Christopher Wolfe

HOW TO CONFUSE A MILLENNIAL This a true story btw. My club decided to move the account to a different bank and the treasurer advised me that as a signatory I was required to attend the branch to confirm my identity. My drivers licence photo I.D. had not survived a hot wash and spin cycle just the day before and it takes up to 14 days to obtain a replacement. My current firearms licence was rejected although it had a photo and also meant that I had no criminal background (bank robbing etc). So I asked if a birth certificate would be accepted and was told "yes" so then the lady asked if I had photo ID so I gave her a B&W photo of me at 3 days old and told her "yes that's me, you can ask my mum". Poor teller ran away to talk to her boss. Really happened * Chris *

Indian Mills .75 😒 Conrods made from cheesium chewed oval at the big end after a few runs and thankfully the poor thing decided to commit hari-kari mid flight by shearing it's crankshaft. It was not pushed hard, just nowhere near the quality of the original or some of the better clones. Sad but true 🙃 * Chris *

I was contemplating adding my favourite model diesel engines to my original post so thanks J D 8 for including them. For reliability and ease of starting the Mills family have have never disappointed me; from the original Mills P-75's (I have a few), to the lovely Australian Doonside variants, Irvine and Boddo Mills the are all little gems. Only sad version best not talked about but it was none of the above. Similar with the Mills 1.3's, very easy to use and then the Mills Mk III 2.4 will start if one just gives it a sniff of fuel and threatens to flick the prop. Another favourite is an Enya 41-4C-D which runs nicely if one sticks to Enya's fuel recommendations and is great to fool people at the flying field as the club 'experts' once told me that I had forgotten to connect my glow plug connector (It has a dummy plug) so I told them that such items were designed for beginners, gave the prop a backwards flick and away it went purring like a kitten * Chris *

I was just reviewing my I.C. engines and thinking about what was my favourite model glowplug engine. It came down to three. O.S. Max 45 FSR O.S. FS-40 S Surpass OS FS-40 Surpass review Super Tigre G51 Ring ST G51 Ring The old O.S. Max 45 FSR is reliable and powerful (it is the ringed version) and has never left it's original model since installed in 1995 (A float-plane) although I might have changed it's preferred Enya #3 plug a few times. O.S. FS 40 Surpass just keeps plodding along, just an occasional check of the tappets is all that is required. Swinging a 12.5" x 5" wooden prop at lazy rpm it actually runs at reduced power when flying an ancient Red Zephyr around the sky. Super Tigre G51 Ring came close to the top of the list, the size of a .40 with the power of some .60's it is a classic model I.C. engine. Still not sure, they are all pretty special in their own way, so what model glowplug engines made your day?

This one was a bit worrying 🙄

Don't give up on your I.C. engines. Modern finishing (2K paint) is pretty effective for resisting exhaust residue and so is a wipe down with a rag that hard? A check of many modern battery powered models soon reveals the flimsy construction (that is often explained as 'because of less vibration' compared to a traditional construction) but I suspect that much of this hype is due to the fact that batteries are HEAVY. and so holes have to be cut wherever possible. Also a model aircraft will fly for far longer on 4oz of fuel than with a 4oz battery and wonder of wonders, it can land, refuel and be ready to fly again within a few minutes. There is still a place for I.C. engines, it's just up to the boomers to teach the millennials how to handle the little treasures. * Chris *

Actually it is quite useful information for a beginner builder to prevent them making the mistake of glueing the sheeting to the top spar and then trying to make it fit to the L.E. later. Personally, I would trim the front edge of the sheeting (to ensure that it is straight), dry fit and mark the top spar location, cut to fit, dampen the outside and glue into place using balsa cement at the leading edge seam (for sandability) and an aliphatic adhesive to attach to the wing ribs and spar. A few pins and maybe some tape to hold everything in place, make a cuppa, eat your supper and leave to dry overnight. * Chris *

Here in Australia is a special website for I.C. engine tests. Enjoy 🙃 Model engine tests Regards * Chris *

Free Flight models are designed to climb (hopefully in a stable manner). Competition I.C. free flight models are designed to climb as quickly as possible within the constraints of of a limited engine capacity, power-on duration along with dimensional specifications. Some designs from over 70 years ago achieved stability by using a rearwards CG (typically 70%+ of the wing chord) and a large 'lifting' horizontal stabiliser to balance the steep spiral climb. A typical example is the San de Hogan from 1949 San de Hogan 'Sport' Free Flight models are usually less demanding and so a stable gentle climb is usually achieved with a design with a more conventional layout and C.G. location with the engine rpm maybe reduced to suit one's requirements. Early R.C. models were basically sport free flight models with the addition of of a rudder which permitted not only turns but also altitude control by regulating the duration of the applied rudder. The resulting spiral dive and increase in airspeed could also be utilised to perform basic aerobatics. Modern re-creations of these early models also exhibit the natural tendency to climb (as it was designed to) and with the power of today's engines it is logical to use a more forward C.G. which along with intelligent use of the throttle and the addition of an elevator can result in a pleasant and easy to fly model. * Chris *

How does the model know that its flying into the wind?

I have always mixed my own fuel as I like to know exactly what's in it and it's actual cost works out maybe 50% of the ready mixed stuff that does not even list the ingredients although the blue offering is reputed to contain cruelpower oil. 😱 Thankfully, here in Australia, 20L drums of Shell Racing 'A' methanol, most decent oils (Klotz, Castrol etc) and nitromethane are still readily available nitromethane 2.5L. Competition racing glow ignition engines are pretty picky about their diet and even a Cox Tee-Dee likes at least 25% nitromethane to get it really going for some events. * Chris *

You may well be correct Andy. I still have some O.S. 40 & 45 FSR engines (they are my favourite O.S. two stroke engines from days of yore) The O.S. 40 FSR engines came in both ringed and ABN variations. The change to ABN (apparently) came at a time when environmental considerations regarding chrome plating became legislated in Japan Also, ABN was cheaper to implement (no electricity required) and so O.S. took the plunge. Other countries whom were not quite so environmentally concerned not only cloned O.S. engines but actually supplied pretty good chromed plate liners copied from O.S. So I happen to own both hardened steel/ringed and ABN versions of this particular engine. In Australia, the Control Line Combat blokes (open combat) will give an arm and a leg for a ringed O.S. 40 FSR as they hot restart so sweetly after a dorking 🙃 * Chris *

The cylinder is of hardened steel construction. Typically, such cylinders are not plated. The wet and dry paper (I use #400 grit) is used to lightly scuff the liner with a cross-hatch pattern to break any existing glaze and to assist a new (usually cast iron) to bed in. The instructions in the article that i referred to are pretty accurate. Regards * Chris *

J.E. are correct, the O.S .91 FX is indeed a ringed engine so might be worth saving. More info here OS FX .91 engine review * Chris *