jeffie8696

The OS LA series is an OK line but with only 2 intake ports they are at a disadvantage. Especially while my Sportsters have 5!!!!!
Also the crankshaft is tiny in comparison.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

Yup, the OS LA series is down on power, but they work well for model Diesel conversions, which is why I have half a dozen of them or so in different sizes. Gotta call Bob Davis one of these days and order some conversion heads.


Ed Cregger

joebugs1

I seem to have some sort of fixation with MECOA. Here's the list:

1 RJL K.61
5 K&B .61's
3 K&B .65 Sportsters
2 HB .61's

two of the K&B .61's need overhauled I supposevery weak compression
the rest run great- on the bench at least, because as odd as it sounds, I've yet to put one in a plane and fly it.
I started out several years ago with a Sig Hog Bipe from eBay with a K&B.61 on it, didn't want to fly that until
I had some trainer experience, but just started collecting engines. And flying electric foamies.
But I've been tuning up all the old glow engines, and I've got a couple trainers (with other brand engines)
so by the end of the summer I hope to get some use out of all this MECOA stock I own.

One question about the HB .61's. Did they make different sizes? One has the HB logo, and an HB carb. The other
just has "made in Germany" stamped on the side, underneath the exhaust port. This one is noticably larger than the other.
Any ideas?

jeffie8696

Update on the K&B Sporty .28. I got my new parts and checked them over. Installed them and zoom zoom no problems. I contacted K&B and the gentelman that answered the phone was the company owner! but I am terrible with names. But we had a nice conversation about my piston and cylinder that just happened to be sitting on his desk. As I explained it was purchased through a 3rd party and I did not expect Mecoa to have to warranty it. He did offer to help me out in any way if I have any future problems. All in all a very nice man and a pleasure to speak to. On the other hand, if you get the lady with the accent and she promises to call you back Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,She has promised me twice now. [sm=sad_smile.gif] (it's just a California thing, I know I used to live in the OC)
Still , Love the design of the Sporty. No heavy metal liner, great breathing, mongo torque and reasonably quiet. Likes high nitro. That could be a problem soon so I will need to do some experimenting. [8D]
I like all my plain bearing and ball bearing engines the same. Just different . I am huge on preventive maintenance so I use a lot of castor in everything. What's it gonna hurt?

joebugs1

Hi guys, I'm looking for some info about K&B .61's.
I've got several, and with my limited experience, think they run great.

One question is this:
Most of them have the piston with the raised bar on top,
but a couple have just a regular flat piston head. Looking at the MECOA site, I see
the parts drawings they've got posted have the bar. Any idea when they converted
and what the purpose of that bar is?

Another question is:
What sort of mufflers are people using on them? I've got stock mufflers for
3 of them, but the other two don't have mufflers, and I've been waiting 3 years
for the part to be available on their site. It still says "in progress": problems with
the casting or something, as the old provider had sold them their machining
equipment. About 2 years ago, I got a message that the parts were just getting
finished up and would be available soon. Just messing about the other day,
I noticed that the .65 Sportster muffler will fit, if you drill out the holes for the
larger dia. bolts. I'll probably get one on the test stand here in a week or so, but
was just wondering if anyone else has already tried it, and what sort of results
you got. No point reinventing the wheel you know?

Anybody care to weigh in on this?
Thanks

joe

jeffie8696

My only experience is the .20,.28 and .45 Sportys and I feel the muffler is a problem area. I have an older unknown brand of muffler on my .45 that works great. I feel the Sporty muff is overly complicated and if you can make a different muff work you are probably better off. []

huck1199

Joe

The bar on the piston is a baffle to keep the fuel charge from blowing out the exhaust port. I don't know when they dropped it, maybe they still have on the .61 old style but don't on the twist head .61.

Huck

joebugs1

Thanks for the advice. I know they're not my favorite muffler either, I've had to replace the center bolt on two of them.
Another option would be to get a muffler of an HB .61. It's almost identical to the K&B .61, except for the bolts being
the same size as the .65 Sportster.
Anything a bit quieter?

jeffie8696

My muffler is certainly no quieter since it is a non baffled one but it is simpler , lighter, happened to be in my toy box when I needed it and it makes a lotta power.

joebugs1

Thanks Huck!
I suppose now if I rebuild those engines, I'll have to get a new head to, so the piston with the bar fits.
Wonder why everyone doesn't use them. Or why someone thought these engines do.

Another quick question, if I may. Is the only difference between a regular RC engine and a control line engine the carb/throttle,
or are there internal differences between the two types?
Specifically the K&B .61.

Geez, it would seem that there is no end to my ignorance. Give me another 20 years and maybe I'll have figured out these
40 year old engines!

Broken Wings

My Feedback: (20)

HB made 3 different sized .61's that I know of. The "standard" is just that. The fins on the cylinder stop at or about the exhaust port. This one doesn't have PDP and doesn't have the "PDP" engraving on the lug.
The Armed forces used HB's in some of their target drones and these engines only came with a rear bearing. They used a special prop drive that took the place of the bearing. (I guess they figured it wasn't necessary seeing how it was going to get shot down)

The first PDP engines used a Perry carburetor and the had a smaller crank. (normally these were Red Letter PDP engraved)

The latest models use larger crank and front bearing support (larger carburetor opening) . HB started making thier own two needle carbs, the late models have Black PDP on the lugs.

They made the .40 and .61 in PDP Chrome "Blitz" that use a very thin conventional ring in a chrome bore and will accept a tuned pipe.

The Red Head is a very early model 70's issue. The Black heads are both "Blitz" models.

HB also made engines from .12's .15's .20's .21PDP, .25's, 40's .40PDP, .50's, .61's, .61PDP as well as a Stamo model that has a fan shroud for HELO use.

The R/C Tank guys are fond of the rear fan engines. Webra made some like this as well.

I've been using HB engines for a long time and like them alot.......

huck1199

Joe

CL and RC engines differ by the throtle as you suspected. Some racing CL engines are very different in porting and crank shapes. Sport CL engines differ only by the carb.

With the baffled piston you need the matching head of course. Some people have substituted flat pistons and flat heads and claim they ran OK. I don't know personally, why bother, the baffled engines run fine.

Broken Wings

My Feedback: (20)

They run better.......

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

I picked up an HB .61 from a local pilot who crashed it in his Extra 300S. He was so upset that he swore he'd never fly glow power again, and he sold it to me for $10. The engine was still practically brand new, but a corner of one of the mounting lugs was broken off in the crash.

I'm thinking about ordering a replacement crank case for it. The engine is usable as is, most of the corner is still intact; with a new crank case only costing around $40, though, I think it would be nice to put it back into new condition. I may fly it for a while as is before messing with it, though.

I'd like to hear a little more about the K&B Screamin' .48. I think it'd be fun to try one of these out. Anybody out there have much to say about the Screamin' .48?

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

Due to the overwhelming number of replies I received about the K&B Screamin' .48, I decided to go ahead and try them out for myself. I found a pre-MECOA Screamin' .48 new-in-the-box on E-Bay I picked up for about $85 or so. I wasn't sure if it was missing a barrel stop screw or a carburetor retaining screw, so I went ahead and ordered a new one from MECOA to compare it with. It turned out that the one I bought from E-Bay was complete and exactly like the new one.

I host an event at our club called the Sport Pilot Championship where we fly pylon racing, sportsman pattern, and combat all with regular sport planes or trainers with .40 ~ .48 size 2-strokes. One of the other pilots surprised me by also showing up with a Screamin' .48 on his GP Super Sportster 40 ARF, and he won the pylon competition by beating out a number of TT Pro .46 and .46 AX equipped planes.

My early example of the Screamin' .48 went on my Tower Kaos 40 ARF. I originally thought it would be too long for the stock engine mount that came with the Kaos 40 ARF, but I simply mounted the remote needle valve on the side of the fuselage and it worked out quite well. The engine was very tight when I first started it; I'd wished I'd brought a heat gun to the field with me (we have electric power available near the pilot pit area). The engine ran fine despite the really tight pinch and produced very good power right out of the box.

My new MECOA-built Screamin' .48 is mounted on a new replacement Tiger Stick 40 ARF. I'm just now finishing up the plane and I'm looking forward to trying the plane out with the Screamin' .48. My old Tiger Stick had a .46 FXi on it, then a Magnum XLS .52A, and finally a MECOA .46 on it. I loaned it out to a flying buddy for the pylon competition, and it crashed hard due to very windy conditions. I was lucky enough to find another Tiger Stick 40 ARF new-in-the-box to replace it.

My initial impressions of the K&B Screamin' .48 are very positive. It's a very solid, well-made engine that breaks in easily and smoothly. It's both powerful and user friendly. At $139.99, it's about the same price as the O.S. Max .46 AX. Only time will tell which of the two will last longer. Thanks, Randy, for the free K&B ball cap. I wear it with pride!

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

I had a well worn MECOA Aero .46 2-stroke that I picked up on E-Bay a couple of years ago for $18 plus s&h. My flying buddy, Nathan King, checked it out last year and took it apart and cleaned it. Nathan indicated that the engine had a bit of scoring on the piston and sleeve, but was in decent enough shape. He said it looked like it will need bearings within a few seasons, but otherwise was in good flying condition.

We lost one of the club trainers earlier this season when the receiver battery failed during the fifth flight of the evening (I'm sure that 600Mah receiver battery can go one more time, right?). The engine on it was a long suffering O.S. Max FP that was weak on power and that had been flown at almost full throttle by the instructors because it was difficult to keep running below half throttle.

I had a spare Tower Trainer 40 MkII ARF that we used to replace the downed trainer, and I asked what engine we were going to put on it. When I was told all we had available was the tired, old .40 FP, I went ahead and offered up my MECOA Aero .46 engine for the club to use.

We've been flying that MECOA Aero .46 with students for a couple of months now. It's proven to be reliable, and it flies the trainer quite well. For the last six weeks or so, we've been treated to 95'F temperatures and 80% humidity. It's been a challenge to keep everyone's engines tuned regardless of make or model. That old MECOA Aero .46 has just kept chugging along in spite of the heat and humidity.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the reliability of the MECOA Aero .46 engine. It retails new for $79.95 and it's actually American-made. You could certainly do worse if you're shopping for a good, inexpensive .46 2-stroke.

Ed_Moorman

My Feedback: (1)

I have a buddy who has a Mecoa .46 on a Big Stick 40. It runs great, pulls good and has been very reliable. He picked it up at a swap meet for $20! The original owner had bought it and was told they were no good so he sold it in the box. It's been a jewel for Richard.

Another note. The Mecoa .46 is a copy of the old OS .46SF. I emailed Mecoa and asked if the cylinder and piston would drop into a .46SF. I was told it was an exact fit. My old SF has a peeled cylinder. The Mecoa, which I haven't bought, is true chrome plated. If you have a .46SF you want to refurbish, you might try Mecoa parts.

carddfann

Well, its not technically all American made. Its assembled in America with some parts from Taiwan. I asked Randy about it in person at the big Toledo show a couple of years ago. He said about half the parts are made in Taiwan and the others are made by him. I don't know what the percentage is to actually legally claim something is American made vs assembled in America. I didn' go on to ask him whether its technically "made in" or "assembled in." For that low price, I have to assume is assembled. I think the Taiwan parts are made by Leo, which makes cheap knock-off's of OS engines. Oh well, at least some work is done here and mine runs good (no complaints). The company I used to work for could still technically put the "Made with Pride in USA" sticker on their products, but a lot of parts were imported. We joked by saying if we outsouce one more screw, we would have to change our sticker to say "assembled." Heck, I read somewhere last year that Craftsman hand tools are only assembled in USA.

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

I had a chance to use another K&B Screamin' .48 on a sport plane earlier this spring. Like my first experience with the Screamin' .48, I found this second example to be easy to break in and tune, and powerful and reliable in flight. This is a really good, solid sport engine and well worth the price. If you've never tried a K&B engine before, the Screamin' .48 is a great place to start with getting aquainted with K&B and MECOA.

carddfann

Hi,

I agree about the .48. I have one. I first had it in a 46 size trainer when I got back into the hobby a few years ago. I took out the crappy 46 it came with (I'm trying to think of the brand, it was an off brand) and stuck the 48 in and man that thing went vertical like crazy. It was like putting a Rolls Merlin in a Piper Cub! I don't have it in anything at the moment. I bought a Sig Kougar off ebay that I plan to get built by next year and I intend to put the 48 in it. That will be a great combination. Had a Kougar back in my teen years many moons ago. I also have a K&B 40, two .61 twisters, veco 19 and a vintage K&b .32 torpedo. I think its a 32. Its been a while since I had it out. I bought it at an estate sale and its in great shape and runs like new. I gotta remember to use lots a castor in the fuel for it.

carddfann

That's probably true about it being compatible with the OS. I've heard that before from others. LEO makes knock-offs of OS so it stands to figure. About the guy who sold it for 20 bucks, its amazing how many people don't know how to operate these little engines in our hobby then claim "its the engine." Most engines are pretty decent because the technology hasn't changed much in the last couple of decades unless one believes all that marketing crap.

carddfann

Furthermore, I for one am tired of having no choice when it comes to buying American. With Mecoa/K&B, you're supporting one of the very few US engine companies still around and they make a high quality product. I also fly Foxes and about half my engine fleet is Mecoa/K&B and the other is Fox. I like both and neither give me any problems. The Fox mufflers aren't very good though. They are louder and some are a bit restrictive, but I'll save that for the Fox thread. I do have a Norvel 061RC (Russian) for some 1/2a planes and thats a great little engine. Never really had a choice for a good RC 1/2a engine made in US. Those old Cox throttle sleeves didn't work so well back in the day - not like a true carb. My son has an OS 40 in his trainer but we bought that used from a friend. I see there's a company called JETT Engineering out there and their engines look good, but a bit pricey for my wallet. Maybe if I find a good used one, I'll try it for kicks.

carddfann

Oh yea, I forgot to say I have a 46 Mecoa. How could I forget to mention that? Got it mounted in a P40. I crashed it a couple years ago and need to finish fixing the wing. Hope to get it out of the hospital later this year.

Carlos Murphy

My Feedback: (72)

I had a Screamin 48 in a World P-51 Mustang, we clocked it at 99 MPH, fantastic engine, loved it.
My friend had 2 in a World P-82 Mustang, very fast until something broke and he broadsided a railroad track, not enough left to build one good engine.