Ex L29 Reno raced Viper 601

[smithy1]

Excellent work...keep the info/updates coming....we love this sort of thing.

Cheers,
Smithy.

[rpwp]

Thanks for the feedback smithy...nice to know a few at least find it interesting.

I was keen for Tarquin to experience a Viper start prior to firing up our 601 and was fortunate to have an ex airforce mate provide the opportunity in a Strikemaster he maintains as part of his aircraft restoration business.



I think this next picture sums up Tarquin's experience!




And of course we had to have a GoPro in the cockpit as Marty the chief engineer took Tarq thru the Viper 535 start process explaining the various steps in the following video www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uso1j7juNY&t=26s

So...major points to note are LP cock on, HP cock on, throttle closed, check ignitors (listen for unequal beat)and initiate start cycle. For us this will be manual switching of ignitors and fuel solenoid valve. Light off occurs at around 10% RPM and keep an eye on JPT and oil pressure and closing HP cock immediately kills fuel supply. If going to high power Blow-off valve should close around 78-80%.
Prior to shutdown bring engine up to 60%RPM before closing HP cock this allows better cooling airflow thru engine during rundown.

To help figure out which gauge does what if it's not clear in the youtube clip......the top gauge is %RPM next is JPT and below that is oil pressure.

Cheers
Rene

[rpwp]

Spare time has been a bit scarce lately my 601 is sitting patiently all ready to run barring figuring out a suitable tie-down system.
I think the plan is to put a couple of large pegs in the ground and strop the engine frame to these. The idle thrust I'm picking to be relatively low so the pegs should hold.

There's been a bit of interest in starter/gen wiring so thought I would share these pics showing cable connections and the S/G adapter housing/clamp band assembly.







The terminals are wired as follows: B= Pos from battery, E= Neg from battery, A= Pos from battery this wire is connected to field winding of S/G and must have +28vdc applied during start to energise the field winding. The cable to the field winding is around 12swg wire.

Cheers
Rene

[rpwp]

Hi guys,

Finally got a suitable restraint for the viper test run...achieved by attaching a small A frame to the run stand. Tarquin welded up the assembly then hooked up to the drawbar of a mates 4x4.

That was the last piece of the puzzle so no more excuses time to fire the sucker up!

So what happened next? watch the video and see:)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4JvjJ2xRPo&index=1&list=UUIT1lAYM5kS0nx9zOKFFAVw

[racket]

Good one :-)

LOL......Someone is going to have a big burn mark on their lawn as a momento

[rpwp]

Thanks Racket...I'll try and upload some photos but for some reason the upload bar has disappeared and when I try edit pics say they uploaded but don't appear.

Any ideas?

[racket]

nope , no idea about the pics :-( ............it might have been a temporary glitch

[Johansson]

Awesome run!

Poor lawn.... 😁

[rpwp]

Lads....
I want to upload some photos of the Viper first run etc but repeated tries including resizing etc just doesn't work.
Where/who do I go too for help with this sort of problem? maybe someone (racket/Johansson) could try uploading a pic and see if it works for them?
Cheers
Rene

[racket]

Hi Rene

Just worked OK for me .

Did you use the Reply setting , not the Quick Reply ??

Cheers
John

[rpwp]

Thanks for that John!

Yes I'm using reply and it runs thru the upload process, reaches 100% complete but nothing appears in the post's text box.

I'll keep trying  thanks again!

[madpatty]

Dec 6, 2016 22:08:40 GMT -5 rpwp said:

After much debate over building or acquiring a starter we were able to locate a genuine starter generator including it's adapter ring. Only thing missing was the V band clamp to hold the two together!! a search of the net found one at a wreckers yard in Florida...only problem was the part no was correct except that it had a /1 after it...what the heck how different could it be right? well turns out different enough that the 2 mating flanges would only just enter the V band not well enough to secure. After a bit of pondering the adapter got put in the lathe and 0.5mm got skimmed off the starter face of the adapter housing...perfect! of course you couldn't get away with this if the engine was in service but that doesn't worry us!

Hello Rene,

Is this an electric starter or an air starter. What is the voltage/amp needed for the engine startup approx.(if electric)

Why is there a hose like connection on the right side of the starter in the first picture above.

Thanks.

[enginewhisperer]

It's a starter / generator - so the air hose will be for cooling.

[rpwp]

What's better than a running RR Viper in your backyard?

Well...when it's joined by a running Alison V12 of course