Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 10; Flight Crew Total 265
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff
Aircraft
I was conducting a flight from ZZZ. The run-up before takeoff was done following the checklist without any issue. During the takeoff roll; I did the line-up check; advance throttle to full power and verify all engine gauges are in green. Just as the aircraft was reaching rotating speed; the RPM dropped from 2;500 to approximately 1;900. The engine was running rough and seemed to quit. I immediately cut the power back to idle and aborted the takeoff. After vacating the runway; I notified ATC that I would like to return to perform another run-up to try to duplicate the problem before returning to the FBO ramp; ATC granted me the request. During the second run-up; I applied full power to simulate the takeoff. After about five seconds in takeoff power; everything happened again. RPM dropped and unstable; and seemed to get worse as I left the throttle in full power. I then notified ATC and requested return to the FBO; where I shut down and secured the aircraft.The aircraft [had] recently been through the 100 hour inspection and had only about 2 hour Tach before the event occurred. I later learned that during the inspection; the new fuel tank was replaced. So we suspect that the probable cause of the event was debris from installing a new fuel tank partially blocking the fuel systems; which caused fuel starvation at a high power setting.
C172 pilot flying reported experiencing loss of engine power during takeoff roll.