettor in flight to an EGT reading of 1480 or so on cylinder number two. It is the first cylinder to reach peak EGT. I have a four probe JPI digital EGT / CHT installed. Interesting to have modern engine instrumentation in a 60 year old airplane. I wish you well in your hunt - and suggest it may well be a leak that is not obvious. Mine was certainly that way. Jack N3667H - ERCO 415 - C "Casper" born 10/31/46 On 4/10/07, Mike Willis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi guys and gals, I know this has been discussed before but I can't find any specific clues to my problem in the archives. I have a 1966 Alon A2 with a C90 and the standard prop. Fuel consumption seems to be quite high, higher than it should be. I've been waiting for some fine weather to fly a reasonable distance to give a good measure, to avoid the taxi/climb bias of the short trips over the winter. Last Friday I flew solo a one and one half hour trip and it drank 32 litres, or 23 litres per hour (6 USG per hour). I flew at 2,000 feet at 2,200 rpm which gave around 82 knots IAS. The engine is pretty old and has done 1,200 hours, about 300 hours since a major top end overhaul. It runs very sweetly and is consuming only 0.2litres of oil per hour (less than half a US pint per hour). The prop is only a couple of years old and in very good condition. At my last service I had the engineer take the floorboards up and have a good check for fuel leaks and he found nothing. So is this excessive consumption? It seems well above book figures – and if so any ideas how to investigate further. I'm concerned about range at this stage – 3 hours including reserve – although with Avgas here at $9.50 a USG it is a little expensive as well! Thanks, Mike
-- Jack Hirsch N3667H Ercoupe 415C [EMAIL PROTECTED]
