A "hurlable" Fox .15?

Bob, I didn't do anything but cleanup. My Fox engine collection is pretty much complete. I am fascinated by other engines, like you Enya amount them. Back when I got into propo RC with my Heathkit I started with an OS Max 40. About a year later Enya 45s were the engine of choice and I put one into my Sterling Lancer faux F84. It was a superb engine, perfect fits, running, and finish.

Since I got into collecting, I have restored a large number of Enya from their 049 through the old Typhoon 63. While some looked terrible and had been externally hacked up, the compression and fits were almost always marvelous. They are a top notch engine!

Surfer_kris wrote:Yes, Enya engines are great!
In particularly I'm very fond of their AAN and ABC versions, here are some of mine;

As long as we are all talking about Enya's :
Surfer Kris's post shows a Enya 049II TV on the bottom of the right hand stack of boxes. IS this a really rare, fairly rare or very common engine?  Your picture shows a tag from Ripmax Hobby, the one I have has only Japanese writing on the instructions. I seller I purchased it from indicated it was a uncommon engine not imported to the USA, as the copy came from a friend of his who bought it while in Japan. Just wondering cause I
Haven't seen many out and about!
And what do you guys think of this one:  

Long time ago OldEngineRod said:
"I admire everyone's loyalty to your American made, particularly Fox, products, and I know that there are many here who love to fly their Foxs, but from all the negative stuff about them that I glean from the things written here, I really don't see why you would persist when you have engines of such exceptional build quality available out of Japan, being Enya & O.S."

"I'm glad to have a few in my collection, but I really fail to understand why they are held in such high esteem."

Re = Fox engine NOSTALGIA

Especially the Fox .35 stunt.... agreed that there are a great many who came and also now gone alternatives;  VECO/K&B/Johnson/Enya/McCoy

and agreed that the competitors were numerous and slightly different in cost or quality  such as McCoy .35

One of the facts that can not be terribly disputed is the low weight Fox .35 with a characteristic 4-2-4 run was usually a perfect engine for some KIT built stunt model....and a great many kits were designed around the Fox .35

Dad and I were firstly Cheap (to buy) McCoy users, and to some degree (cuz we got a free one) Enya 5224 .35 users...

I remember My Dad thought the PX price for a Fox (1959) at $5.95 was too expensive ( vs the McCoy Red head .35 at $ 3.95)

Eventually I won a new Fox .35 (1972) as a 3rd place prize at a local combat contest.  I remember my dad (now with one in hand) being mildly impressed

As was usual for him, and a trait I developed, he read and re-read the instructions many times before we fired it up.

To this day I much prefer to use OS Max FP and LA series .20~.46 engines but have several models with various stunt Fox .35s and combat .36s...

One plane a purely Nostalgia Sterling S-1 Ring master, with a very easy to run Fox .35 and distinct 4-2-4 break is still the most fun to fly model I have

High Esteem, IMO comes from the basic Fox .35 engine...rough as it is...works as designed, well cared for and fed is very reliable,

I only have 75 engines in my merger collection from basic early Cox .049 ( $2.75) to 2014 Nelson Combat N36c ($395)

in this collection are some deliberately sourced "builder" specialty Fox, and other so called great engines that cost a buck or two to get and play with

BUT the Fox .35 plane and engine is the only acquisition that ALWAYS bring me back to 1959 helping and playing with my dad

Now if I could just source the fuel that smelled like boot polish, I could re-live 1960 all over again on Taiwan

I have that fuel with nitrobenzene in it. I have only a little bit of it left. While it's stated it's a known carcinogen, I can't think of it anymore worse for you then the dope thinners and methanol. Both elements which can be absorbed through the skin. I was using the nitrobenzene for a racing event we were doing with no limitations on nitro or fuel.

Ken Cook wrote:           I have that fuel with nitrobenzene in it. I have only a little bit of it left. While it's stated it's a known carcinogen, I can't think of it anymore worse for you then the dope thinners and methanol. Both elements which can be absorbed through the skin. I was using the nitrobenzene for a racing event we were doing with no limitations on nitro or fuel.

I did a few searches on nitrobenzene.. and nitrobenzene as an additive to model-engine fuel. Nitrobenzene (by itself..) is still available and is used extensively in the pharmaceutical industry. It's supposedly still used to custom-blend model-fuel in countries that do not import nitro-methane.

I just re-read a chapter in my Harry Higley's "Harry's Handbook for Miniature Engines" book; chapter 5 on fuel. The paragraph entitled "Don't Experiment" is quite interesting.. and name's nitrobenzene as an ingredient in a product that was known as "polyoxide-oil" which also contained propylene oxide. It was supposed to lubricate and then burn.. but apparently its ability to lubricate was marginal.

The nitro-methane found in our model-fuels is actually mono-nitro-methane.. not to be confused with tetra-nitro-methane; a yellow solid which mixes with alcohol.. and has highly toxic combustion-wastes.

Ken, what was/is your brand of fuel that contained the nitrobenzene? Was it once commercially available or custom-blended?

Roddie, I received the fuel from a fellow flyer who now is in his mid 70's. He competed in many events over the years. He had a friend who's name escapes me but this individual was well known back in the 60's. This individual did a lot of chroming of engine cylinders. He passed away many years ago and this is fuel he used to mix. I used to collect vintage beer cans and if you've ever seen cone top steel cans, this is what it's stored in.  I believe the fuel was very similar to a commercially blended racing fuel Francisco Fuel. I probably have a little over a pint left. I did however find a Klotz product which works very similar with a Klotz trademark known as Koolinal. It's marketed today as Klotz nitro power additive and it uses nitropropane. I don't go overboard with this stuff, just a ounce to a quart. It works, it smells but it can be fun experimenting.

          I consistently run high nitro fuels in engines that can tolerate it. I've keyed back over the years due to the fact that it just isn't cost effective. I have experimented with Propylene Oxide usually when were flying Dyna Jets. Any residual fuel leftover gets flown out in glow engines when using glow fuels. During those times were on asphalt circles and I usually have my 1/2A speed stuff and others. The Dyna Jets run on a variety of fuels from Coleman fuel to gasoline and the current AMA fuel which is methanol and nitro. We add Propylene Oxide as it just makes it work superior. Dyna Jets are a hobby in itself and while I own one of them, I don't fly it often as it can consume a entire day just in getting successful runs where we fly. I know the smell Fred is referring to and I don't make a habit of poor cleanup and smelling it.

While I would certainly look a lot goofier that I do normally, I suppose I could open a Kiwi polish tin, swipe a bit under my nose, start and fly WITH the nostalgia smell.....Naw ! I don't think I want to look like Hitler flying

Grin

Ken Cook wrote:Roddie, I received the fuel from a fellow flyer who now is in his mid 70's. He competed in many events over the years. He had a friend who's name escapes me but this individual was well known back in the 60's. This individual did a lot of chroming of engine cylinders. He passed away many years ago and this is fuel he used to mix. I used to collect vintage beer cans and if you've ever seen cone top steel cans, this is what it's stored in.  I believe the fuel was very similar to a commercially blended racing fuel Francisco Fuel. I probably have a little over a pint left. I did however find a Klotz product which works very similar with a Klotz trademark known as Koolinal. It's marketed today as Klotz nitro power additive and it uses nitropropane. I don't go overboard with this stuff, just a ounce to a quart. It works, it smells but it can be fun experimenting.

I saved some web-photos of vintage fuel-cans.. and knew that I'd seen the Francisco name somewhere..