- Joined
- Oct 31, 1996
- Posts
- 1,517
- Type aircraft owned
- Carbon Cub FX-3
- Base airport
- KFCI
- Ratings
- COMM, IFR, MEL, SEL
Weather was nice yesterday so got some flying in, good to be back in the air and not dealing with some issue whether mod or something other. I'm now keeping my ETX-900 on a charger to see if I can get more time out of this battery vs. the last which degraded at two years to not being able to turn over the prop. I turned on IBBS and checked volts, a good way to ensure the ignition backup battery circuit is healthy and check charge levels. Both ETX-900 (starter) and ETX-104 (backup ignition) showed 13.3V. Good!
I turned on MASTER to prepare for engine start as I'm running the checklist and see the starter voltage drop to 12.9V. Ugh, why? Then I realized now with MASTER on the charging begins for both ignition backup and IBBS. Avionics is not on yet so those demands are not yet in play and obviously come online after the alternator is online. No issue starting but the voltage drop got my attention, also not having flown much over recent months I'm not sure what the pattern is without checking the SD card data, which I did not do. Obviously a little (a lot) sensitive on monitoring voltages right now but I assume this is normal as again charge circuits come online with MASTER on.
The flight went well although I still am trying to get my OCD dealt with centering the ball needing slight left rudder at 24/24. I keep trying to bend the rudder trim tab but that's not doing much and I fear it's going to pop the 3 small screws that hold the trim tab on, even though I do try go hold the forward end to prevent that stress. Something in my tailwheel rigging, most likely related to the chain links and TK1 tailwheel is pulling left a little. On the ground the bias is to the right. But I digress...
The amps after engine start was +4 as all batteries are charged for the most part. I think that's where it stayed throughout the flight. The starter battery worked its way to 14.1V and stabilized there while the ignition backup battery trailed slowly and eventually stabilized at 14.1V as well. It's apparent the charge circuit for the ignition backup battery is definitely reduced as it charges much slower than the starter battery, which is a good thing.
Nice flight, all systems green. Hope this year is more flying and less tinkering.
P.S. I need to get a YouTube video out soon to follow up on my coil pack drama of the last year or two which now seems to be resolved after replacing the bottom (right) side spark plug cables. The temps are so even and stable, I could not be happier with the outcome.
I turned on MASTER to prepare for engine start as I'm running the checklist and see the starter voltage drop to 12.9V. Ugh, why? Then I realized now with MASTER on the charging begins for both ignition backup and IBBS. Avionics is not on yet so those demands are not yet in play and obviously come online after the alternator is online. No issue starting but the voltage drop got my attention, also not having flown much over recent months I'm not sure what the pattern is without checking the SD card data, which I did not do. Obviously a little (a lot) sensitive on monitoring voltages right now but I assume this is normal as again charge circuits come online with MASTER on.
The flight went well although I still am trying to get my OCD dealt with centering the ball needing slight left rudder at 24/24. I keep trying to bend the rudder trim tab but that's not doing much and I fear it's going to pop the 3 small screws that hold the trim tab on, even though I do try go hold the forward end to prevent that stress. Something in my tailwheel rigging, most likely related to the chain links and TK1 tailwheel is pulling left a little. On the ground the bias is to the right. But I digress...
The amps after engine start was +4 as all batteries are charged for the most part. I think that's where it stayed throughout the flight. The starter battery worked its way to 14.1V and stabilized there while the ignition backup battery trailed slowly and eventually stabilized at 14.1V as well. It's apparent the charge circuit for the ignition backup battery is definitely reduced as it charges much slower than the starter battery, which is a good thing.
Nice flight, all systems green. Hope this year is more flying and less tinkering.
P.S. I need to get a YouTube video out soon to follow up on my coil pack drama of the last year or two which now seems to be resolved after replacing the bottom (right) side spark plug cables. The temps are so even and stable, I could not be happier with the outcome.
