TMI, maybe but I'm also guilty of that!

I too flew a lot in the Denver area with the Jeffco Aeromodelers at Chatfield. I also flew a lot in Evergreen.

My 15 minutes of fame is that I built the engines that won the AMA FAI F3D pylon class way back in 89 I think. (No, I wasn't the pilot) So I'm a little arrogant in thinking I know a little about engines.

While I'm happy to help in any way possible. I will say that joining a club is the single greatest way to improve your skills. The second is to align yourself with the guys that seem to beat you in the competition arena. I strongly feel that competition improvers the breed!

A funny story about just looking at an engine and coming up with a diagnosis. A guy was having fits with an engine. I walked by and handed him one of my glow plugs. He said that wouldn't help much in that he had tried 3 new plugs. Well, the brand he was using had a bad production run and many would blow the ceramic insulator. I could see the small bubbles coming through when the engine came on pipe. Needless to say the engine ran great after the plug change out. I think this guy throw his glow plug wrench at me and said he was never going adjust an engine again and that it would be my job from now on!

I'd like to tell you the brand name of the glow plug but some would think I was bashing a brand.[:@] I still think this brand's glow plugs are a little weak for a tuned pipe. And for those reading this NO the brand is not OS!

All the best,

Konrad

P.S.
You need a good tach. I like analog tachs as you really just want to see the reversal point in the RPM reading. These are rather expensive. They are not in the $30 dollar range or the stuff one sees now. I think mine cost $200 20 years ago. A cheap digital tach is much better than your ear or no tach at all!