Gateway Area Ultralight Association Holds Carburetor Clinic

By Carmelo Turdo

The Gateway Area Ultralight Association (GAUA) held a carburetor clinic today at St. Louis Downtown Airport.  About 20 attendees, many of whom were also members of EAA Chapter 64 and the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum, were on hand for a thorough tutorial on the operation and care of Bing and Mikuni carburetors commonly used on Rotax 2-stroke engines.  The presenter, Mr. Keith Smith, an experienced ultralight pilot, former instructor and owner of Gateway Airpark near Highland, Illinois, began with carburetor basics and progressed through the operation and maintenance of typical ultralight carburetors.  He passed along lessons learned from his years of experience, and emphasized essential operating practices, such as "don't mix oils of different types/brands" and "don't tune your mixture without an exhaust gas temperature gauge."  The session was organized by Bill Rohland, with assistance from Bob Fisch and others from GAUA.  If you missed the clinic and would like some of the study materials, please contact The Aero Experience and we will assist you.  Here are some some scenes from the clinic:

 

Keith Smith (left) and Bill Rohland

Attendees gather at the conference room

...there's one in every crowd...

A very dirty Bing carburetor needing some TLC

Another view of the carburetor during disassembly

A new carburetor right out of the box

A Mikuni carburetor complete with rotted fuel line