Purple Plane Factory...

Holy Crap Doug!

Either your the fastest builder or you had a lot of unfinished projects you are now just pumping out.

Nice plane let us know how it flies!

I am expecting to see a purple Super Ringmaster any day now

Oh, you know what? I'm gonna have to add a third line in there, to vent when filling, and cap it when done! Ha! Can't fill into the crankcase! Good call! (my first pressured COX) I'll get it. You just saved me a problem at the field, although, I usually run the engines in the driveway, after completing a model. This one, I've only run on the test stand, and had full access to the engine, so filling wasn't a problem. You got me!

The Super RingMaster is pushed back a little bit - I want to fly better before that one is done - but it's coming! Flew the Nobler yesterday.

I see, well I'll be waiting! How did the Nobler do? Did you add some tail weight to it?

Yep. It got some tail weight in mid-flight, when the muffler fell off! Ha ha! But, it needs more to get it to go around - it just doesn't have the balance right yet, to loop. A work in progress...

Yeah I noticed it wasn't real responsive when I was flying it. That's why I only flew it level. I was too afraid to crack it up!

We did a demo and discussion for 4 groups of Boy Scouts, yesterday, and I was able to put some short flights on the Contest Stik. I also had some Nobler time. 3/4 oz of lead in the tail is still not enough, but it is alot more fun on 72 foot lines! There was more wind yesterday than I had ever flown it in, and until the engine leaned-out some, it was getting dicey.You know, it has a .42 R/C engine on it now, wired to full throttle, and seems to not know what a 4-2-4 break is. So, I prop it to run like it wants to, and keep the pitch low, so speed is less of an issue. It's like swinging a sledge hammer around. It's getting more fun. I'm gonna keep it on the longer lines: it really is flying, when it's out that far; not just tethered, and spinning around. That poor plane has had a hard life, already.

On a side note:
I guess I have 2 engines in the contest. The one I'm running, and the one YOU'RE running! Ha ha. I'm glad it's working for you.

Hi everyone, again!

I was able to go flying on Sunday, and put two flights on the Baby Birdie. This Baby flies like it's on rails, almost. We had a direct crosswind, all day, maybe about 10 mph, but it was enough to be concerned with the launches. Well, I vented the crankcase pressure line to allow fueling, without filling the engine, and that works fine.

I'm having some difficulty getting power out of the engine, so it will fly with less angle of attack, and more on the virtues of the plane's design. I have tried a few different props: 6x3 gray COX, a Tornado 5x3, and a Top Flite 6x4 wood. So far, the best performance was with the TF 6x4. I almost pulled the black 5x3 from the Contest .051, to see if it works any different than the Tornado, because it REALLY hauls the Stik plane around, when I'm on the clock! Tach readings today were 16-17K, and prior to one launch, I read 22K on the tach. The needle is a 128 tpi type, and it required more fiddling than I usually permit when I pit (oh, sure...), to get it running. That, I do at home in the driveway - save the field for flying. Anyway... this is my 1st pressurized COX engine, and I'll bet I haven't hit on the right combination of needle and prop, yet, to get it "on song". The fuel is COX Super Power Fuel, available here in town, and is factory blended for these engines-and I don't add anything to it. It is labelled as 25% nitro, and it works fine in the .051.

Any ideas you could steer me with, I would appreciate greatly. This plane deserves to fly like it was intended.

GUS THE I.A. wrote:The fuel is COX Super Power Fuel, available here in town, and is factory blended for these engines-and I don't add anything to it. It is labelled as 25% nitro, and it works fine in the .051.

Any ideas you could steer me with, I would appreciate greatly. This plane deserves to fly like it was intended.

I would be careful with that stuff. Tower Hobbies wants you to ruin your engine. Here are the specs:"

Tower Hobbies. wrote:This is the quart (946ml) Bottle of Super Power 1/2A Fuel from Cox.

FEATURES: Premium blend 25% nitro formula is ideal for model airplane, car, or boat use Special 18% oil package consists of 90% synthetic, and 10% castor lubricant blend Latest high-tech synthetics combined with castor protects and lubricates the aluminum journals and plain steel bearings used in small displacement engines

Ugh, really? I thought this was the cat's meow for what we're doing, here. You mean: the COX fuel isn't even suitable for their own engines? Dang! I thought I was on to something, when I found this fuel at the hobby shop. I can add castor...

It seems like they would have more respect for the Cox brand name. Hobbico bought Estes in 2010 and so acquired the brand name and logo. But since no engine has actually been designed since Leroy Cox sold the company to Estes, they have no vested interest in filling the needs of owners of these old Cox engines. Here's a B.S. article from "© 2010-2013 Estes-Cox Corp. A subsidiary of Hobbico, Inc" where I got that purchase date:
http://www.coxmodels.com
Click "History" at the top.

So, SIG fuel? Dang, I sure thought I was on top of the curve when I started using the COX fuel. If Glowplugboy was here, he'd set me straight, too! What to do, what to do...

After some engine runs in the driveway, I found: 1-the glowhead was not fully tight, 2-the 6x3 gray COX prop has the most thrust, but not the highest RPM. I used the tach to check the Rs, and gravity to check the thrust-(hold the plane vertical, and see how light it becomes). That is really scientific! I think for curiosity's sake, I will sometime install my .051 Contest engine on the Baby Birdie, to see if there is any difference that way. I won't run the pressure backplate, then, because it runs just fine, the way it is now.

So, I'm getting screwed by that fuel? Crap! And, the hobby shop has so much of it! I thought I was on top of the world....

Yeah Doug stay away. Put a skull and crossbones sign on it and warn your friends

Your best bet locally would be the Powermaster Nitro Race 30% 9% castor/synth then add 4oz of Castor to it. Should bring the oil up to 19-20% and it will be mostly Castor. Nitro will drop down to 26% or so. Still plenty for sport flying. 1 quart of powermaster is around $8

Ron

Edit: Hangar has Benol Castor as He told me he was ordering some when I was there a while back. I think Finley's did too.