Eddie Clanzy-Hodge Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 Just joined UKCAA and I am contemplating building a model that I flew in the early 1970's. A Moonglow VI with the Merco 61. I still have the Merco and I have just taken it apart and cleaned it all up. The original black dust-bin silencer bit the dust when I crashed the Moonglow. The only think stopping me now is a silencer. Does anyone know where I can get one? Thanks in advance Eddie Clanzy-Hodge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Dance 1 Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 I know it's an obvious thing to say but keep an eye on ebay, one came up recently. ATM there is a nice looking example of a Mk4 61 complete with said dustbin silencer £16 at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 I recently bought a BCM silencer from Just Engines for my Super-Tigre 45, the originals no longer being available. Although specified for a 20-50 size engine, I also trial fitted it on an HB61, and it was perfect! A modern .45 is around the same power output as an older cross-flow 61, like a Merco, Webra, HB, etc, so it should be fine. Its a little bit pricey, but very well made, pretty quiet, and doesn't seem to restrict the engine significantly. Here: **LINK** at the bottom of the page. Thoroughly recommended! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Clanzy-Hodge Posted October 28, 2017 Author Share Posted October 28, 2017 Thanks for the prompt replies. I will look at the BCM silencer from Just Engines. I know that I could put another engine in the plane but this is all about nostalgia and I want to recreate my old Moonglow with my original engine as much as I can. It may well have been pre 1970. I do remember that another member of the Leighton Buzzard club built a Superstar at about the same time and I don't think the Capricorn had come out then. It was all a very long time ago! However it could have been around 1969-1970. I got the brand new Merco mk II from Harry Brooks at a "special" price and that prompted me to build the Moonglow! The other possibility is that I use the Merco in Harry Brooks' REB. Has anyone tried building one of those yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 I know what you mean! I'm currently flying a KingPin with a Webra 61 that I bought back around 1967! I remember being told when I bought it that I was mad! It was £15 new, and a Merco was only £12. But my reason for buying is was that I had previously had a 2nd hand Merco 49, and had no end of problems with it! It would run fine on the ground, and you could tip the model inany attitude you liked, and it would keep going - but as soon as you got daylight under the wheels, it would lose power to the extent the model wouldn't clear the hedge at the end of the strip! I'm not saying all Mercos were like that, but this one was, and even our club expert couldn't sort it! Here we are 50 years later, and the Webra is pulling like a train! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Clanzy-Hodge Posted October 28, 2017 Author Share Posted October 28, 2017 Hi All, Thanks for all your comments. I now think my winter projects will be 1. Electric Moonglow. I was given a purple power motor that probably has similar output to the Merco 61. This will be my main pattern ship for next year. 2. Merco 61 powered Harry Brooks REB. It seems sacrilege to put electric in Harry's model. I know that he used a Merco 49 at first and then a McCoy 60 for the World Camps but a Merco 61 is in keeping with the era. How do I know. Well I built the REB fuselage for Harry when I was a teenager doing C/L with the Worthing Bald Eagles Club. One day he came to me with a very urgent request. Would I repair the fuselage fairly quickly because he had pranged it in a frequency mix-up at the field near Shoreham. I did this and gave it back to him. Little did I know at the time that he was in the UK team for the world champs at Kenley and this was his No 1 model! He never ever said anything about that. It was only later when we went to Kenley and I realised he was flying the model that I had repaired. I never really appreciated what was going on at the time and certainly not the importance of the result. So, I have a soft spot for the REB and feel it is worth resurrecting with the Merco in Harry's memory. Also, since I have recently restarted flying, I am currently using my old Hanno powered bitsa based on LA-1 wing + either a Summit-3 or LA-1 stab (cannot remember which) and O/D fuselage based on LA-1. The LA-1 bit the dust! I had forgotten what it was like to fly a 1990's pattern ship. Performance is awesome when you are 73 years old! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Emms 1 Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 I ran one of my Mercos with the very effective P&R muffler, BUT vibration wore away some of the exhaust stub. If there is an aftermarket silencer that screws on, great, but I would be looking out for the black "Peakpower muffler" coming up in lots on E-Bay, or at swapmeets. On the running issue: as supplied, air bleeds down the needle valve screw thread leading to unreliable throttling. The needle valve is totally sealed by cutting a short piece of fuel tubing (about 3mm), and sliding it over the thread of the needle valve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Clanzy-Hodge Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 For Percy It is an old Purple power 4260-600 that I was given by a club member. Supposed to develop somewhere around 750-900 w. If the Merco developed somewhere around .9 bhp then the 750 w should work. It looks as if I will need 5S and I can prop it for more duration / less power. Well that is my theory. I could be wrong since my only electric experience so far is a WOT 4 Foam-e that I bought to get back into flying before trying the old pattern ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 One tip for fitting silencers so they don't come loose: 5-minute epoxy! Don't use gaskets, simply de-grease the mating halves with cellulose thinners, add a smear of 5 minute epoxy all around the mating surfaces, and do up good and tight! You will have a joint that won't leak or come loose, yet if you need to remove it anytime, all it needs is a sharp tap from a suitable implement - once you've removed the fixings of course! That's how the silencer on the Webra is fixed on that video above, and there hasn't been any sign of leaks or loosening for two years now! Percy: Yes, I know Mercos had a good reputation - I had a Merco 35 and it was dead reliable. I don't know what the previous owner had done to that 49, but we never did get it to run properly. Swapped it out and replaced it with the Webra, and all the problems went away, so it wasn't plumbing or fuel of such like! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Posted by Percy Verance on 29/10/2017 11:00:13: Peter, I think I'd look at the crankshaft. It may be bent....... Again, it's odd you mentioned your 35. I had one and couldn't get it to behave at all. Mind you, I think that stupid plastic carb might just have been the cause of the problems..... Bit late, now Percy! We're talking about something that happened 50 years ago! My Merco 35 was an early one with the metal carb. Dead easy to set up, and never had any issues with it. Sold it along with a model to a clubmate some years ago now.... -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Emms 1 Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 For an electric equivalent of the Merco 61, you are looking in the 5S area, though the now popular 6S power systems could be underpropped to bring them "into line", and the late 60s, early 70s aerobatic models that we are looking at for the Merco 61, use what we would now consider to be very small props. Many still don't appear to realise that what many motors now "say on the tin" isn't the power you are reasonably putting into the motor - so a "750W motor" might only be used sensibly in the 450 to 500W region. Use test data to decide what works with the prop sizes that need to be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 It is a me to. I have a number of Mercos, exact number would require some digging. certainly one 35, a 50 and a 60. I do remember that Merco silencers were poor at reducing noise, way back then. I also used a P&R silencer, I think on a 35. The reason was even then the noise level from the Merco device was unacceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Clanzy-Hodge Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 A quick update on my winter plans. Thank you all again for your comments.- most helpful. I have now decided to build an electric Moonglow using the PP 4260-600 that I already have. George at 4Max thinks it would be OK for a typical Sunday flier but not for competitions - i.e. not much vertical performance. I will try it out with a 5S LiPo and see how it goes. However, I will build the firewall/engine mount so that I can quickly upgrade to something like the PP 5055 as recommended above. I will ensure there is enough prop clearance for the larger motor and I will get the ESC etc. suitable for the larger motor. This saves me from immediately buying another motor but I can if I really do need it. Now the Merco 61. After the Moonglow I will build a Harry Brooks REB and put the Merco in that. It should work OK since the original started with a Merco 49. I did put the Merco 61 in a Gangster 63 and that was OK until I flew it into a tree. I will look at silencers from Just Engines and hopefully gat a wrap around mount since I'm not sure about the screw threads in the Merco crankcase. Hopefully I will be able to meet you all at one or more of your events next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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