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Joined: 12/8/2003 From: buenos aires, ARGENTINA Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: Ed_Moorman
Here is an interesting thing about the OS AX. In their instructions, they recommend you disassemble the muffler and put it back together with hi-temp silicone to prevent oil oozing out the center joint.
Does it seem that it is a new manual, with regard to the instructions for the Break-In, have they corrected them? Or it continues saying to make it run in a “slobbering”—4-cycling—rich.
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Joined: 4/13/2003 From: chatsworth,
CA, USA Status: offline
hey, os engines are expensive, but it isn't premium. you pay premium for jet, novarossi, etc. os engines are just on the more expensive side. as for the metalurgy, volfly, if that were true, than you wouldn't ever need a break in period. with rougher metalurgy, you stand a significantly higher chance of your new engine not running as well as another identical engine. my os engine broke in very quickly and had a lot of power.
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Joined: 1/4/2002 From: Houston, TX, USA Status: offline
You may play with the sematics if you like, but regardless of what terms we use to describe them, I'm sure we all know what price tag each carries and can categorize accordingly. Personally, I would call the likes of Jett, Nelson, etc. the esoterics as they are not like all the other mass-prduced engines, which are widely distributed through the majors. For most sport flyers, the esoterics don't even enter into their buying consideration.
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Joined: 4/13/2003 From: chatsworth,
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you mean high performance engines? i always thought that they were just regular sport engines. i appologise for the misunderstanding. given that, yes, os engines are very pricey.
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I have owned OS and Magnum, and for my money the Magnums are the way I'll go. My 52XLS runs really strong and has a super low idle , and the transition is getting better all the time. Not taking anything away from OS, but I really like my Mag.
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Joined: 8/18/2002 From: NearBy,
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What about the plastic "composite" parts on the AX ?. Do they look like they will stand up. I know the needle valve on the FX would break off quite easily and that was metal. I hate the plastic parts that are appearing on the newer engines.
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Joined: 7/5/2002 From: Tacoma,
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.......<<To me, the absolute best bang for the buck in this category - taking into consideration everything including fit, finish and overall quality - is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46................
Granted, the TT .46 is a real powerhouse for the money. My question is why is TT so slow to introduce new models??? By now I think we should see a .52 or .53 that would compete with models from other manufacturers. Who wants to put down their money knowing that the technology they are buying is ten years old or more?
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...........<< I have 3 Tower mufflers on order. The problem with them is the very fine threads on the muffler bolts combined with the soft aluminum of the muffler strip out. I end up re-tapping them with 6-32, but they finally strip, too. I always use Lock-tite.....................................
Ed, is there anything more we can do (besides using locktite) with the Tower mufflers to keep them from stripping out? Do you think the problem is over-tightening, becoming slightly loose in flight and hammering, or???
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Joined: 4/13/2003 From: chatsworth,
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well, you say that your transition is getting better all the time. with my os, as soon as i adjusted the low end valve for my altitude, fuel and prop, my throttle response was instantaneous.
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Joined: 1/5/2002 From: Shalimar,
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Here are a couple of photos of the needle valve assembly. You can see, the part that usually breaks is now sheet metal instead of a casting, like on the FX or a plastic are, like on the LA series. They only have plastic in non-stress areas, unless you count the fuel nipple. I have not heard of the fuel nipple breaking of the LA series, has anyone?
Notice, also, the extra hole in mounting bracket. This will allow you to rotate the needle up and the fuel nipple inward to a more protected position as it is on the FX engines.
On the Tower muffler: I just got in 2 of the 3 I ordered and, if it wasn't foggy with max humidity, I'd be out running engines with Tower mufflers. I did open one of them up. This is not like the muffler I had when I bought my Tower .46 right after they came out. This one seems to be higher quality with tighter fits all around. The center tubing section is glued, RTVed, something red in color to the front casting. The rear casting is a good tight fit. My problem has always been the tiny threads and thread depth on the metric bolts. There is just not much bite in the aluminum casting. The soft aluminum strips easily. Maybe I tighten mine too much and when the crankcase expands it puts too much force on the threads. Don't know. I do use Locktite. Maybe I need to go to the red stud lock.
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Thanks Ed Some great pictures. It's like sheet metal you say. That ought to bend instead of brake like the castings did. Right on. Also another one of my great dislike is the rear needle valve. When the engine mounts close to a firewall it a real you know what trying to run the fuel line without metering the fuel in the process. Looks like this needle valve could be mounted anywhere which would be great.
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Joined: 1/5/2002 From: Shalimar,
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More Stuff On Mufflers
The mail came today and my 3rd muffler came in as well as 3 sets of mounting bolts. The muffler does NOT include bolts. They are a buck 29, as I recall.
The reason this one came separately was I ordered an AquaCraft .46 muffler. Anyone else heard of this engine? It is the Tower .46, but sold by Hobbico, another arm of the Great Planes conglomerate. It has an aqua colored anodized head and thrust washer. The muffler is identical in every way to the 2 Tower ones I got yesterday.
The first thing I noticed were the bolts looked long, This got me to measuring and I ended up measuring both the Tower and OS mufflers.
Bolts: Tower 1 11/16 OS 1 1/2 3/16 difference Muffler diameter: Tower 1.6" OS 1.47" Muffler length: Tower 6 1/2" OS 5 1/2"
The OS muffler is sort of squarish, which means there isn't a direct comparison, but you can still see, the Tower muffler should have a good bit more volume.
As for the bolts, maybe Tower has gone to longer bolts to help in the stripping out problem. Long bolts ought to hold better. I replaced all the stock bolts with the longer Tower bolts. Next time I place a Tower order, I may pick up a few more sets for older engines.
When the weather clears and the foggy humidity goes back down, I'll re-do the test with the Tower muffler. Pretty soon we'll have .46s throughly analyzed. I also think I'll run some of this in my next column.
< Message edited by Ed_Moorman -- 1/3/2004 4:23:43 PM >
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I would just like to start by saying that RC Report is my absolute favorite RC magazine by far. And I would also like to say thank you very much for all of this info, it is fantastic!!!
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I believe $19.95 a year, they cut you a break if you buy multiple years. It might not have the slickest photosd as some of the others, but the articles and the insight they provide are leagues beyond the other offerings. Give it a go, you won't be disapointed. By the way I do not work for or am affiliated with RC Report in any way. I am just a very satisfied subscriber.
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RE: OS AX-GMS-Magnum-Tower - 
RE: OS AX-GMS-Magnum-Tower - 
