I have tried the fuel tubing aound the needle and that doesn't seem to do anything. Put in a Fox pointed needle instead of the flat side one and it now runs constintaly. IMO not enough air leaking past the needle to make a big differance, but others may be sloppier. The needles on my Fox RC planes seem to work fine also, however the main needle will leak a small amount of fuel out, not air in, since the tank is presurized. But not that much.