"It goes through cylinders like flapjacks"

Rough idle, electronic ignition basics, airplanes to avoid (or not), and the difference between detonation and pre-ignition are on tap for this episode. Email us at podcasts@aopa.org for a chance to get on the show. Join the world's largest aviation community at aopa.org/join Full notes below: Stephen wants to get the engine on his Cessna 206 purring. At idle the engine stumbles down to 600 rpm. It never quits, but doesn’t run smoothly either. Mike asks if they’ve done an rpm rise test at 600 rpm. Paul explains it’s part of the installation process of a new engine. You set the engine at a set rpm, then pull the mixture back slowly to get a 25 rpm rise. More than 25 rpm means it’s running rich. Less than 25 rpm means it’s running lean. Engines don’t come out of a crate ready to go. They need to be set up properly. Mike also said that landing with full mixture rich is an issue as well. He said there are only two times you should have full mixture. One is when starting cold, and the othe...