jester_s1

The "Glow is better because it's more trouble" types remind of the Jeremy Clarkson reviews on Top Gear where he hates a well performing sports car because it's comfortable and reliable because sports cars shouldn't be.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Learning the care and feeding of Glow engines and their quirks lets you get skin in the game! It makes the hobby more interesting.

blvdbuzzard

Funny thing. I have spent the last several years moving all of my planes to "E" power. A couple weeks ago, I was out in the garage looking at the old hanger queens collecting dust. I took one down to convert to "E" power. As I took the engine off. The smell of old castor oil smelled sooooooo good. I have now repaired and have flight ready 3 planes. Looking forward to the smell of glow fuel in the morning.

So to me, glow is not really on the way out, it is making a come back. I do know electric are easy, plug in a battery, no needle tweaking, glow plugs, fuel, but there is something I just like about them.


Buzz.

fly24-7

I enjoy flying my 40-sized planes the most and glow, in my mind at least, is still the simplest and most straightforward IC power plant for this size plane. I have some electric planes, which I enjoy well enough, but I still enjoy my glow planes the most. I find I don't have to continuously fiddle with my engines. A small seasonal adjustment of the high-speed needle is all I seem to need. I haven't run into an issues keeping my engines running well (knock on wood). I also tend to favor OS two-strokes. Set-em -n- forget-em.

I think glow will continue to have a following until small displacement gas solutions are introduced that are cost competitive and don't need additional components for the ignition. I know OS has the GGT10 which is a glow/gas hybrid (gasoline with a glow plug), but it's also $340 and for as often as I fly, the price differential is about four years of fuel. So, I can't justify spending the extra money at this point. That's a plane's worth of servos.

blvdbuzzard

Well that was a fun day. First glow I have flown in years. Took out my Gas Stick 10 with a Magnum 10 on it. The 10 is a little small for this plane, it flew pretty well with a 15 though. She is under powered but still flew well enough. I did find my 9 year old starter batteries are not good. Hmm, they just dont make thins to last any more I cut the connectors off and taped up a Deans pig tail onto the starter, plugged in one of my 3s 2200 batteries and starter woks like a charm. That was the first start in many years for that little engine. Took a bit to get her to fire, but when she did, she was screaming like she should. Flew it around for almost a full tank. Started to do approaches. She would not slow down so I kept lowering the idle, down, down, down, DOWN. She finally was able to slow down enough to get the wheels on the ground.

Had a few issues with every plane we took. But all in all it was a fun quick trip. As the temp was climbing, we bugged out around 9:00a. It was hitting 100 degrees and we did not want to fly in that weather.


Buzz.

born2build

All my models are glow powered, except for the ones that aren't. Seriously,I've learned how to tune glow ignition engines pretty well. Why should I give that up? I have in recent years, dabbled with electric power. It's great for smaller stuff I sometimes like to build.
I don't build anything big enough to use gas engines effectively so, glow power will always be my first choice for "normal" sized models.
Okay, I'm going to say it..."Nitro" is short for nitromethane, which is an additive used in methanol based model airplane fuel. This whole "nitro" thing is just a marketing thing for millennials. Us old heads know better.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Same here Born2build, my two most recent acquisitions are electric only because I purchased a small kit, 42" Dragon Rapide and the other came with the electric motors,a 60" Graupner Junkers JU-52, both are airplanes on my short list. Everything else I am either building or planning to build will be glow with one possible exception, I may go gasoline or glow on the 1/4 scale Globe Swift short kit I have. The jury is still out on that one.

aspeed

A long time ago, it was rubber or gas. Then the gas name stuck when glow/nitro took over. Now gas has a more accurate meaning separating it from glow/nitro. I rarely call it glow but seldom use more than 10% nitro. I will stick to it mostly because I hate batteries, and I have so many motors(engines) I still need batteries to fly rc, and don't like that, and electrics idle better so maybe when batteries don't swell up or burn I could change. I really like the simplicity and power of the glow. Leckies have not really impressed me yet, until you get to 5S but then they sell and burn.

hairy46

My Feedback: (1)

I do have a few gas now, but I have over two hundred glow engine's, Will always love the power that I get from them. I have mostly two strokes but the sound of the 4 strokes end up in my scale models. I will always look at a glow engine to power a plane unless its just makes sense to gas it. Glow engine's are easy to get a a great price so I am set for years to come. And still have to say that electric foam planes bore me. If thats all there was I recond I would be playing golf instead.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

My 1/4 scale will be powered by a Super Tigre 3000 if it can pull the 20-22 lbs. all up weight.

Stickslammer

I don`t think glow will ever die out. I like electric, though, too. The club I`m in seems to frown on glow more and more and will probably phase it out eventually. But that's ok because I work at a an auto shop that leases an abandoned airport where I can fly my glow planes to my hearts content.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

The club may find by phasing out glow they weaken their club not strengthen it. One local here placed a size ban on their field and dropped a large segment of the membership. They dropped the ban but not all the members came back.

OliverJacob

My Feedback: (12)

Size ban? Is that a limit on the wing span?
I can understand a noise restriction in some areas and with some fast planes it can be challenging to keep it within your field's boundaries, but what would a size ban accomplish?
We try to keep our club rules at a minimum, just we don't fly a certain category of rc planes doesn't mean we would ban it. Our field is within the traffic pattern of a full scale airport, so there are some restrictions and limitations already. But we make it work and make sure everyone can enjoy the hobby.
About 80 % of the flights at our club are electric powered, but glow powered planes ares still being flown and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Engine size limitation which works out to limit wingspan, length, and weight.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

The local clubs around here have started designating areas for C/L because so many of their members are doing both now.

aspeed

We had a vote for control line and it is OK. There are still two guys that are a pain in the b PITA about that. The only guy that flies it is me, and maybe once a year. Our club doesn't have a size ban, but if it did, it would be a minimum size. I would again be the only one to be out of that rule too. I like the little high revving glows.

born2build

FlyerInOKC...I have several Dumas/Pat Tritle kits, including the Dragon Rapide as well as the Waco YMF, Neiuport 28, Stinson Voyager, and the Gee Bee Model E. These are great kits for the money. They're fun to build ( like a jumbo rubber job) and fly well. I just hope I live long enough to build them all, along with my glow powered stuff. So many airplanes and only one lifetime!

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

No kidding! I can't wait until I can afford to retire and have more building time. What power system are you planning on using? I was able to get some stick mounts for outrunners to use on the Rapide but I haven't purchased the motors or ESCs yet.

born2build

Well, the Rapide was relegated to the back burner some time ago. However, I had purchased two E-Flite .10 sized outrunners and two 10 amp ESC's. Those have since been pressed into service in other, simpler projects. I don't know if I'll ever finish the darn thing. It's around here...somewhere. I'm trying to picture stick mounts for outrunners...no luck. I just used motor boxes and X-type motor mounts.
I found all that plastic for the cowls, nacelles, and landing gear fairings rather off-putting.
Right now I'm putting the finishing touches on a Great Planes T-Crate using one of the O.S. 450 sized motors. She's turning out to be a real cutie pie! Cheers, mate!

--------------------------------------------
Model Builder of Extreme Mediocrity, but Unparalleled Passion. (Call me Rick)

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

So where are the pictures of this little cutie pie? (You had to know I would ask.) Check this link out to see what the mounts look like, they will set you back about $5 each:

Outrunner Stick Mount (EFLM1915): E-flite - Advancing Electric Flight

born2build

Well, I'll be Billy-be-frigged, I have not seen those before. Do you just glue it onto the stick or what? I gotta admit, E-Flite makes some nice stuff. I have their UMX Beast and it does exactly what it's supposed to do. It's an amazing little flyer (flier?).
This is gonna sound really dumb, but I have never learned how to download and upload pictures, especially since I'm a bit of a photography buff and I've recently acquired a Canon Eos DSLR. Maybe it's because for the first 40 years of my life there was no such thing as a personal computer. I'm still having a tough time switching from film to digital. This camera has more switches and dials than a 747! I would love to show off some of my stuff here. Maybe you could help an old head out?

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I believe you use a screw to hold it to the stick but I guess epoxy would work too. You look you will find Great Planes makes a aluminum stick mount for 20 mm inrunner motors.

buzzard bait

B2b, when you see your "Quick Reply" screen below the thread, look to the bottom and click on "Go Advanced". Then you can click on the paper clip and get a box that allows you to go to your own photo files and select photos. I think it is probably self-explanatory after that. If you still have trouble, ask again. I love see people's photos.

Jim

born2build

Hey, Jim. Wow,this is embarrassing. I don't even know how to download my pictures onto my laptop. I'm 64 years old and this is my first computer, seriously!
I don't really like the darn things all that much. To me,they're kinda spooky. There's nothing personal about a personal computer.
I love to build balsa models, and I love to take pictures, but I'm not exactly wild about all of this "interweb" stuff. Even programming my transmitter (Futaba 8J) can be a bit intimidating at times. But, it would be nice to be able to show you guys some of my stuff, not that it's all that special. What do you think, can I be saved, or am I too far gone already?

buzzard bait

Ha! I hope you're not too far gone, I'm 68! "There's nothing personal about a personal computer."...that nails it! And smart phones are tracking devices. I don't like it either, but I've used computer radios for a long time, and my job got me started on computers. I didn't get very far.

Learning to program you computer radio is really worth the effort. Read the manual, mess with it at home till you've got it. You don't want to be stumped by your radio when you're out at the field ready for some fun. Just having the trims, servo directions and EPAs for each plane is great. I like EXPO too, and sometimes aileron-rudder coupling comes in handy, especially if you still fly some old 3 channel planes and you want the rudder to work off both sticks.

Don't you have any kids? They're the ones I go to. If you want to enjoy your photos you have to get them on to your computer. Have fun1

Jim