I'm a little behind on the NVA stuff... Does that fuel line fitting and needle valve go through the old screw holes for the carb? Glad you got an improvement in the RPM. So what is the prop speed looking like?

You must have posted your question right before I put up the speeds. It really is shocking to see the tach go over 30K with an engine that is mainly thought of as a medium performance sport model. The numbers look so good, there isn't any motivation to get out the dremel and take a chance on ruining it. I don't know what application that C/F 5x4 prop has in competition, but it was made to order for the .074! For 1/2A it would need to be shortened.

I drilled the screw holes out to fit the needle, just pack the area above the crank with paper towel, drill, then doosh it with brake cleaner, then pull the towel.

That's funny... we must have been typing at the same time. Thanks for the numbers, I bet it can live up to them....

AS soon as the paint gets here from MECOA, [>:] the cowl gets painted and the plane gets launched! The high speed props don't promise much thrust for unlimited vertical, one of the calcs came in at around 12 ozs, so the vertical needs to be tested too.

CP --

That was a great call on your part to ditch the carb and go with a straight NVA -- that might be one of the best NORVEL mods to date -- better yet, it's one that a putz like me can implement!!

I'm guessing that Larry's prop is pretty thin on blade area -- that 30,500 is really impressive. I did a few calculations with the APC 5x5. Both props should unload a bit in the air, but I'm betting the 5x5 will unload more -- I wonder how much more you can run over 30,500 and keep the engine together. At 24,400 (a pickup of 3600), the 5x5 will match the 5x4 at 30,500 -- so I'm guessing the speeds may be closer in the air than the static runs indicate.

Can't wait to see and hear the GLAMF flying.

These are pretty interesting, and impressive numbers. It is amazing how versatile this engine is. Excellent throttled sport engine, converts well to diesel and now potentially a pretty hot racing engine.

You were wondering about an AME version a few posts back. I asked Ed Stevens about an AME version when the .074 was first announced and he said that the AMEs simply weren't as popular as the BigMigs.

ANDREW, you're too kind [8D]! I [8D]wouldn't[8D]be[8D]the[8D]kind[8D]to[8D]gloat[8D]over[8D]a[8D]massively[8D]triumphant[8D]success[8D]like[8D]this[8D]!!!!!!!!!

You're right about the C/F prop being narrow and thin, not just that, but it came already finished. LARRY just threw it in with a small order, [probably like those dope dealers do it, you know ]. Right now, I'm predicting that the muffler will act like a governor to limit unloading, some will still occur, but once we get past stage one of this experiment and get some clockings, then the next step will be to retrofit the plane with a fuel cell and run it on bladder with no muffler. Those results shouldn't be too impressive, it's always the last 5 mph that are the hardest to get anyway. I'm no math whiz, but you have to quadruple the power to double the speed, if I remember that correctly. If this plane can break 100 in real life, and run well on just muffler pressure, the beauty of all this is that a .074 racing class could be developed that offers good speed for the least amount invested, with engines that are a piece of cake to operate. The .061 BIG MIG C/L version might respond the same way this engine did, with the right prop

BIPE, I think the early AMEs tarnished that lines' image enough that they should have tossed the name and called the next generation AME something else, like CYCLONE or FORACLONE, or something. The 2nd gen. AMEs still tend to suffer from the wrist pin area getting hot and this is where the compression seal is lost. The peened in pin method works to a certain level of rpm, but the AME would be a good engine if it was fitted with E-clips or a TEFLON button. NORVEL must figure that catering to the 1/2A performance crowd is a waste of time and a service head ache, as well as a liability to their good name. I think they could have put more effort into the AME and made it a solid performer for just $10 more per copy. Gouging on the piston adjacent to the wrist pin hole is the only way I've ever failed about a 1/2 dozen AMEs over the years.

Flight report time. The plane isn't that fast. Instead of GLAMF it should be called GLAPP [Goes Like A Pattern Plane]. I didn't have the cowl on, but it isn't much of a cowl anyway, mainly cosmetic. I think the plane is just too big and that big barrel cylinder needs to be faired in somehow for an .074 powered ANYTHING to be fast. The plane handles nicely, launches are easy, axial rolls, it was just a touch nose heavy, only apparent on dead stick final, there was no flair before touch down. The first flight was with the 5.5x4.5 and it was a good all around performer, probably going 60 mph. The second flight was with the 5x5 and the speed was much better, probably in the mid 70s. The final flight was with the 5x4 "LARRY PROP" and the sound effects were there, but the speed was maybe only close to 80 mph. When the engine quit, I was trying to set up for a nice landing at my feet, but there was no roll control, all I could do was land it with the elevator about 100 yards away, in the middle of a cow pasture that is half submerged with freezing cold water. I went out and picked it up in my tennis shoes[&:]. Brand new HS 55, probably got buzzed to death by the 30,000 rpm run. Never before have I seen such a difference between actual speed and the accompanied sound effects! [&o]. Anyone want a slightly used pattern plane with no rudder? Oh ya, one more thing, it has "inflight, auto-dihedral" as well, you can see it everytime you do a tight turn or pull out of a dive. I don't know if that contributed to the early death of the aileron servo or not.
Looking back on what I've learned here, we have a bulky engine that weighs about the same as a G&Z. It puts out about the same power, too. In order to build a real speed plane for the .074, you would need to cowl that big cylinder, and end up with somewhat more frontal area than the GZSWR . The rest of the plane should be the same size as the other SWRs, and then I think you would have a 100 mph plane with a 5x5 APC and all the other cheap stuff to go along with it. Oh ya, don't forget the spar!

Hey CP, have you thought about trying a Cox 6x6? in theory, you should only need about 18k for 100mph, and those broad tips should get more work done than those non-existent APC tips...

SST, I didn't know they had a 6x6. This engine would probably turn it slower than it turns a 7x3, I'm guessing 15K. To get 18,000, it would probably have to be cut down below 5 inches. It's worth a try, but I've never seen one of those props anywhere. The wider blade might move the model better in a low rpm application, but "over square" [ more pitch than diameter] propping usually requires very clean air frames to work to an advantage. So far, this airframe has shown a lot left to be desired, compared to the simpler SWRs, that are faster with less power.

OK...Thought I'd ask. I have 4 Cox rubber duckie 6X6s. They have a much larger, counter bored hub hole than I'm used to seeing in a Cox prop, and they're a bit stiffer than the usual Cox black, but they're marked Thimble Drome. Maybe they were made for the Conquest?

That's what I think they were made for, but I assumed you were talking about the hard plastic props. A CONQUEST is a pretty hot engine, and I would be leery about using nylon or rubber props on one. They [COX] would know a little bit more about it than I though. A 6x6 would be a good choice for a hot .15 in a REAL SMALL plane. Maybe they also worked well with the .09s too? I don't have any experience with the COX big blocks, but it seems that COX did a great job of matching props to their engines.

Glad to hear that it flys.... sorry you did not get the performance you wanted. I hope that the SBBART did not weekend the wing too much causing the "inflight, auto-dihedral". Did you hear any cracking sounds?

Well you win some, and lose some. I'm going to retrofit a spar, and set this thing up with the OS CVA .15 [side mounted]. Then do a complete reworking / rethinking of another.074 speed ship.