Originally Posted by
WyoTom
Hello again...
I tried for over an hour last night to post pictures if my new plane, but as a new member I'm not allowed, or so it seems. I upload pictures but when I go to post I get a warning telling me that I cannot post URL's as a new member, but my pictures are not URL's.
I know it's confusing, but the admins set a requirement of 10 posts before being able to post a picture. This was due to people putting a single post up to talk about an R/C that they were going to be marketing that turned out to be a total scam. The 10-post rule stopped the practice
Originally Posted by
WyoTom
Anyway... I'd previously posted that I couldn't get the engine cowl off the plane at the sellers location because of conditions there, but that I could peep through air vents to see what I thought was a Horizontally Opposed Twin motor. People expressed their doubts. Well folks you were right. After getting the plane to my shop and removing the cowl I found I was totally wrong...
The motor is actually A Horizontally Opposed FOUR cylinder.
It's an OS Pegasus 320 or an FF-320, same thing.
As I said before the engine which had been sitting for over ten years, was just about stuck which obviously isn't good. So I removed all four plugs and filled the cylinders with Marvel Mystery Oil.
After a few minutes I was able to rotate the prop 360 but it's still tight. So I've now left it to soak overnight. Hopefully it will be freed up when I get to my shop later this morning but I have my doubts.
Now that you know what is powering the plane, you might be better off ordering the parts and just rebuilding the engine. If there's any deep scrapes in the cylinder sleeves, you will need to replace them and the matching pistons anyway, might be money ahead to do so up front. At that point, if you find that some of the piston and sleeve sets are still good, you can keep them as spares
Originally Posted by
WyoTom
I'm fortunate to have an extremely talented mechanic at my shop who'd have no issue tearing the engine down, honing the cylinders and replacing pistons, rings etc, but I hope it doesn't come to that, and are parts available? Who knows... One way or another we'll get there...
It's not really possible to hone out a sleeve. They are usually chrome plated brass with aluminum pistons. Unlike a gas engine, where a crosshatch pattern is desired, a nitro motor you want to have just as smooth as possible. The other little detail about the sleeve is that they are usually tapered in at the top. Not sure if your engine has rings or not but, if not, you don't want to remove the inward taper or chrome lining at the top of the sleeve
Originally Posted by
WyoTom
The rest of the plane cleaned up very well. It had quite a thick covering in dust but some spray window cleaner "without ammonia" soon had her shining again, being careful not to over wet the plane or wipe dry dust across the surfaces and cause a million scratches. A ten foot wingspan model is a bit of a hand full even with the wings off, the fuselage alone is over seven feet.
I do own a full sized ultralight and a light sport plane, A Quicksilver Sprint and a Kolb Firestar II, but I understand that doesn't mean I can fly an RC plane, in some way RC is more difficult. Also my full sized planes have ballistic parachutes, these don't.
So I will get training and start off probably with an electric / foam built horror. There is also a local RC club that I'll approach for training.
You need to remember, your two full sized planes have you sitting in them so you see AND FEEL what it's doing. An R/C you lose both since you're watching it from a distance. While the controls still work in the same way, the rudder pedals are now a second stick and that requires some getting used to, especially since the second stick also controls the throttle
Originally Posted by
WyoTom
Please can you give your opinion on PC based simulators for very basic training. Considering it's -4 degrees here as I write, that's about all I can get for the next few months.
Also do you know if and where parts can be bought for this engine. I have seen a few parts on Ebay.
Watch this space.
Thank you...