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is nitro on its way out?

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is nitro on its way out?

Old 05-18-2016, 05:00 AM
  #151  
geeter
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It is kind of a pain to clean them , but when I think of the fun I had and the performance they have , it's worth it. It only takes a few minutes of your time. With some spray nine or 409. Nitro fuel is not that expensive either. I pay 17.00 a gallon for cool power omega castor syn, 10 percent.

Last edited by geeter; 05-18-2016 at 05:03 AM. Reason: Mispelled
Old 05-18-2016, 10:53 AM
  #152  
GSXR1000
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Here is my 2 cents... for large scale planes, I go with the gasser 2 strokes because of the price vs performance and gas being cheaper than nitro, but all my 60 size warbirds are on nitro .91-110 size 4 strokes.... if you have a warbird you need that 4 stroke sound.... I do have a fg14c gasser 4 stroke, that i may put in a 60 size world models zero... as long as 60-90 4 strokes are around, nitro will be around.

Last edited by GSXR1000; 05-18-2016 at 11:13 AM.
Old 06-11-2016, 04:22 PM
  #153  
wally3185
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Electric RC planes have NO SOUL. So when they crash, straight to airplane hell.
Old 06-11-2016, 04:29 PM
  #154  
tailskid
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Ya Nailed It Wally!!! LOL
Old 06-11-2016, 05:07 PM
  #155  
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Wally,
Outstanding reply, simply outstanding!
I find that many guys at my club who initially thought that electric was the end all, are changing their tune. Somehow 4 - 5 min. flight times and cooked speed controllers arern't so neat.
I consider the smell of a properly tuned 4-stroke to be my aroma therapy!
Karl
Old 06-11-2016, 07:43 PM
  #156  
hairy46
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Great comments guys! We had a fly in at our field today, weather was perfect! I hate to say it but i was the only glow guy out there now, one of the guys asked me to help him get started in glow, and will help him, if all that was out there to fly was electric I would not be in this hobby! I will always be a glow guy because the power and the ease of working on them.
Old 06-12-2016, 05:30 AM
  #157  
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I'd like to piont out something regarding compatability. When flying aggresive aerobatics at our field " in the box ", I've nearly T-Boned some electric "butterfly" floating around in the middle of the flight pattern! They are so quiet and simply can't be heard. Someday.......a poof of foam!
Karl
Old 06-12-2016, 05:49 AM
  #158  
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I am one of the few that flies glow fuel at my field too. I hope to retire in the next few years so I am stocking up on kits I would like to build in the future. I should probably buy a few engines too as they are slowly disappearing and getting more and more expensive.

i do love going out to the field on a calm evening and flying small electrics. There is no way a glow motor would be able to fly a 18" warbird.

Each mode of power has its place in the hobby, but glow is definitely getting the smaller part of the pie
Old 06-13-2016, 09:32 AM
  #159  
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At the club I haunt glow is still king. I love the sound of a glow engine in flight! We see some electrics but right now the big thing is a return to glow powered circle burners. They fly usually after 3:00 PM on Saturdays and the kids get a kick at watching the C/L planes go thru their paces. C/L seems to frustrate the 3D R/C guys they want to short cutting learning to fly C/L. A friend of mine, he's 75, has tried to knock some sense into them but they can't take his advise. When the local expert tries to spout off he points out the number of trophies he has won in C/L combat. The trick with C/L you have to get to the point you can fly straight and level for a full tank of fuel upright and then inverted at shoulder level. Once you can do that you can just about do anything you want. That was how I learned to fly C/L when I was a kid.
Old 06-13-2016, 12:09 PM
  #160  
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My club field is fortunate enough to have a separate C/L field. I've often thought about trying it, since I did it as a kid. It's great to hear those engines again as it brings back a lot of good memories. Oddly enough, nobody has tried electric C/L at the"'circle".
Karl
Old 08-06-2016, 01:54 PM
  #161  
J330
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I am not a club member and never have since I started in 1972. I've saved a lot of dues and AMA fees over that span in the hobby that could easily pay for a year in the hobby, maybe five years?

I took a break from the hobby so replaced my batteries and out of old bad habits, stocked up on some kits and glow engines. Boy did they drop in price. I filled my flight box with a $50 tower order. Seems the menu got a lot shorter from tower, but so what? Its still free shipping and 3 days to FL.

I went to Craigslist and posted an ad for glow fuel,
figuring a partial gallon is better than $25 for a full gallon at the LHS. I found a 4 gallon case for $101.99 after hazmat, I'll cross that road later but I scrounged up 6 gallons from my ad so I'm good for a few months anyway. I doubt I'll get .60-.90 size like I used to, but .25 and .40, sure. I'll readjust and keep on going.

Midwest Dope is still around! Tissue paper, in more colors than ever. CA glue, wow is that a change from the Titebond I used decades ago. I still have 20 rolls of monokote and larger SIG kits to build, time to move the car out of the garage and upgrade our dining room table! Sanded ply was higher than I expected 4X8 sheet was $50? Going to a Goodwill store and buy a flat door instead for $5.
My goal is to get him into combat with me.

We're the last of the glow powered pilots out there, the rest fly at some school with EP. Love the space!
I can't stand the sound of electrics, or the wind flying a foam plane around randomly and call that fun. As long as there are kits on the forum, glue, and fresh batteries, I'll be doing glow. I found a box with dozens of glow plugs and servos I saved, two less things to worry about.
Old 08-06-2016, 02:29 PM
  #162  
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J330,
Great Find. Electric fliers have made glow bargans for us!
Karl
Old 08-06-2016, 03:03 PM
  #163  
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Yes, OS SF 40 for $45 shipped, looks and runs like new, so that kind of stuff just wasn't possible 6 or 7 years ago. If I went EP, it is also less than it was, but a .40 EP conversion, ESC, and puffy lipo's with my wide open throttle addiction, I think I'm OK with some of the glow tool box being more work than opening a hood and hoping nothing catches fire between flights.
If you don't see that exhaust oily fog, the vapor trail behind a plane, something just is completely missing from the experience.
Old 08-06-2016, 04:15 PM
  #164  
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Yeah, I noticed that too. Last year I picked up a Thunder Tiger GP 42, used, but in great condition on Ebay for $38 shipped to me. I put it on the test stand and it runs great. I've always liked the TT GP 42. New, the last time it was available at Tower it was almost $70. It's a good engine on the right plane.
Old 08-06-2016, 05:14 PM
  #165  
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Swap meets are great for old glow engines. No one seems to want the smaller ones for any price, well except for me I guess. $20 seems about average. I thought maybe I have too many motors, but there seems to be no one building them any more, so I guess I will need parts motors for the more odd faves like the LAs and Supertigers. I have always been in some sort of club and MAAC (AMA or whatever) I think it is money well wasted. If you run out of money, you just get more? Almost everyone in the clubs are pretty cool, or at least interesting.
Old 08-06-2016, 08:26 PM
  #166  
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I love the sound of the OS 90 with tuned pipe on the delta. Electric motors couldn't compete with that.
The 120 Four stroke in the Reactor Bipe sound awesome.
But I also like the sound of my electric hotliner, I guess there is a purpose for every motor.

Glow engines are on the decline, but I think they'll be around as long as we use them. I am Glad we do not have any noise restrictions and not going to stop flying glow engines.
Old 08-07-2016, 06:27 AM
  #167  
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Glow will be around until something catches it in performance or price. Electric already is very close in power to weight ratio, sometimes better if you don't need a long flight time. But it costs more. Gas is cheaper when you figure in the cost of fuel, but those engines are heavier. Gassers will continue to get lighter, and electric will continue to improve flight times and get cheaper. I give it 10 more years before there is no reason aside from nostalgia to use glow engines.
Old 08-07-2016, 06:48 AM
  #168  
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You can buy an electric setup for the price of a glow setup, there isn't much of a difference. The electric setup is by far cheaper in the long run, even if you have to replace batteries, speed controllers and motors once in a while.
Glow powered helicopters are rare.

I'd say we are already into that future. Glow engines are not economical, there is still a slight advantage of power / weight ratio you could take as a reason. But for me it is rewarding to get these little machines to run and I like the noise.
Glow engines will be around for some time, but we are probably the last generation to use them. But we'll hold on to this as long as we can :-)

Heck, if I can afford it I'll still drive my V8s when everybody has an electric car.
Old 08-07-2016, 02:42 PM
  #169  
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If you mean an electric system with one battery, I agree the price is pretty close. But to fly all day, you need 3 batteries and a double charger. It's a valid argument that battery costs are offset by the price of glow fuel, but batteries themselves are a consumable.

Competition is where you really find out what's best. Electric has been tried in both IMAC and SPA along with F3A aerobatics. SPA and IMAC planes can't make it through the maneuvers with adequate power without paying a weight penalty for more capacity. Batteries will have to get a little bit better before electric can truly replace glow. F3A has really found all the benefits of electric and has actually started rewriting the sequences to require less power at the end, much to the chagrin of glow pilots who had that advantage for a while.
Old 08-11-2016, 11:57 AM
  #170  
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Hi!
And when we could fly our models on a screen (which we can already, but not in competition) we don't have to go out to our model fields/clubs being disturbed by heat and flies but can sit it at home in front our computor screens enjoying a safe and delightful flight , conversing our competition comrades over the net. -Brave new world!
Old 08-18-2016, 06:40 AM
  #171  
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Yesterday I had so much fun flying my 49 inch Sureflite Cub on an old OS 20 that starts instantly with a flick of the prop, and throttles and idles perfectly. The sound was not very loud and everyone seemed to like it. Most of my flying was low, close in stunts at about 1/2 throttle, occasionally bumping it up for a turn or a roll, then back down again. I used about 3 ozs of fuel per flight. On half throttle the engine sounds great. Call it "nostalgia" if it makes you feel better, but I wouldn't trade that sound for the nasal wheeeeee of an electric for anything. Also flew my 4 Star 60 with an OS 70 FS that sounds fantastic at any throttle setting.

To answer the question of the thread, I think nitro is on the way down, judging from the newcomers who fly electric, but not out. In our club about 80% of the new guys bring electrics, but at any given time at the field the planes in the air are at least 60% glow.

I'm amazed at the disappearance of the .09 to .30 size glow powered planes. They are just tremendous fun. Their electric counterparts seem to be taking over that niche, but not a one of them holds a candle to my glow powered planes in that size.

Jim
Old 08-18-2016, 10:47 AM
  #172  
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I think electric, gas, and glow cycle. I was talking to the owner of the LHS I haunt and he tells me in the last 6 months he has seen some resurgence in glow power partly due to new interest in C/L flying, gas has stayed level and electric has dropped off. Interest in kit and scratch building is up.
Old 08-18-2016, 04:14 PM
  #173  
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That's good to hear FlyerInOKC because I like all. Glow, Electric, Gas, I do them all. Right now I'm working on a Gas job (Great Planes Giant Super Sporster), but I love my .40 size glow sport planes and I have a few electrics that all are a blast to fly. For me, a .40 size glow runs economical enough. If I went bigger, I'm not sure I'd be happy with the glow fuel quantities I'd have to buy. If glow fuel prices would get worse, it would make it harder. BUT, I'm old school, and still love coming home from the field smelling of Castor oil.
Old 08-18-2016, 04:31 PM
  #174  
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Can't beat 4-cycle glow for glow economy.
Karl
Old 08-18-2016, 10:08 PM
  #175  
J330
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKpXJqPaWcY Just bought this for $95 shipped, truly one of the best running engines I've ever had and 20 minute flight time. Glow is $17 a gallon in Orlando. Not the end of the world.

Several kits to build for glow. Probably start selling a few too. Kind of went crazy on trainers. Don't know what I was thinking at the time.
There is no doubt a lot of glow powered airplane "hobbyists" from the RTF and ARF crowd are giving up glow if not the hobby as a whole, but that just makes it more sweet to clean up their garage and never pay full market price on any of it. Building a balsa kit is always a relaxing project for me, far more satisfaction on the maiden flight. Each covering job becomes a better output than the last try. Beats watching TV or politics.

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