how to clear a overprimed (flooded) Merlin

[dvm]

Here is a question probably for Scott or someone who is involved in development. In responding to a previous post "P51 civilian don'y start" I got to thinking how would you clear a flooded engine in the sim. I understand that they have added over priming to the Mustang and I would assume they also added a way to overcome this condition. My experience with a flooded carbureted engine is to crank the engine with the throttle all the way open. As a last resort one could remove the plugs and crank the engine with throttle wide open to help clear the accumulated fuel or just walk off for several hours. With an aircraft engine you have the ability to leave the mixture in idle cutoff a luxury you don't have with most other engines. I have no experience with a large V-12 such as the Merlin with a pressure carb. All automobile engines today are fuel injected and a flooded engine is a remote possibility so clearing a flooded engine is a probably becoming a lost art. I have messed with motorcycle, automobile, model aircraft and other small engines since I was a pup. Built a motorized bicycle when I was 12 and was famous or infamous in my small town for burning up the streets at 25mph. Anyone have the answer ?

[DHenriques_]

Here is a question probably for Scott or someone who is involved in development. In responding to a previous post "P51 civilian don'y start" I got to thinking how would you clear a flooded engine in the sim. I understand that they have added over priming to the Mustang and I would assume they also added a way to overcome this condition. My experience with a flooded carbureted engine is to crank the engine with the throttle all the way open. As a last resort one could remove the plugs and crank the engine with throttle wide open to help clear the accumulated fuel or just walk off for several hours. With an aircraft engine you have the ability to leave the mixture in idle cutoff a luxury you don't have with most other engines. I have no experience with a large V-12 such as the Merlin with a pressure carb. All automobile engines today are fuel injected and a flooded engine is a remote possibility so clearing a flooded engine is a probably becoming a lost art. I have messed with motorcycle, automobile, model aircraft and other small engines since I was a pup. Built a motorized bicycle when I was 12 and was famous or infamous in my small town for burning up the streets at 25mph. Anyone have the answer ?

One of the main things I impressed on a pilot checking out in a Mustang was how easy it was to over prime the engine using the electric primer. Literally everybody wants to over prime because it's so hard to visualize how FAST the primer injects its fuel into the system.
2 seconds is usually all that's needed on an average day with the engine neither hot or excessively cold.
In the Packard version of the Merlin (the one we modeled) the spark advance is linked to the throttle so any throttle position above around an inch will get a kickback through the prop gearing.
Assuming you DO manage to over prime and get flame from the stack ports what you should do is go back into ICO and bring up the throttle slowly while continuing to crank the engine. This clears the real Merlin and I believe we coded for this in the sim as well.
Dudley Henriques

[dvm]

Dudley,
Thanks for the reply. The procedure you put forth makes perfect sense to me. I assume you would leave the mags on ?

[DHenriques_]

Dudley,
Thanks for the reply. The procedure you put forth makes perfect sense to me. I assume you would leave the mags on ?

Yes; mags are left on.