With Zagreb stuck in the rut of typical winter weather – 2000 ft cloudbases, marginal visibility at best, temperatures just below freezing, the occasional psychotic heavy snowfall – and still no flying weather on the horizon, it was decided that AK Zagreb should clear out the hangar and give everything with an engine a good run up. The engines having sat idle for more than a month in temperatures only slightly higher than those outside, there was a real worry that something might seize later on if they weren’t given a thorough shakedown, to get their oil flowing :).
And for awhile, on the Sunday morning (17 Jan) chosen for the job, everything looked set to go. The temperature was hovering at around 0 C – which meant no engine preheat was necessary – and the weather, though misty and close, was calm and stable. For awhile…
Thankfully it wasn't snowing... 9A-CCH waiting around for the avgas dripping from the cylinders to evaporate after two unsuccessful startup attempts. After pulling the prop through all four compression strokes twice to spread the oil around the cylinders, "pumping" the throttle and adding two primer strokes, the engine wouldn't start beyond an initial cough for love nor money. 7-8 further attempts and 20 minutes later, the engine finally came alive - but not before it was overprimed, leaking fuel through the cylinder valves...9A-DBU was far less of a hassle, seen here roaring at full throttle and giving itself a thorough shakedownPlugged into a Ground Power Unit supplying electrical power for startup (it's battery having been removed and discharged for protection while it was in the hangar), AK Zagreb's rarely-seen Piper Warrior is given a workout at the entrance to the hangar. Quite a loud experience standing there between three walls... 🙂With everything out in the snow, the hangar looked quite commodious :). 9A-DDA is seen (still) flooring it, while part of the "workforce" - that had been recruited for the task of pushing everything out - is just standing there, having dropped all attempts at meaningful conversation in all the noise
Achtung, Skyhawk! 