How stupid can one be?
My little bird was finally repaired, and ready for taxi test and perhaps a first modest hop.
After all, the nosewheel steering had not been fine adjusted, and worse: the prop setting had only been tested statically.
So I went to the airfield in high spirits, only to find myself unable to start the engine. Got a couple of friends to help, tried this, tried that, battery jump cables from my van, nothing would help: no sparks to be seen in the plugs.
Left the craft for a week, the battery sucking from a lent charger.
Yesterday: exact same phenomena. More friends came in, more twiddling with the electricity, still to no avail. Called in the local guru, still more twiddling. No good.
Finally someone observed that the throttle was wide open, where it should be fully closed for starting a cold 912.
Blushed, closed the throttle, pulled choke, magneto's on, shouted everybody off, turned the key, and VROOOOMMM it went!
There's an awful lot of people that I now owe one!
Anyone ever been more stupid than that?
PS: I did taxi round the field, but there was too much wind and too gusty too for even the slightest hop. Only some brave glider pilots took to the skies.
Last edited by Jan Olieslagers; 10th June 2012 at 07:29.