jetmech05

We didn't have optic kill switches on our glo airplanes we did ok argument.....well first of all glo is a different animal....how many glo airplanes out there swinging 27in or gigger props weighing in at 30 lbs plus are there. Wing span of 10 ft and better. Safety is the goal here....an Optic kill is safer than not having one.
When I first got into gas I met Casey Rowe. Saw the scars he could show and heard the story....He told me to always fly with an optic kill....if his friend would have had one there would be no story.
Casey was hit by a big gasser that was unresponsive and didn't have a kill switch. He almost bleed to death. The story used to be on line....google Casey Rowe accident and see if it is stilkl around.
Sorry I had to bring it up
Gassers are generally bigger, heavier, and faster

TimBle

I use an Opto Kill. yes I set up my throttle kill and use a servo actuated choke.
My servo set up is good, I've never had a throttle servo fail due to use, only due to impact with the ground.

its cheap insurance, use it don't use it

raptureboy

Go to your settings and select "notify me once until I visit the forum"

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Here's the story about what happened.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Seri...2129024/tm.htm

Ken

lopflyers

My Feedback: (12)

Oh no, I wonder if he is ok now and if he is back to the sticks.

MTK

John,

No one mentioned Ignition Battery Eliminators (IBEC) as your TX actuated killer of the CDI. The best one is the Tech Aero unit. Simple to set -up...it plugs into a spare channel on your RX, something you easily can work on your TX like a retract switch.

The other end of the IBEC is connected to the CDI and supplies it with regulated voltage of around 5 volts.

It saves you the hassle of second battery for ignition (recharging, maintenance, switch etc) and saves that weight which is important on smaller models.

Arming and disarming of the CDI is done by your TX just by flipping the retract switch. The Tech Aero IBEC has full optical isolation of the signal and has filtering circuitry that fully filters any ignition noise from getting back to the RX.

Not only is it an opti-kill, it is a voltage supplier to the CDI, is remotely operated and is safe and convenient to use...no more reaching behind a spinning prop to kill a switch. No worries if a linkage comes off a throttle arm.....

Suggest you visit the Tech Aero website and take a look for your self at the features. Cost is around 40$ which is about the cost of a second battery and switch. You can buy it from Tech Aero or form Syssa Aircraft Performance. I'm sure there are other distributors also

littlera

I am a fan of the KISS principle too. In this case, however, I refer to it as the Keep It SAFE Stupid.

With the great technology available to users of gas engines these days, I think it is foolish, and in this case dangerous, not to take advantage of it. Having the ability to shut the engine down immediately from the transmitter is a great safety factor in operating ever more larger planes / engines.

Just because this safety factor is not available to the glow engine user is no excuse for not applying it to our gas powered planes. I still fly glow planes too, and if I could install an opto-kill in tithose I sure would do it. The great feature of opto-kill is the ability to instantly kill the engine anytime there is a glitch in the received signal or the battery voltage drops to a critical level.

I have seen opto-kill save two high dollar planes this summer. In the first case, the engine abruptly died on the take off roll, resulting in no damage. Inspection found that the single switch for the radio has literally fallen to pieces. Without the automatic shutdown, this plane would have taken off with absolutely no control. In the second case, my buddy had incorrectly charged his 6.6 volt Rx pack with a 4.8 volt charger, resulting in no charging at all. During the third flight of the day, suddenly the ailerons went hard right as the voltage was heading for zero. The engine also instantly shut down. The plane amazingly went into a flat spin an hit the 4 ft. tall soybean plants next to our field. (I am a fan of soybean plants - they are soft and rubbery like foam pillows!) There was a crack in the firewall, a couple of spider cracks in the glass cowl, and otherwise no damage. The prop was not even broken! Without opto-kill, this plane would have dove straight down from 200 ft. with the engine at full speed, with predictable carnage.

I also like the fact that I can easily shut down my engine in the pits after taxiing back in without getting near the whirling prop to do it at the plane.

A micro-switch setup (under $10) is a Rube Goldberg, poor substitute for and optic switch. It still depends on an operating radio to work. Noting about it is fail safe.

I realize that you can be killed by a .40 size trainer - It has happened more than once. Our gas planes turn big props, and present an even greater danger to other flyers and spectators should something go wrong. We MUST do all we can to protect everyone involved! I am reminded of the tragedy in Shea Stadium in the 1970's when a baseball fan was struck and killed by an R/C model during a demo flight. This was the incident that led the AMA to pass the rule about flying forward of a designated flight line. Had that plane been a gas plane with an opto-kill switch, the engine would have died immediately when the receiver failed. There almost certaily would have not been a fatality and perhaps little if any injury. Food for thought!

Get with the program and install a SAFE optical kill switch today! It is cheap insurance, even if one quits once in a while. (I have never had one fail, by the way.)

crooked stripe

MTK, the thought did cross my mind about powering my ignition module from my receiver but, I have no idea how much power the unit pulls. We have been installing 4.8V- 2000 mAh nmh batteries in our planes and have lost (crashed) a few. We think it is battery problems but have no way of proving it. Volt watch has become a must, but we all never fly over 3 times with out recharging. Spectrum came out with an article about signal drop when the voltage drops below 4.6V. Since none of us know, or know of someone that knows much about batteries we just don't trust them. All but 2-3 old timers still flying on 72mhz. The rest are using 2.4. I thought it would be safer using 2 batteries. All input is appreciated. John

yukonflier

I have transmitter controlled engine kill on all of my planes, Nitro and Gas. On the nitro planes, the kill switch just pulls the throttle servo down below idle to the point where the engine quits. Very simple to program with my radio, and it costs nothing.
On my gas engines tho, the base idle is set with the throttle stop screw on the engine, so the servo can't pull it down below idle. On these, I use an Opti-Kill to shut off the ignition power. Luckily, I have yet to use either system in an emergency, but find it very handy after taxiing into the pit to be able to kill the engine remotely, rather than getting near the prop to choke it or turn off a manual switch. An added bonus is that the Opti-Kill also has an LED that can be mounted on the plane, which shows when the ignition is on and ready to run, or off and safe to handle. Just the thought of a runaway plane in the air, or even worse on the ground, make it worth the effort.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Best to discard the idle stop screw and make sure the throtte can kill the engine.

jetmech05

I agree with Andy above....pull the idle stop screw. set the trim to keep the engine running and now you have 2 ways to kill from the transmitter....trim and optic kill

goirish

Where is a good place to buy one of these. I see by my search there are plenty to choose from

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

A kill switch? www.RCExtremePower.net is where I get mine from

TimBle

I use:

goirish

I have two gasser's with a servo mounted choke system, but this sure looks like a better set-up for power failure . Thanks guys for the links.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Its nice, they will kill if there's a power failure or loss of signal. Personally in an emergency I'd rather deal with a dead stick than a potential run away gasser.

lopflyers

My Feedback: (12)

I just bought and installed an optokill. Will try Saturday