Jess:

The Fox 29x had to be loosened up to the point it was almost worn out to make it go fast, and after a few runs it was. Part of preparing the engine was honing the crankshaft bearing to get enough freedom of movement to have 1/4"to 5/16 inch fore and aft wobble at the tip of a 7" prop. Yes, high rpm for the day, 21 to 22K in the air. The McCoys and Doolings ran fine at those speeds, but they were designed for it. The Fox was not.

Hand starting, of course, was just about impossible. Most of us used a modified inertia starter of the "Stearman" type. Some people made electric starters. Big and bulky, nothing like the ones we have now. Automotive starter and battery on a cart, 80 pounds or so. You didn't hold the starter to the plane, you held the plane to the starter.

Never figured out why the cranks broke in the stunt and rat engines without having the same problem in speed, but I never heard of a 29X breaking a crank. On the other hand, I have saved one Fox engine all these years to show why I stopped using them. Well, in addition to an intense dislike of the Duke. See picture attached. It's a 40 from a rat racer. When it let go the c/l plane did a snap roll. On wires, yet.

Sporty:

You are right about RJL's production capability, but I choose to think if Randy got the volume up he'd not raise the prices.

Bill.