Need Info on the Attack Cobra

From Martin Hepperle's  web page:  http://www.mh-aerotools.de/airfoils/cox_frameset.htm ( found in the Instructions tab on the LH side of page)



Production ran 1997-98 for the USMC attack Cobra
1993-1997 for the Yellow Cobra or SharkTeeth decals.

there is a complete owners manual in the Instructions files too!

https://sites.google.com/site/coxengineid/Cox%20Attack%20Cobra%20owners%20manual.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

Hi PhantomAvenue,

Welcome to the forum!
Care to share a bit about yourself?
Where do you live? Maybe one of us is near enough to you that we can help directly.
How old are you? We are all over the board on this one...so I tend to look at it as "young," "between childhood#1 and working class," "on second childhood," etc.
What kind of work do you do?
What hobbies/transferable skillsets do you have?

No need to give a hard number on age, but the answers to the other questions will help us dial in answers that will be tailored to your experiences.

The engine in your chopper is known as a product engine. This is a typical reed valve engine that works well with methanol-based fuel very much like any other glow-powered RC model you may be familiar with. Look just to the left below "latest topics" for "Instruction sheets." Note that your engine was designed for fuel with about 25% nitro, and about 20% oil...in fact the Cox fuel blend spec sheets are in the "Instruction sheets" area too!

However, typical RC fuel lacks castor oil, which is very important to the ball and socket joint between the piston and connecting rod. If any of your local buddies has any RC fuel, you can doctor it up with  castor oil from a pharmacy or Walmart...that way you aren't diving deep into a gallon of fuel before deciding this isn't for you.

A more convenient solution is to buy GlowPlugBoy fuel in quart containers from the seller on eBay, or buy a quart from SigMFG. Should you have an RC buddy with glow-engines and fuel, you need to ask him for "the numbers" of his fuel. A small bottle of castor oil from Walmart is about $4. Shoot the numbers to us here, so that we can run them through a fuel content calculator to give you the appropriate amount of castor oil to protect the engine.

I would recommend removing the engine from the model so you can benchtest the engine. That way you learn how to operate it before trying it while also holding the helicopter. Screwing the engine to a block of 2x4, a short piece of fuel line, and an empty travel shampoo bottle will give you a secure/safe way to learn the engine. Two or three D-cell batteries in parallel (all + tips tied to each other, all - bases tied to each other) with a couple feet of 16 gauge wire (light speaker wire is fine if you have any), and a pair of cheasy alligator clips will work to light your glow plug.

Since you asked about what else can be done with the engine...well, it would work just fine in a small RC plane, or installed into a control line model airplane. A really cheap model is the ManWin trainer made from corrugated plastic sign board. Or do you fancy a balsa wood plane? Do you have a buddy that will help you fly? Or are you planning on a stooge release?

Here is the starting of a Babe Bee with integrated fuel tank...yours will be very similar in starting:

"That guy" also shows a few model airplanes with very similar engines. Note the string-operated stooge for solo-release/flying. While he flies over concrete, I know for a fact he would fly over grass if he had a buddy launching from hands rather than ground launching.

Well I might as well share a bit since I think I have plans to reuse the motor and plan to ask questions.
Live in Texas
Too young to even start working
Have no previous experience but I did do a small project on hydraulic brakes a year ago in which I learned how to solder
My momma gave the helicopter to me after I was thinking to get another motor and even thinking about acquiring a lawnmower engine for a project. It had belonged to my dad after she had gifted it to him and it hasn't been touched after year because they ran out of fuel.
Also note that I don't have friends that can help me with this since this pretty much outdates them.

PA,

I took a good look at your chopper picture. You have a mini-integrated tank hanging from your product backplate. In order to use the engine on a plane, that tank will most likely need to be removed so you can attach a slightly bigger tank...or expect a significantly short flight. I'm afraid removing that tank will weaken th plastic enough that it will no longer snap back on after several cycles.

In order to beat that issue, you can switch the backplate/tank out for a bare backplate. It is only four screws and a paper gasket. Here is your quick way to a spare:
https://coxengines.ca/cox-.049-backplate-assembly.html

http://www.exmodelengines.com/product.php?productid=17896&cat=268&page=1

Have you checked the "Instruction Sheets" for a product engine break-down?
See here with integrated tank:
https://sites.google.com/site/nitroengine/Surestart.pdf?attredirects=0
And this so closer with a parts breakdown:
https://sites.google.com/site/nitroengine/Banana-1.pdf?attredirects=0

Do you have the wrench that takes the top end apart? You'll need it to replace a glow head.
https://coxengines.ca/cox-.049-wrench.html

http://www.exmodelengines.com/product.php?productid=17631&cat=258&page=1

I have a short pile of engines...shoot me a PM with your physical address. I'll send a runner to you free, with a bit of fuel line and a travel shampoo bottle. That way you can learn the engine without disassembling your tribute model. The engine can be used later on a control line model airplane.

Where in Texas?

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