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I mostly fly certified planes, but recently I've been increasingly interested in light sport aircraft. In reading about LSA, I hear a lot of talk about "burping" Rotax engines during preflight. How do you burp an engine? Why is this an important thing to do for a preflight? |
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When you "burp" the Rotax, you're doing it to check the oil. Rotax uses crankcase pressure to push the oil out of the dry sump into the reservoir tank. You turn the prop COUNTER-clockwise until air comes out of the engine and into the the tank. And it definitely sounds like a burp (or a gurgle). After you burp it, you check the oil level in the reservoir tank with the dip stick. I learned about it from this video from AvWeb featuring Tim Brooks, Director of Maintenance for Virgina Aviation who "was very biased about the engine, then it changed my mind completely!" It is by far the best explanation of some of the basics to pre-flighting a Rotax that I've seen. |
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I have no experience with Rotaxes, but if you get EAA's Sport Aviation magazine, I just noticed there's an article in this month's issue (April 2010) about Rotax engines and the burping procedure is in there. |
