Hi,
We bought an Europa classic/XS with a Rotax 914 UL engine a couple of months ago. The seller did some maintenance on the engine before the plane was delivered, and everything runs smooth and looks good.
However, it feels like the engine is missing some power in take off. After getting of the runway, she doesn't want to climb and we need to fly low over the runway in order to gain speed, and then she starts to climb. I was wondering if the turbo is working, and did some checks.
During the self test (when powering on the TCU), the wastegate servo seems to travel fully and freely to fully open and close. The bowden cable looks good, as well as the spring and the free movement of the wastegate axle.
Because the previous owner did maintenance, I asked if he re-calibrated the throttle position sensors on the TCU, but he didn't. The TCU model that we have is an old model which requires a special dongle cable from Rotax, which we don't have.
Before we bring the plane to a Rotax service center, is there a way to see if the turbo is actually working ? The control lights don't indicate any error, but that doesn't say anything if the turbo is working or not. Perhaps the throttle sensors in the TCU calibration are off.
On the ground, with the prop in the minimal pitch setting and full power (throttle in 115% position), we get 5200 max 5300 RPM. In flight, with the same pitch, after climbing and gaining speed, we get +/- 5700 up to 5750 max.
Any ideas on how we can check if the turbo is kicking in or not would be welcome,
Thank you,
Johan.
