![]() ![]() Spend the money and make the problem go away! In retrospect, I think I saved myself a whole lot of hassles by ordering a new (improved) system from Sweden. (Sweden supplied the wires and ferrules.) After that, I will be ready for a test flight. Next I will crimp on the two main safety wires. I felt the exhaust pulses coming out of the muffler at idle and they seem to be well directed away from the air intake, so Sweden's claim of no problems with exhaust gas getting sucked into the air intake seems to be true. (This will have to be verified at the beach.) I conclude that there is no damage to the engine. The engine ran as per normal, and returned to an idle. I briefly ran the engine up to about 5,000 rpm for several seconds. The engine started easily and idled well. I checked my spark plug and this time there was a robust spark! Success! (This Velcro had not be done up previously, which could explain how the ribbon came free in the first place.) I inserted the red braided ribbon between the forks, then properly secured the Velcro sleeve that wraps around the braided ribbon and forks to hold them firmly together and to prevent the ribbon from accidentally slipping out of the side. I assume that this shorts out the circuit to the ignition. This could be the problem! I had a look underneath the parachute and could see a "tuning fork" like arrangement where the two blades of the forks touch. Sure enough, the kill switch red braided flat ribbon was adrift. I checked the kill-switch that is buried deep underneath the parachute. I checked for a spark by holding the plug against the cylinder fins, while my wife activated the starter motor. My goal was to confirm that the engine would idle and rev, to verify that there is no internal damage.Īt first, the engine would not start. (The story continues.) Today I tested the engine and learned some stuff. Regular exhaust system pre-flight checks may be sufficient. ![]() I will monitor the new exhaust system and may add a safety wire between the exhaust header safety spring mounting loop and the forward mounting bracket on the muffler (although with the new design, this may be overkill). (I have attached a photo of my old exhaust showing the failed muffler bracket and the cracking of the area on the expansion chamber near the base of the bracket.) CHECK THESE AREAS as part of pre-flight checks. If the single muffler bracket fails, all the weight of the muffler will go only the curved C-pipe, which will fail very quickly, leaving the entire muffler to fall back through the propeller, which is what happened to me. I would strongly recommend any pilot who has the old single-muffler-support exhaust system to safety-wire their muffler, or at the very least make pre-flight checks of their muffler bracket. Also, the brackets are much shorter and stronger-looking. There are now two brackets connecting the muffler to the expansion chamber, instead of one. This new design seems far more robust than the old one. Shall I safety-wire the muffler? That is a good question. I noticed that the header pipe support bracket is only welded to the header pipe on one side of the end of the bracket instead of both sides, as in the old pipe. I will add the (supplied) safety wire to connect one of the expansion chamber's spring mounting loops to the header support bracket. (A trike pilot suggested this trick to me.) I will also apply a bead of Silicone sealer across the length of each spring to dampen spring coil harmonics. I have the old (broken) exhaust to use as a guide. I will safety-wire the group of 3 main connecting springs. Everything other than suspension is stock. It has Ohlins everything and has done almost 150,000 km. In the background is my 2001 Yamaha R6 that I bought new in December of that year. Still, Sweden assures me that the pipe is the correct one, so the proof will be in the pudding. I liked the little 90-degree end pipe that spat the exhaust gases off to the side, but this new design is a straight pipe that points directly into the incoming air stream. The only concern that I have is that the exhaust is a little close to the air intake filter. After that I will fire the engine up and see that she runs up (hope that there is no internal damage). Once they confirm that all the bits are correctly oriented (there were no instructions), I will add the supplied safety wire to the springs and bolts and crimp the two supplied ferrules. I took this photo for Swedish Aerosport so that they can confirm that the exhaust system is angled correctly. I have installed the new Mosquito NRG exhaust system (manufactured by a different subcontractor and reportedly better and stronger). ![]()
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