Engine Doctor

Why not replace the wires completely with wires of correct length and thickness as any joins can be a source of failure or resistance.

It appears that this is the only way to protect restricted areas. The old saying"There's none so blind as those who don't want to see" is sooooo true. The village I live in (actually it's more like a town now with all the development) has quite a few drone flyers . The drones /quadcopters can often be seen flying over the roofs from the roads as you walk around .These are obviously being flown from back gardens and fly many gardens away and obviously over other people's houses andgardens. I approached the BMFA for a"Drone aware" pack and advertised drone awareness sessions at weekends on the village website and monthly magazine/newsletter to be held at our club site. The BMFA even supplied us with a large banner for our club gate to advertise the sessions and also supplied leaflets etc giving all the advice needed.Our site is about 2 miles from village centre. The invite stressed it was free and informal ,just turn up for friendly advice on legal responsibilities ,model safety etc. We have been totally underwhelmed . Not one enquiry or any response whatsoever ! I'll just keep taking the pills and keep trying . If one flyer comes along and is made welcome the word may spread and it's far better to have them with you where they can be educated rather than ignore them . This problem won't go away in a hurry ! Edited By Engine Doctor on 30/04/2016 09:52:52

Hi , I don't know of a default setting as such but a good starting point for the low end mixture can be found as follows. Make sure the valve clearances are set and equal on both cylinders . Also check that throttle linkage between carbs is set so thst each carb is fully closed and opens identically.Open top end mixture 2 to 2 1/2 turns. Now attach a clean length of fuel tubing to the fuel nipple a foot or so long. With the throttle closed blow down this tube while screwing in the low end idle mixture screw until you can't hear any air escaping. Be careful not to over tighten screw but screw in just enough to stop air escaping. Continue to blow and open the screw until you can just hear air escaping. Both cylinders should be set to this stage before running engine This is a good starting point for tuning. Now start engine and tune both carbs for top end performance . Now tune the bottom end/idle mixture screws . Take your time and only adjust mixture by tiny amounts. You may find that one cylinder needs a different setting due to mechanical differences or wear but this should be minimal. Hope this helps .

As John says these engines don't need too much attention. I only oil the valve gear on my engines at the beggining of a season or on servicing/ re building after two or three years of use . No need to be done too often. As for molybdenum additive , It's not really needed and its not designed for the smaller tolerances of model engines .Providing you use good quality fuel and run you engine dry at end of flying session all will be fine. "If it's not broken don't fix it" is a good way to look at it . Edited By Engine Doctor on 27/04/2016 10:18:03 Edited By Engine Doctor on 27/04/2016 10:24:11

How about some EDF kits or would they be prohibitively expensive ?

Hello Ron I forgot to add in previous post that it position  is definitely NOT to maintain an "oil level" . If oil builds up in the crank case of model engines it can adversely affect or damage them . They are lubricated by oil mist that blows by the piston ring and excess is blown out of the vent. Edited By Engine Doctor on 26/04/2016 16:05:46

The position of the vent is a new one to me. The vent has obviously fitted there to draw oil mist/excess oil over the cams. This won't help with lubrication of the rockers though as the camfollowers will prevent any oil getting to them. It's worth giving the rockers and springs an occasional drop of oil. It was suggested somewhere earlier in thread that oil could get to rockers via the valve guides , wrong. Any leakage from the inlet valve would cause a negative pressure in the inlet rocker box . A tiny amount of oil may get past the exhaust valve but it would be negligible..

I'm intrigued by by this vent on or near the cam box ! I have never seen a crankcase vent on a saito ,apart from the flst twins, anywhere other than the back plate or underneath the crankshaft . Even online pics of new saito 40's dont show a vent unless I have missed it .Any chance of a pic ?

Medway MFC currently has some vacancies left for 2016 Established in 1974 .We are a BMFA affiliated club and fly most model types but NOT turbines .Our main site is near Iwade in north Kent we also have a site at Harty on the Isle of Sheppey . 7 days a week flying. IC , EDF and noisy electric models can be flown 10 until 7. Quiet/silent flight models can fly from  dawn until dusk If you are a novice we have instructors who can help you through to solo flight.We have monthly indoor sessions during the winter months. We  collect for  the Kent,Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance throughout the year with raffles proceeds from swapmeets etc. If interested in joining us or for more details on subs etc PM me or go to : www.medwaymfc.org.uk Edited By Engine Doctor on 25/04/2016 10:55:01

Hi All . Our next Swapmeet will be on Sunday the 8th May at our Stickfast lane flying site situated near Sittingbourne North Kent. No need to book just turn up £6 a boot/stall £1 entry for buyers .Children under 14 free All proceeds to Kent,Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance . Tea and coffee bar available . Fun fly after sale weather permitting . If your not a club member you MUST have your BMFA membership with you if you want to fly See you there. For location visit www.medwaymfc.org.uk

Falcon aviation used to do composite tail wheel assemblies. I have a glass fiber one fitted to one of their Eurobats . It's light and springy and absorbs landing shocks well . Not sure if they do carbon but worth a call. PS nice work Ernie.  Edited By Engine Doctor on 25/04/2016 09:16:56

A tip while your re winding your motor is to switch off you phone , ! Lock yourself in you den and put a"Do not disturb" notice on the door . when you get near to finishing the windings and your phone rings or your wife calls it very easy to forget how many winds you have done . 1 wind different will cause the motor to malfunction. The first motor I re wound worked brilliantly so thought it was a breeze. The second time I tried it I couldn't get it to work and motor kept stuttering even after two or three attempts. I don't bother now as motors are so cheap. It's not worth the bother.good luck and let us know how you get on.

There isn't a vent on the cam cover and no oil should issue anywhere around it . What may look like a small hole is foe the gub screw that locates the camshaft spindle . The waste/excess oil should be discharged from the rear crankcase vent on the back plate . The tappets benefit from a drop of oil now and again as no oil can get to them for the crankcase. Avoid the castor if you càn as even small amounts in the fuel can cause varnishing on internals over time due to the higher heat that fourstrokes generate. I have run a Saito 50 for hours on synthetic oil at 17% and only changed bearings once in about ten years . Brilliant engines.

If you cut the shaft with a grinder seal the motor in a bag or tape it up to prevent metal bits getting to the magnets. If you are unlucky and bits get in then strip motor so that you can get to the magnets and remove any swarf with masking tape , or duct tape or similar .also go over the stator and winding with tape to remove any stray bits as they can severely damage the motor when running.

Hi bead blasting should be fine providing you clean out plug thoroughly with an air gun afterwards. Don't use a wire brush as said it will leave metallic traces on the ceramic insulator and allow the spark/ electric charge to go to earth easily rather than jump the gap. Spark plug makers used to sell plug cleaner/blasters to garages back in the 1960's used to remove the build up of carbon on plugs due to cruder oil and petrol.These used carborundum grit and had a built in airgun to clean them prior to refitting. Modern fuel and 2s oil are so much cleaner so plugs last far longer nowdays. If your plug is black it sounds as if the idle mixture too rich rather than too much oil in mixture. Running in at idle won't get any proper running in done. The engine needs to get up to proper working temp to bed in properly so keep revs higher with short spells at idle to allow it to cool then repeat. Heating your plug shouldn't damage it bu don't over do it.

Posted by Electric God on 11/04/2016 17:31:11: So some of you knowingly engaged in what any sane person can see is a scam? One born every minute. sweet jesus. Maybe i can use this to sell you some fresh air in a can? A couple of British women have/are actually exporting fresh english air in jars to the Chinese at ridiculous prices !!! Perhaps their husbands are trying to get their own back

Try counter boring the hole where the front cap screw sits and allow the heads to sit flush with the clamping bar . Edited By Engine Doctor on 11/04/2016 17:31:47

Posted by Martin Harris on 10/04/2016 13:05:34: Posted by Percy Verance on 10/04/2016 08:21:55: Bob, I was always given to understand that rod failure on Triumphs was often due to people (quite possibly in the factories!) allowing them to knock against the crankcase lip while stripping the top end leading to a fine indentation where a crack could start. Con rods were always polished in serious applications. I had a friend who back in the mid 1960's tuned his Triumph Bonneville it had done a few miles but was totally rebuilt . He polished the rods and they looked like chrome. One of the fitters in our workshop advised him to get them x-rayed before he refitted them . They both had fractures and would have quickly failed. Beezers were the same as you say but never seemed as powerful as the Triumphs unless the timing side main was converted to a ball or roller bearing. I run a A7 Shooting Star 500cc plunger frame later fitted with a A10 650cc unit for a few years . Sold that and bought a basket case Rocket Gold star for £45 ! Not a lot of money even then .Then proper work and a girlfriend who wanted a car ended the bike thing. Good old bikes, I wished I had kept the RGS and stored it .It would have been worth a few thousand by now !

Go for the 50 . The 40 is a great engine but a bit lacking in power . The 50 FA should be nearer to the FSR in power and should fly you Chippy OK.

Budget engine won't stand abuse as well a a good brand. Even good brands will fail like this if runn with a larger prop than they can cope with . Fuel should be adjusted so that engine sounds smooth .If it sounds hard or is knocking then components like crank shaft or crank pin can fail wrecking the engine. It's not a common failure but budget engines like ASP ,SC or Magnum do have soft cranks that bend easily ,I've straightened loads of them. Looking at your engine it looks if it would be cheaper to replace rather than repair.

Did anyone check the feedback score etc ? It's usually a good indication of the sellers record . If you have been stung and don't receive your goods then start a case as soon as E-bay allows you to ,I believe its 21 days but you'd have to check . Don't leave it too long either as E-bay and Pay-Pal wont help after a certain time . I know its very tempting when something so desirable is cheap but the saying " If it looks to good to be true it probably is " is very true . Hope you get goods or you money back .

Posted by Percy Verance on 03/04/2016 09:57:19 Over the past two years or so, our neighbour seems to have developed a healthy respect for her, particularly when she's holding that hedge trimmer......... But that might well be something to do with the Clint Eastwood stare she's developed over the years I've known her....... What a great scene ! Your wife holding a hedge trimmer staring down your neighbour and saying"Go ahead punk , make my day" Brilliant .

Fantastic engine , real quality OS before they started to economise on build quality . One tip I can offer is that for the return fuel pipe use the largest internal bore that will fit the nipples and use clips to secure it . Reason ; Any back pressure in the return pipe will force any excess fuel into the engine and can cause it to throw the prop. Tank must be vented to atmosphere .

Anything can fly in that wind ! I woke up on Monday morning to find a roof tile had flown................straight into the bonnet of my car . Car is still being repaired but trying to get a roofer is a bit of a joke .

As per the above posts but strip to bare crank case before heating and budget for new bearings as the old ones will be ruined with baked on oil by the heating.