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- May 16, 2019
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A student pilot asked me about an airplane with an O-200 that is losing power at seemingly random times. A couple of times during takeoff and in cruise. Power suddenly goes to half or below then comes back.
I get the impression it would be electrical but haven’t ever seen a failure like this. I think it’s unlikely both mags would experience a random failure at the same time. A random fuel supply blockage does not seem likely. He says the fuel sumps don’t give him any debris or water and the mags check good before flight. He didn’t mention any vibration to indicate a dead cylinder but I didn’t think to ask either.
Any ideas what needs to be looked at. I was thinking about doing a fuel flow check for him just to check something. I would ask to fly it except I have only been flying the Cub so I have not bothered to renew my medical and it’s probably been too long since my last medical for me to just switch to basic med.
I get the impression it would be electrical but haven’t ever seen a failure like this. I think it’s unlikely both mags would experience a random failure at the same time. A random fuel supply blockage does not seem likely. He says the fuel sumps don’t give him any debris or water and the mags check good before flight. He didn’t mention any vibration to indicate a dead cylinder but I didn’t think to ask either.
Any ideas what needs to be looked at. I was thinking about doing a fuel flow check for him just to check something. I would ask to fly it except I have only been flying the Cub so I have not bothered to renew my medical and it’s probably been too long since my last medical for me to just switch to basic med.
