Starting Techniques for the A1-C-200

[DennisH]

I am new to flying fuel injected engines and sometimes have a hard time staring especially Hot or Warm starts. Can you please share how you are getting this 200 started?
Thanks Dennis

 

[Audette]

For hot starts, I don't know if it is the same for a Lycoming, but in my bonanza (IO-520/550) I use to pull the mixture all the way out and then turn on the fuel pump for a full minute... Then crank it over with the mixture still lean (but not all the way out). When it starts to catch, slowly to rich and set for altitude.

Hope that helps

 

[trapper]

I never prime a Lycoming since it just floods it. Give it 1/2 throttle with mixture lean. Crank engine and slowly feed in the mixture and when it lights off retard the throttle quicky and set the mixture as desired. Works for me every time on my 540

 

[nightflyer]

I have the 200hp engine. I do exactly what the book says, crack the throttle, mixture lean, start, mixture rich when it fires. I don’t go to full rich but just enough to keep the engine running smooth for taxi.

 

[airplanebrad]

Night flyer hit the nail. FI lycomings always start in mixture idle cut off. If it’s not starting good. Gap or replace the plugs, set the timing perfectly and/or overhaul the mags and wires. Could have a bad plug wire too.

 

[jliltd]

On my 200hp Husky and IO-360 RV8 I do almost like nightflyer and trapper. I like to use the same exact process written below in this post whether hot or cold (with one exception when cold). The only deference is when the engine is cold I prime with the boost pump and when hot I do not prime with the boost pump. In a nutshell: For cold start I push mixture all the way in for priming. Then I turn on the electric boost pump and sweep the throttle from closed to full throttle and then back to the closed idle position then turn off the boost pump. It takes about 1.5 seconds for this throttle sweep. The cold engine is now primed. Then I pull the mixture back to idle cutoff. After that the start process is the same whether hot or cold. At this point I crack the throttle about 1/4" inch and keep the mixture at idle cutoff. Then I crank the engine with the key switch and as soon as the starter begins to turn the propeller and the engine tries to fire I slowly but deliberately sweep the mixture off of idle cutoff towards rich. At a mixture position of 1/2 to 3/4 way towards rich the engine starts running. The mixture point where the engine starts and runs smooth is usually at what is known as stoichiometry. That perfect start mixture position will change with temperature and density altitude so won't be the same each start. Key point on the high-wing injected Husky electric boost pump is to only it as a primer, and then only on the first start of the day. Unlike low-wing injected aircraft the Husky has a high-wing gravity fuel system so the boost pump is not used on takeoff or landing. Once started from cold I never touch the pump again for the rest of the day's starts or flights. But the switch is there if I ever need it for some reason. You will note this method does not entail moving the throttle during start whether hot or cold. Only after the engine is running do I touch the throttle which sometimes includes increasing it a little if there is still a touch of vapor lock. There are a lot of folks who like to do hot starts with the throttle wide open and the mixture at ICO and then do a two-handed swap when the engine fires where the throttle is retarded and the mixture is enrichened. That's a lot of inelegant monkey motion and the timing is critical to avoid over-revving the engine and the pilot has to let go of the start switch to free up one hand. Just do the calm and easy mixture sweep towards rich leaving the throttle cracked as you crank, freeing up one hand without flailing around with the engine controls.