DJ

My Feedback: (5)

Dave
I currently have several high wing loaded war birds , 30LBS P-47, P-51 F7F tigercat. I got this model as a first jet project. It's a beautifully built ARF. I could get the 160 turbine, put this in a more of a trainer and learn to fly jets on this test bed if you will. I like the reaction all composite model. IS the 160 to much for this size plane? I would hate to have to buy two turbans for my first effort.
DJ

gooseF22

If I were starting out, I would still buy the Wren 160 no matter what. It can be turned down to 80N, 100N, 120N.. whatver you want just by limiting max rpm. If you install it in a plane and turn it down to a P120N thrust about 115K rpm, it should last and last and last. I plan to do that in my Flash, I will start out with 115K, and later turn it up as I get more comfortable. Since its a 120MM casing, like a P120/P80, it will fit in almost every jet made..

My two c worth..

trioval00

My Feedback: (17)

I have this jet on the table. Sea Vixen............................

bevar

My Feedback: (27)

Goose,

Keep one thing in mind. You can turn down the thrust on a 160N turbine to equal a 120N or less motor. The big guys call it "flat rating". you do indeed less stress some of the components, but time is time...and bearings and what not will still wear out at pretty much the same rate no matter what thrust it's putting out.

What no one ever considers is "Idle Thrust". Sure, you can put a Rhino in a Flash and turn it down to 25 or 30 pounds (for example) but you can not turn down the idle thrust. Try to calculate what ever your brand of engine's idle thrust will be and then see if you could land at that thrust level. I once put a Rhino into an airframe that some guys fly with P-80s but dialed it down to 26 pounds. Everything was fine till landing. Trying to slow down was a real hassle. Gear, full flaps ETC and it still would not want to slow down. Yea, I figured out how to get it on the deck, but it was never fun. If you are putting it into a high drag airframe (F-15 or the like) no sweat...it will not be an issue. If you are installing it into a cruise missile Flash, Super Bandit ETC)...you are probably going to have some issues slowing down.

Beave

gooseF22

Idle thrust on wren 160 is 1 pound.. so far hasn't been an issue on any jet..

when you flat rate one, it doesn't put as much stress on the front face of the thrust washer, nor build up as much heat, but I understand your point... of course they wear, but I do believe they will wear less overall due to less heat, so the fuel/oil that hits them will maintain better viscosity.. I will ask Ron or Mike to be sure..

bevar

My Feedback: (27)

Goose,

As to temps, for example the temps on my Rhino are about 520 or so at idle...and 535 at full throttle. Not too much of a difference there. I agree in the less stress on the thrust washer ETC...but overall...most of the other stuff will wear the same. Supposedly, the most wear occurs at start up...when the temps are the highest, airflow is the lowest and lubrication is at the min.

Let me know what you find out thought...it sounds interesting.

Beave

JET FX

www.jetfx.net

ww2birds

My Feedback: (14)

DJ,

Let me offer a few data points here. I agree w/goose, the 160 is the way to go. It weighs no more than a 120 and it runs great, and Ron still has them for a great price .. hard to see how that's a bad thing :-)

I also wondered about turning it down for test flights. That 35# of thrust is pretty scary when you are holding the plane back when running up the motor! I went to Ron's website and got his data points for thrust vs. RPM. Then played around a little. Turns out with the motor set up as you get it from Ron, going down from full throttle to "120 thrust" was 3-4 clicks of throttle. That's it... hmm ... ok, maybe just easier to remember to come off 3-4 clicks after takeoff. Plus, power can be helpful too if you get to slow, nose high etc. So I left it as-delivered.

Turns out the F-15 is a pretty draggy airframe. Not really all that fast even with a 160. I dare anyone to tell the difference from 120 thrust to 160 thrust in level flight. Roundoff error! But the power does show up nicely in the verticals. So I'd recommend leaving the motor at full rated RPM.

As to idle thrust, it's just not an issue. You land this plane with 1/4 to 1/3 throttle, full flaps and speedbrake out. Cut to idle when the wheels are about to touch.

Am I biased? I suppose so. I have a Wren 54 SS that is a jewel, never a monent's trouble, have a 160 that runs perfect, and now that we have Ron as local service, who is fun, professional and super-compent, I think we've kinda got it made :-)

A good club to join!

Aside: I uploaded the data from my ECU on the last flight session. The 160 in the F-15, with Yellow's pipe (I have the Tam "Big Bore" pipe, highly recommended, but have not installed it) runs 600-608 centigrade at full throttle. Looks like I was cruising at about 100K RPM with temps there at about 500 centigrade. FYI. Idle looks to be about 420-430 C. Ron or Goose could comment if this is the usual spread, maybe it varies with other pipes, exposed installs, etc.

Second aside: no, a 160 is not too much for a R-ARF. It's sorta amazing .. we saw PST's factory pilot demo one with a 160 (one of their own) motor at Top Gun two years ago. Impressive! Just like a warbird .. you can always throttle down :-)

Dave

KC36330

there are way too many 160 class Flashes out there proving that statement wrong Beave. I've got my Flash's Titan SE dialed back to 123K , she flies beautifully at max thrust and slows down to a crawl on landings, it's the best of both worlds.

jetrichie

You look to have some good stuff but unfortunatly you cant see the range, or prices.
I like the cockpits, what scales available

Hot Rod Todd

My Feedback: (1)

Because I couldn't find a good "scale" jet trainer I am building my own. Here is my progress so far on my Ziroli Turbinator converted to a TS-11 Polish aircraft. I wanted something easy to fly that I could use at Warbird fly-ins.

gooseF22

I am looking for a 1/8 scale Thunderbird pilot for my Flash. Anyone have any ideas?