Chevelle,

I own several of these awesome engines... they run better than my DA and 3W. Here's a few tips:

Not all engines run perfect out of the box... I have had to tinker with a few of my recent ones. ..
Before I get into it - did you remove the carb air horn or carb at all - or did you rotate the carb 90* to line up your linkage?? I am assuming you did not at this point as the engine would usually not run at all , but often, removing the carb to install the "free" air horn Zenoah puts in the box causes the carb base gasket to leak. In addition, every engine I have bought so far had the wrong screws (too long) in the air horn kit which would not let the gasket seat fully creating vacuum leaks.. I had the grind them 1/8 of an inch to make them work.

Also - remove the large silver idle stop screw, it is not needed. Use the radio/servo trim to close the throttle plate fully.

If the carb is OK, then here's my advise..

1> Don't waste your time hand or spring starting. A cheap electric starter turns this engine very easily. Unless you know exactly how to start a magneto engine by hand, it will never start. More often than not, the engine will kick and bite your hand too, so for safety sake alone, use the electric starter.

2> Your needle settings are too lean, they usually are out of the box. Try this - close both needles and open to factory spec + 1/2 turn. Apply the choke, and normal idle throttle position (barely open) and use the starter to motor over the engine until it "pops".. if it runs, that is OK, but eventually it will load up and die. Most likely it will only pop and then immediately die. Usually the engine only continues to run at full choke if the carb gasket is leaking or its very cold outside.

3> After the engine quits open the choke, and move the trottle trim a notch or two (a bit past idle) motor the engine over again and it should start and run. If it starts and runs, let it run without touching the throttle for about 30 sec to 1 min. If it runs OK but the exhaust appears real smoky - its too rich, you will need to lean the low mixture screw 1/4 turn at a time. If it does not idle, increase the low speed needle 1/4 turn until it does. Continue to do this until it runs. You want at least a rough rich running engine at this point.

4> Once you get the engine to idle, advance the throttle slowly.. the engine should pick up speed. If it does not, you need to open the high speed throttle needle 1/4 turn at a time until it runs well at high throttle. Have someone holding the plane while you are doing this.. !

5> Once you get a basic rich running idle, and can achieve a high RPM, you can tune for best performance. I do it by ear as I am very experienced, but a tach is helpful. You want a smoothe transition from low throttle to high throttle (i.e. no stumbling, burbling sound, etc) and a very strong steady high RPM reading. Usually playing with both needles is required, but is very easy on this engine. Have someone who has one help.. it really is easy.

6> If after this you cannot get the engine to run well, loosen the 2 carb screws and re-tighten (don't overtighten), check your fuel lines and tank for leaks, and make sure your tubing is of sufficient size to supply the larger engine.

by now you should have a very nice running setup..

DP