ORIGINAL: LuckyArmpit
Given a 2 stroker .46 engine, isn't it about 1 minute run time per ounce of fuel?????
Dave...
A little less actually. But you can't quantify without defining variables, in particular prop size which ultimately governs engine peak rpm, & average throttle position.
However IME a typical powerful .46 such as the 46FX on a typical suggested sport prop will run
safely 12min in the air at predominently full throttle on 10oz of
usable fuel, with an
additional reserve of about 2 mins allowing for circuit, a possible overshoot and taxi-ing to/from the flightine at reduced power or flight idle. If you spend excessive time tuning the high speed needle before a flight, you need to take this consumption into account.
Excluding engine mod or tuned pipes, variables which can reduce or extend endurance significantly include elevation of your flying site, nitro content and viscosity of the fuel, propellor size affecting peak rpm, and how you fly/use the throttle and high speed needle tuning.
Now you could say that using a figure of 1oz per min for a .46 is a conservatively safe rule of thumb which will never see you dead stick through fuel exhaustion, provided of course, that your tank is full and the specificed capacity is all usable. However it's better to have an appreciation of your actual fuel consumption.
Average sport tuned .46FX consumption with aggressive throttle use is closer to .75 to .85 of an oz per min, depending upon whether you want to calculate the average figure including or excluding startup, tune, taxi, circuit, reduced power flight, etc.
As a guide, depending where and when you initialise your TX's flight timer per flight should determine which set of figures you use. eg: I initialise my timer as I line up for take-off. The safe flight endurance ROT I use to avoid being caught out is just to calculate endurance at the rate based upon flight time at my average throttle setting from throttle roll-on to a full stop landing, then subtract 1 minute reserve to allow for a couple of missed approaches/holding due either conflictual traffic or conditions and another minute (at average flow rate) to account for the startup, tuning, taxi-ing, and circuit at the reduced consumption rate of flight idle.
In summary, dead sticks through
fuel exhaustion simply shouldn't happen at all, and are the consequence of poor airmanship and a lack of planning or situational awareness. Considering the all too frequently related tale of woe consequence, they're really worth avoiding when it's so easy to do so.