toto Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 Mmmmm ...... Â The weather experts are forecasting snow for Wednesday....... could this be an April fool moment ???? ...... I hope so. Although it would not surprise me in the slightest. If it is ... and it scuppers next weekend ...... the paint brushes are coming out. I only have a few weeks until the new suite arrives so I may as well make use of a dead weekend.... breaks my heart. Â Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zflyer Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 I'm sure the brownie points will ease the pain.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 Hi Zflyer,  the annoying thing is that there is nothing I want at the moment . I just hope that they have a decent use by date. 😄  toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 Weather forecasts still looking grim with predictions of snow or heavy rain.  I've looked out the paint brushes, rollers and trays. I'm semi resigned to the inevitable .......  .... just when things were getting interesting.  Where is my mate John Smith ..... think I'll have a chat with him .....  toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 Officially ..... no chance ..... regardless of weather, we share East Fortune facilities with motor bike racing fraternity who have full use of the area this weekend so ....... it was never a goer. .... there is always next weekend ...... Â Where's me paint brushes. .... Â Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Bad luck Toto but, to be fair the forecast for this weekend is pretty grim anyway - it's been snowing and raining here all day and the winds and rain forecast for the weekend makes any flying unlikely. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 Hi Leccy,  I had sort of resigned myself to it anyway but you know ....... hope and all that.... .  Last weekend was just too good to stop me from hoping for a continuation of the same. Strike whilst the iron is hot and all that. I have the fire in my belly now that I have had a little taste of real progress and the Cub is proving to be a good reliable flyer.  Can't wait to get back out and start building more on consistency. I'll need to stock up on incontinence pads ...... its all getting too much.  Have a great weekend  Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 10 Author Share Posted April 10 More decorating chores this weekend  Phone call saying the new suite has arrived in Edinburgh ( currently in storage ) carpet fitters booked in for a week on Friday so my decorating must be completed this weekend. Absolute bummer but at least that frees me up for numerous weekends after that ..... just back to being at the mercy of the weather.  Surely the weather should be showing signs of a break by then ...... the middle of April ..... must at least be a chance.  Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 toto Much of the weather problem when learning to fly is the need for the right weather on the right day. I remember the frustration learning to fly full size gliders. Although they of course were dual dual control so the actual flying bit once in the air was not such a problem but actually doing the take and landing was weather dependent and it is the take off (aero tow) and the landing that needs the most practise.  The weather in the UK has always been a frustration to flying. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 13 Author Share Posted April 13 Well ..... as predicted ..... zero flying.  The weather was threatening all day then mid afternoon ..... the downpour from hell  Not bothered .... the decorating has had a serious fright today with only undercoated and gloss to the wood work and doors left for tomorrow.  Serious brownie points earned today which is just as well as I've been on a 2 stroke petrol engine spending spree.  1 x DLE 20cc RA 2 stroke petrol and a 26cc RA 2 stroke petrol ( stinger ). ..... and .... a 2 cylinder 20cc 2 stroke petrol ( stinger ) just for a bit variety and a play around with when the time comes.  Plenty to fill some of the models that I have earmarked for petrol going forward with the remainder staying electric and probably the sale of what glow engines I have later. ( undecided on that yet ).  Decorating ain't that bad after all.  Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Why this reluctance to entertain the glow engine ToTo? Â Its only a matter of adjusting two needle valves and in most cases once the low speed needle is adjusted it may be left alone for years at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Tuning a petrol involves the same two needles so it can't be that..... they can be less messy, are more tolerant of tank position and cheaper to run (and buy now)..... maybe one or more of those reason. And they are more fahionable it seems.  On the downside, they need more onboard equipment, and of course CAN be noisy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 Hi David,  I think from general comments they tend to be ambit harder to master than petrol. I believe that the petrol engines have built in fuel pumps which may go a bit to reducing the tendency for dead sticks. ( not eliminating just reducing ) which is something that dogged my experience with the arising star.  Also the mess ..... I'll resist to that. The arsing star used to land plastered in fuel and residue. Maybe resolvable by moving the exhaust pipe to a different attitude and maybe my fuel settings were wrong. My arising star was binned towards the end of its short life as the fuel had impregnated the wings to such an extent that the balsa was actually going soggy and losing its integrity. Bad maintainable on my behalf I expect.  I understand that petrol engines are subject to similar procedures for running in etc but from what I have seen on some reviews etc , seem to be easier starting and when run in properly, just a bit more manageable all round.  I also have to send down south for fuel and I believe the suppliers are getting fewer and further between. Some thing I wasn't aware of when I purchased the glow engines. That was just a lack of investigation on my behalf.  I don't know if I will completely do away with them altogether but will wait until I have the experience and knowledge to be able to understand their operation and maintainable better to try and give them a fair chance.  I have access to some great knowledge from a particular club member who, appears to be happy enough to take the time to pass on his knowledge and give a hand to set up / run in etc but it's just not the correct time for that yet. I'm keeping it simple with electric until my flying makes the grade. I'm making progress on that front and don't want to distract from that with the IC learning curve.  Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 In my experience, setting up, running in, and using a petrol is no different to glow.  If you have a glow engine tuned properly, and the tank is positioned correctly, you won't get deadsticks.  My Double Trouble has an OS46 in it and has suffered one deadstick (my fault for running out of fuel) in over 250 flights..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 I've maybe been disillusioned with the continual issues with the Arising Star.  There was hardly a single successful flight. The engine was set up by others with experience but just kept on letting me down having an impact on flying time progression. The main reason for concentrating on electric flight which ( not without its issues ) has resulted in more stability with regards to flight time.  My current mentor only flys IC and his models are very reliable. Down to his knowledge and ability in my opinion. I have had the chat with him and he seems very willing to take the time to learn me how to set up properly including running in etc. We have both decided to park that for the time being and take full use of my flying progress on electric which is paying dividends when weather permits.  I dare say we will set up both glow and petrol models and I would not be to surprised to achieve success with both under his guidance. However .... long term given the awkwardness of glow fuel availability, it seems wiser to concentrate on the more available petrol variants. I'm sure glow will be around for some time to come yet.  Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 (edited) Don't want to rain on your parade Toto, but Petrol Sparkies need just as much care in terms of installation, tuning and maintenance as any other model engine. As for being "more manageable all round" I'm afraid that I've seen the needle twiddlers and dead stick brigade just as busy with their petrol two strokes in my clubs. The carbs can be troublesome if not looked after, especially if left for extended periods without running - either gumming up or the diaphragms drying out. Might be worth using Aspen fuel rather than 'motor spirit' - more expensive, certainly, but no horrible odour and doesn't cause the issues that normal petrol does within model carbs. Good luck. Edited April 14 by Cuban8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Hi Toto  I understand the issues you've had with glow engines. I have run diesels, glows petrol snd electric. Without doubt, with one recent disastrous exception (my fault btw), electrics have been simply a matter.of plug in and go. Next up, diesels, were the easiest on field equipment, then glow and petrol given the need for glow starts (or on board glows) and ignition systems plus a starter motor. That having been said, I start my OS91FX with a reverse rotation tap with a chicken stick unless it's a cold day when I resort to sn electric starter.  Dead sticks have been few and far between but I did get a petrol dead stick on one occssion - again my fault.  What you describe leads me to thjnk that your helpers were not well taught as regards setting up and tuning glow engines. It does happen. I relate a situation where a fellow club member had a clutch of helpers who could not get his Irvine 46 started and running. I had spent the morning flying my Irvine 53 powered Wot 4 so at lunch I noticed he was fed up snd depressed. I offered to have a go at sorting ot out since my Irvkne ran very well. After 5 mins, the engine was running and after a further 5 mins we had a perfectly set idle and main jet. He flew the aircraft and was delighted. I suspect having a "committee" trying to stsrt and adjust the engine was not the right approach but as my engines run perfectly it may be that I knew what I was doing.  A surprising number of glow engine operators appear not to know about idle jets which control the engine up to half throttle.  Once these are correctly adjusted they merely need a tweak e.g. if set on a cold winter's day and then being used kn a hot summer's day - those conditions affect the air/fuel ratio as air density varies.  My Wot 4 has a side mounted engine and when I fitted a throttle pipe, that lived underneath between the u/c legs, there was hardly any mess on the aircraft after a day's flying.   Just my experience. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 (edited) ,,,and just to add my two pennorth, some glow engines need time to run in before they'll function perfectly. Edited April 14 by David Davis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 1 minute ago, David Davis said: ,,,and just to add my two pennorth, some glow engines need time to run in before they'll function perectly. That is so true......the old "couple of rich tankfuls and it'll be fine" just doesn't work for some engines 😉 - even between different engines of the same make and type, I've discovered in the past. I recall an ASP 61 2st that really only came on song properly after an awful lot of running - probably a gallon or so of fuel through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 Hopefully when the time comes, hopefully sometime towards the end of the year, I'll have my first successfully set up IC model.  I think I will enjoy the whole learning curve from running in and adjustments etc in the hands of someone who is capable. My first experience I feel was too much of a rush to get me in the air, possibly skipped steps and one of the important things is when someone else is busy trying to set me up ....... they bring me along on the journey of understanding to enable me to stand on my own two feet should there be issues. Or at least to a point.  Meanwhile ...... back to decorating .... more brownie points to be earned....  Thanks for the comments  Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learner Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Where do you live Toto? I think I'll open up a model shop at the end of your road.😉   2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learner Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 On 02/04/2024 at 12:04, toto said: Hi Zflyer,  the annoying thing is that there is nothing I want at the moment . I just hope that they have a decent use by date. 😄  toto That didn't last long!!🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 I think totos shed is now better stocked than many shops....... 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 It probably is grumpy  All sitting there awaiting their fate ..... shaking in their boxes.  Cheers  Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 Decorating finally over ..... hopefully back on schedule for next weekend. Â The countdown begins to battery charging once again. Â Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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