Callahan

Thank You Franco! I think I'm on my way to a vibration free life! I appreciate you guys. Bill Catalina

Will do! Thanks M61.

All good ideas & I appreciate them all but I have good news.....finally! I rewired all wiring that exits that hole on the case that comes from the stator. Those same wires going to the ignition switch up front were old, had multiple connections & were of various sorts of wire material. I replaced all that with high quality, 14 gauge stranded, cleaned the ground at the switch with a new ground wire, made new connections and.....no more electrical miss! You're probably asking yourselves, "Why didn't this dingbat do that to begin with?" The answer is no excuse but it has been working fine with those wires for 19 years. I just figured it wasn't the wires. Stupid I know but there it is. Now the problem is mid range abnormal vibration. When the needles rise above & lets the main jets have at it, it purrs like a kitten from 5k to full power. When I back down below 5k to mid range, here comes the heavy vibration. I think there is a mismatch in the slides. Next job is to get the two slides to work in harmony & I "think" that will cure my mid range blues! Thank you all very much for your help. That miss was a bitch to cure! I tried everything but the obvious! Lesson learned. Bill Catalina

Thanks Facthunter, This miss begins right after it cranks, warms up, and I bring the power up to 4500. It's at mid-range surrounded by abnormal vibration but you can feel the jolts as it misses through the airframe. 5k to full power.....smooth as silk. Going to airport today & try new ideas. Thanks for your input! Bill Catalina

Litespeed, Thanks! I do have two extra coils & will try them tomorrow. I was going through a bunch of other stuff first. People have told me that a coil can check good but break down under certain circumstances! Currently, I have gotten the motor to purr like a kitten from 5k to full power by adding all new wiring from where the wires exit the stator hole to the switch, cleaned the ground, added new connections etc. The mid-range is where I'm getting a miss. It's just rough running with a bad miss from about 3500 to 5k. You can feel the jolt when it misses which is quite often but not to any pattern, just erractic. Thank you!

Geoff, FYI: H.F. vibration 1) Ran all new 14 gauge wire from motor to starter switch. Cleaned ground at switch, new ground wire, all new connections at switch. 2) Ran it. Great improvement in smoothness from 5k to full static power. Purred! 3) Thought I had it made. Wrong! Dropped it below 5k...same old miss.Especially noticeable at 4500. 4) Disconnected coil wires at switch...eliminating switch as cause....ran it below 5k, same results. 5) Rechecked all leads, caps, coils, cleaned carbs...same results. Question: Is it possible for a coil that checks okay on a meter to break down at a lower rpm but run smooth at higher rpms? Thank You!

Geoff, Long story short, all efforts failed yesterday on the vibration. Have you heard of a harmonic balancer? I tried one that attached to the prop hub a long time ago....decades. It didn't do diddly squat. Just wondered if anyone out there has this attachment. Maybe they've improved on it? Wanted to thank all of you who viewed & shared my video. It jumped over 100 views in the past few days. BILL CATALINA

Thanks Geoff! But again you are speaking beyond my pay grade. I don't know the frequency of a transformer. It's just a very H.F. vibration. I'm studying, taking notes from a Rotax repair manual & talking to Rick Davis who overhauled the motor. We, or at least I, am about 95% sure it has to be electrical. I just don't see how it can be anything else since he & now I have gone through everything else. When he overhauled it, all he had was the motor itself. It could even be in my switch wiring or the switch itself. I did send it back to him, he put it on his test stand & said it purred like a kitten. I have no reason to disbelieve him since he has overhauled three prior motors with no problems. Mike Straman formerly the owner of California Power Systems stated in his catalog that an electrical problem can be the most confounded thing to track down.......and this guy knew more about a Rotax than anyone save for Rotax themselves. I have been housebound for past five days, long story, but going to airport tomorrow for another go at it. Will let you know. Thanks a million for your input but you're beyond me! Bill Catalina

Yeah really! You should've been in the front seat of my Trike when then rear seat belt came loose & a Warp with nickel leading edge tore into it. The noise was worse than the bite though. I landed on a beach....Very Little Damage!.....to the Warp thanks to the leading edge nickel but the seat belt metal was mangled.

Thanks. I have a list of checks a mile long & your suggestion is one of them. I've also exchanged carbs with two spares to no avail. I've got a 2010 CPS catalogue by Mike Stratman, one of the last he put out. This guy went to a lot of trouble in his sales catalog to explain things to dummies like me. He said the most confounding thing to track down is an electrical miss! How right he is!

Geoff, Thank you for the two replies. I did think about the motor mounts but they were replaced about 3 years ago with Barry mounts. These rubber mounts feel very, very firm, impossible to squeeze with fingers. They may be contributing factor. As far as props, I have tried a brand new IVO, an old IVO of 80s variety & a Warp Drive 3- blade. All picked up the H.F. vibration at exactly 5,000 rpm & continued down to about 3,500 rpm. Above 5,000 it is smooth as silk. Will checkk out the mounts anyway. I thank you for you 2nd suggestion but that is far beyond my feeble mind. Thanks again! Bill Catalina Tallahassee (2JO)

I will say this Jimmy. No matter what you do in life you are never going to please everyone. Some people would complain if the work was done for free & returned in perfect order. They'd think of something.

YOU TOOK THE WORDS ROGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH BIRDSEYE! Well said my man! So pilots are going to take the word of a contoller now (previous poster) who are offset to Air Canada's allignment? Maybe I read his statement wrong but the guy in the left seat is supposed to make the decision, not the tower. I'm an old Beech 18, DC-3 and Twotter pilot, been around a while, I always thought taxiway lights were blue. If yoy want to see the ultimate in stupidity, YouTube Air France 447 or the Swissair crash off Nova Scotia, Berginair off Santo Doningo & on & on & on. Needless loss of innocent passengers who became victims..

Well.....being as how I was always responsible enough to follow all rules to the T per my video, I have to agree that Austrailian aviation authorities as well as the all knowing U.S. Federal authorities know more than we do as they go through their lives adjusting rules & justifying their jobs. It's why I fly a Drifter....to express myself and why I flew Mexico.....to get away from all the damn rules! Hey, if you guys haven't read my book, as shown in my video, you might want to at least read the 30 or so pages of what Amazon allows you to read for free. I had a very bad run in with a real prick of an FAA individual in Memphis 1990.

Thank you both! And an extra thanks for the video link! I should have mentioned that I have two IVO props both identical but one is the older style with the changeable discs & the new style with the "Turn Screw Adjuster." I also have a 3-blade Warp Drive. Going through all three props, I get the exact same high speed vibration. I have not yet tried any of you guys other advice yet. Will do so Monday. Thanks again! Bill Callahan Catalina is real name....used Callahan for the book as a pen name.

I have used Rick Davis for 4 rebuils of four 503s. I can't say enough positives about this guy. He will work to give you the lowest possible price, keep you informed throughout the process and back his work 100%. Nothing less than High Praise for Rick!

If you're still having the problem with waffling, I've been flying a Drifter since late 80s but never with a 912.....you lucky guy! No waffling with my former 582 or current 503.

Enjoyed the hell out of it Blue...but you're flying too low & not smoking a cigar! :) I'm easy to please though, anything that has a Drifter in it. Good Job! Bill Catalina Tallahassee

I understand Frank. I was told to go with a three blade also but I have the same two blade on my Trike & wanted the ability to switch them out with no hassle if I ever needed to. In hindsight, I regret not going with a 3- blade! Question if you have the time! On my new IVO, I have that big nut. To increase pitch, you loosen the nut then screw the threads inward....correct?....then tighten the nut? Now, here's where I get confused, if you want to decrease pitch you turn the screw counterclockwise....correct? I'm asking because I can't believe IVO does not have an assembly video out there. Yesterday, when I needed to Decrease pitch, I turned the bolt counterclockwise two full turns, but felt nothing at all....no resistance whatsoever. I tightened the big nut. flew it, same rpm. No change. What the hell am I doing wrong. IVO no help. Thanks!

M6 1ST....thank you very much for your reply! I should've gotten on this site years ago. I'll definitely make a hard copy of your advice below. Anything less than 5k down to 3500k and the high frequency vibe is there. I bought this Drifter in early December, at the time the vibe was barely noticeable but has gotten so bad I keep it away from 35 to 5k. I also bought a new IVO, an exact match....no change in H.F. vibe. Thanks Again! Bill Catalina Long time Drifter pilot & lover!

Tree Top....I went to YouTube but there's six or eight tree top videos. Which one is yours? Bill

I have a Drifter video out on YouTube. It's gotten some decent hits with many camera angles, girls, aerobatics & a bunch of other stuff. Go to YouTube & type in "Drifter Video" by William Catalina.

I have an '87 Drifter with a 503 & B-box with a 2-blade, 60 inch IVO prop. At any rpm under 5,000 I get a high frequency vibration. Anyone have an idea why & a possible solution. Pretty sure it's caused by the prop. Thanks for any advice!