Brian said:
>Was this the correct thing to do?

Yes, if it corrected the situation...Did it stop the vibration?

The whole purpose is to run as rich as you can without screwing up the plug You can sneak up on it like your doing...Its perfectly normal to have to richen up while the engine breaks in..


>Also I noticed that while doing nice easy wide figure 8 patterns after about 7 minutes into the flight the top end would drop off a little. For this I also richened the high speed needle a fraction. and I mean a fraction. This did seem to help smooth out the top end dropping. Is this the way to go?


Yes, anytime you see a condistion that you notice a power decrease, its always safe to richen up first if your not fully use to tuning, and listening to gassers...This is what makes gassers so much fun is that it is an artform learning to operate them correctly....

I have come up with a method that will teach someone a lot about how to tune gassers...It will cost you about 100 bucks , but it will show you first hand what effects you have on the engine, when you change the needles...Go buy one of those 99.00 leaf blowers...It has a constant load on it, and you will have to break off the plastic needle locks on some models..Purpose is to keep folks from screwing the engine up, and only allow some adjustment....Come to think of it, we need them on the heli engines too hehee
Anyway, you can teach yourself alot by doing this, and feeling the effects of vibration at certain needle settings...This is what I did...One of the first experiments was to run the engine the way everyone has run them for the past 12 yrs...1 to 7/8s on the low, and 1 1/2 on the high running 5 ounces of oil...Just by holding the blower, I knew this was not the way to go, hehee
cheap education, plus you have a new tool
Regards,
Bill Meador