Don't know if this is right forum, first post here...
I was flying a C152 on a night cross country a few weeks ago and noticed a momentary significant loss of power (maybe 100-200RPM). The engine resumed running normally very quickly before I could determine the issue, but it freaked me out. I was able to convince myself that everything was fine and that I was just overreacting and kept on flying. About 15 minutes later, the same thing happened; even though it only lasted for about 5 seconds, the loss of power was significant enough that I became concerned that it might even go out completely, so I decided to land at the nearest airport. I ruled out carb icing because I was running at 2400RPM and it was not humid that night, so I figured it must have been water in the fuel tanks. I sumped the tanks right after the flight and found nothing, (neither did I find any water before the flight) so I reported it to the mechanic on the field. The mechanic at the airport found nothing wrong with the plane and it was flown back to its home base (an hour away) a few days after the incident.
Just today I went to fly the plane and it started up just fine. It ran for approximately a minute and then quite suddenly lost RPM and quit running. (I had it running at 1000-1100 RPM with a full rich mixture, mags on both, primer in and locked, and the fuel shutoff valve open). It was quite warm outside, so the temperature should not be a concern.
Does anyone have an idea as to what the heck is wrong with the plane? The maintenance manager for the flying club seems convinced its just water and I'm not doing a good enough job sumping it before I fly, but I do a very thorough job (I even shake the wings and lower the tail before I sump so any water trapped behind a spar won't be an issue).
I was flying a C152 on a night cross country a few weeks ago and noticed a momentary significant loss of power (maybe 100-200RPM). The engine resumed running normally very quickly before I could determine the issue, but it freaked me out. I was able to convince myself that everything was fine and that I was just overreacting and kept on flying. About 15 minutes later, the same thing happened; even though it only lasted for about 5 seconds, the loss of power was significant enough that I became concerned that it might even go out completely, so I decided to land at the nearest airport. I ruled out carb icing because I was running at 2400RPM and it was not humid that night, so I figured it must have been water in the fuel tanks. I sumped the tanks right after the flight and found nothing, (neither did I find any water before the flight) so I reported it to the mechanic on the field. The mechanic at the airport found nothing wrong with the plane and it was flown back to its home base (an hour away) a few days after the incident.
Just today I went to fly the plane and it started up just fine. It ran for approximately a minute and then quite suddenly lost RPM and quit running. (I had it running at 1000-1100 RPM with a full rich mixture, mags on both, primer in and locked, and the fuel shutoff valve open). It was quite warm outside, so the temperature should not be a concern.
Does anyone have an idea as to what the heck is wrong with the plane? The maintenance manager for the flying club seems convinced its just water and I'm not doing a good enough job sumping it before I fly, but I do a very thorough job (I even shake the wings and lower the tail before I sump so any water trapped behind a spar won't be an issue).
