overbuild

My understanding of a opti kill switch is if you have a radio signal fail due to tx or rx failure or battery problem  it will disconnect the ingnition circuit to the ingnition module. Also it provides a second on off device besides the mechanical  switch to the ingnition module. I feel it is a safety device I would not delete from my gas engine set up. 

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

Mody, the A9 radio you have uses electronic trims. Using a trim like that (moving a micro step at a time) to kill the engine will be scary slow if trying to shut it down in a hurry. Fortunately, the A9 people considered that and have the radio set up so you can assign a switch to a function that will close the throttle to kill the engine when pulled. I asssigned a momentary toggle switch at the top right rear corner of the radio. Find the function in the A9 manual. The directions to do this are pretty good - you are going to love that radio!

armody

My Feedback: (10)

overbuild,

As per my understanding, it's really good to have a physical kill switch installed on the plane, in case of any unseen issue which may arise outta nowhere. It's like an additional precaution, if I'm correct?

ahicks,

At the moment, I have Strega 40 glow engine plane by Phoenix models. I've assigned an engine kill switch on the right hand side I don't know which one is it. I used toggle switch on the right and left for using flaperon, but since the plane's control surface specially aileron do not have enough area or not wide enough so it does not really work well causing the plane slowing down. So do I have to assign a switch on my A9 as a kill switch so it would work fine? BTW I'm so happy that I've updated the firmware on my A9 radio, Module and receivers

Mody

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

Yes, you'll want to assign a momentary switch to kill the engine, one that will release by itself when you let go of it. Usually, this function causes the throttle servo to move to the extreme end of it's travel. You don't want to cause any damage to the servo by turning this function on and forgetting about it? Give it some thought. You may have to read those directions a few times, but once you get the concept of what you're doing it should be pretty easy. Ask questions if not. There's a bunch of us using this radio.

I've thought about having mine updated as I have one of the very early batch. I'm lacking motivation though, as it seems to work perfectly for me?

armody

My Feedback: (10)

I'd assign the same switch, which I've assigned it to kill my glow engine plane.

I may use either switch out of those available

armody

My Feedback: (10)

I'd also like to add one thing. Yesterday I got my Yak 54 from Nitro Planes

http://www.nitroplanes.com/ni20moya1...ProductReviews

It came in a brown box, not printed one, and no manual was found. I also was not able to figure it out whether wing span is 69" or 72" since I'm going to my home country and would be back Jan 10. I'm gonna start putting the plane together in January, and would be able to find out the wing span.

As per DLE 20's manual, I should go through 2 to 3 gallons of Gasoline with 30:1 lubricant and the engine would be good to go. I'm collecting all the information ahead of time, so when I'm ready, I'm ready for all of it.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The engine is ready to go as soon as you feel you are familiar with it enough to trust it in the air.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

Not sure which switch your arrow is pointing at. The back one would be the momentary switch I'm talking about, the front a regular on/off. The front (on/off) is the one I use to control power to the ignition module on opto-kill equipped planes.

armody

My Feedback: (10)

w8ye,

Your statement is kinda relieving as I'm getting more encouraged that I have not made a mistake going to gas.

ahicks,

I know which switch you are talking about, it's the switch that you hold or pull it, as soon as you let go of it, it goes back to it's normal position, that is the exact switch I use for killing my glow engine.

trnt_west

Mine was delivered today, and as soon as i get home im gonna open it up and see what the wingspan is and hopefully that will give you a better idea of which one you recieved. From what i can tell we both ordered the exact same plane for the same sale price so surely we both recieved the same wingspan. Also dont forget that if your in need of the manual it can be found on the nitro planes website. As we have spoken before i also will be using the dle 20cc and this is to my first gasser and ive been doing alot of reading up on what needs to be done as far as break in proceedure and for the most part everything i have read has said to install the engine on the plane and get yourself familiar with starting and operating the engine and that is all thats needed other than maybe some minor needle adjustments. Please anyone correct me if what i have spoken of is wrong, thanks and goodluck with your trip and best wishes to your sister!
Trnt_West

armody

My Feedback: (10)

ahicks,

These 2 switches, either one can be assigned for engine kill. I think this time picture can depict more clearly.

armody

My Feedback: (10)

Trnt_West,

Dude thank you very much for such kind words of you for my sister. Your plane should be in plane Khaki box, and your plane as exactly the same so the size would be the same as well. I'm not pulling it out of plastic bags due to my outta country visit, so I could not measure it. We are on the same boat, and by the time I get back and get on with this project, I would know more.

Like I mentioned I'd keep y'all posted along with the pix and I would try to take all the pix of all different phases.

For of those who are using Hitec Aurora 9 2.4 GHz TX and RX, update their system to the latest firmware, it has some cool features and Hitec is also recommending it for the updates as updates are always good


Thank y'all

Mody

karolh

You are on the right path, and continue to keep on reading.

Karol

trnt_west

its no problem at all my friend! im going to unpack everything tonight and glance over everything and check the quality, im already kinda bummed that you didnt recieve a manual, although i dont mind printing one off the website. i just hope that atleast the hardware is somewhat decent. im also going to get the dle out and see how much, if any modifications, will need to be done to the firewall to accommodate the carb.

armody

My Feedback: (10)

Trnt_West,

By the way, so many things are going on my mind, I did open up the box, honestly speaking all the hardware looks fine, pretty good quality and cover seems to be good too. Firewall is ok for a glow but not for a gas, I think firewall needs to be reinforced. Cowl front opening is sturdy and the rear part of cowl is little soft and it may wiggle or kinda flexible. Not to worry that would be nut/bolted/screwed to the plane.

Manual ain't a big deal, landing gear bracket seems to be good. I think it can be said bang for the buck. If we were quality inspectors for ARF's then scenario would have been different. I'm happy and satisfied. This plane is gonna last longer so my friend not to worry. Our money is not wasted. I think inside the fuselage we need little bit modifications in order to make it little more sturdy, rest is all good

Mody

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

stay away from engines that hobby king sell mine froze on the 3rd spin have not heard from them in amonth now after i sent it back

trnt_west

ok, well great then! i have no problems at all with doing a few modifications to make the firewall/engine box alittle more sturdy. i have plenty of lite ply and tri stock laying around to do whatever it takes. im positive that this bargain will not deceive me.

armody

My Feedback: (10)

[email protected], it's a complete email address with domain name

Well Thanks a lot for the heads up. I read feed backs HK USA warehouse buyers, they were not happy campers at all. Some of the guys told me that support, you can forget it, it looks like their support is at the cemetery where dead men tell no tales lol.

Funny thing is you may get much more good customer support in my home country, where there are a lot of foreign franchise specially American. I was told by some user over here that some other hobby shop who have better customer service and they support it, but the price was $235 or something up and down.

Since I returned my brand new Revolver 40 ARF to my LHS so I had to pay the difference for the motor, so I'm not worried. I also read on the DLE 20's manual that use the light prop, APC's are heavy, but I may get Evolution's nylon later. I think 16X6 is the best size.

Trnt, this bargain would not deceive us certainly.[8D]

karolh

A worthwhile modification that always pays dividends especially with a gasser up front, is adding some 1/8" dia. dowel pins through the fuse sides and into the firewall the help hold everything together, plus adding some 3/8" triangle hard balsa strips all around behind the firewall where it adjoins the fuse sides.

Karol

armody

My Feedback: (10)

I just don't know how to reinforce it. The dowel has to go through the firewall up to what point. At the moment I ain't worried since my mentor has 25 years of tremendous building experience and he already agreed to help me out putting this baby together so I'd learn a lot. Once again thanks Karol.

karolh

I suggest that you drill pilot holes for the dowels, about four per side through the fuse and about 3/8" deep into the firewall so that it is a snug fit and use epoxy or carpenters glue to install the dowels, cutting them off flush with the outside of the fuse.

Karol

armody

My Feedback: (10)

Just another question about DLE 20.

Can I use the customer mounts that came with the plane? I also have the metallic mounts what horizon hobby installs their Evolution PTS .45 size glow engine

something like that

http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...e-60-HAN242024

The other mount that came with the plane is on the attached picture.

Or do I really have to spend money on this Dubro's mount for $43

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXD633&P=M

rackem

I am "Armody's" mentor for building, repairing and designing airframes. I have been doing some form of aircraft modeling since I was about 9 years old. I'm 62 now. Having said that here are my thoughts on Gas engines.

Reed valves are better than piston porting for most of our purposes. Engines with side carbs are usually piston port BUT if the stand-off (the black plastic part between the carb and the engine block) is long enough it can contain reed valves.

The best is a rotating disc valve on the rear of the engine or a crankshaft port. These are known as rotary valve 2-stroke (different design from a rotary valve 4 stroke). It will ABSOLUTELY time the intake charge. Works great with a properly tuned pipe on an engine designed for a pipe. The tuned pipe "Sweet Spot" is a narrow RPM band because of the timing, the design of the exhaust port/piston top and the inertia of the air-fuel mixture. Using it without a tuned pipe works too as the increase in exhaust back pressure has a tendency to widen (flatten) the torque curve. Keep in mind with the short strokes and small passageways it is very easy for the speed of the air fuel mixture to go supersonic. At those speeds the inertia of the air-fuel mixture is tremendous. So for maximum speed the timed port/tuned pipe with good breathing engine is the best.

Reed valve is second because it stops the back-flow of the intake charge. However it also slows the incoming charge because the engine vaccuum and the force of the incoming charge have to open the reeds. Energy used is energy gone (relative to our subject. Don't talk to me about conservation of energy as its too small to matter here.) A reed valve engine is not sensitive to a tuned pipe as a rotating disc or crankshaft ported engine is. A tuned pipe might help to a small degree but really isn't worth the expense and time involved to set it up. For sport flying WITHOUT very shallow propeller pitches I believe a reed valve is the best compromise. Not too finicky, self adjusting valve timing according to engine RPM/throttle opening and is usually a decent value. For VERY shallow pitches you have to have a lot of RPM for the same amount of work and a reed valve may not work here. The inertia of the reed could keep them from seating themselves in the extremely short time available. Similar to "Valve Float" in a 4 stroke engine at high RPM.

A cylinder ported engine is O.K especially if you have space considerations where a rear mounted carb won't work. They also have a tendency to be very tolerant of improper mixture and have a very wide power band. The problem is efficiency. More fuel as more is wasted and used for cooling the internal engine parts too. Usually not as powerful as the reed or rotary valve but good for a lot of situations.

When engine service comes to mind I remember my friend Bob Upton's Fuji twin cylinder engine. He bent the nose of the crankshaft and when straightening was attempted it broke off. At that time the crankshaft cost more than the engine. Not including labor. A cheap engine doesn't have to be fixed if the damage is severe. Walbro carburetors are the weak link. BUT, they are available from a number of sources at very reasonable cost if yours gives trouble. And if you just have to tinker Boca Bearing probably has bearings for it. And you can probably make gaskets if you have to.

A lot of gas engines (not glow) take a very long time to break in. Once broken in it is not unusual to see a 10% increase in power, sometimes even a little more. Since gasoline has about twice the BTU's of alcohol you use half as much. Generally, torque is greater with gas than alcohol. There are exceptions but as a general rule this holds true.

As far as I'm concerned a gas engine, especially for larger models, is the way to fly. To me a cheap gas engine is preferable to a high dollar gas engine. I don't compete nor do I fly that much so wear and tear with me is minimal. What I really like is the lack of needing a glow driver, the lessened residue and the much higher dependability of a broken-in and properly tuned gas engine. As long as the Chinese are manipulating their currency to give us a decent deal and considering the lack of impact modelers have on our debt ratio I'll have to go where the money takes me.

I know how to use these engines and to me they are the best for larger models. For a newby they can be frustrating but learning stuff is part of the joy of this hobby. As long as you don't destroy an expensive airframe while climbing the learning curve. Then again, if you learn to scratch build "expensive airframe" becomes a thing of the past.

Good building and good flying ya'll!!!!!

trnt_west

Well, I just got home and opened up my christmas present! And as you said, I definitely think the firewall and engine box will need reinforcement for the application of gas engines. Until christmas im going to be getting everythng I need to build this properly and as well as support equipment and other little odds and ends together for assembly. Ignition battery, opti kill switch, fuel lines, etc...

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

Congrat's on fueling Amody's interest rackem! We need more guys like this. -Al