jessiej

[Somehow I sense a hint of sarcasm in that last post. ]

From me?[X(]? Never!

jess

Mustang Man-RCU

ckangaroo70, I agree 100% with what you say way back in post #6. Bottom line is "ya get what ya pay for".

Steve

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Biggest hunk of junk, the MDS 58. Flip side of that, I have the MDS 68 and it is still A runner. If they would have just figured out how to make A carb the rest of the engine was good. I sent the 58 back because of bad running and breakage and I have the third one in A box. Can get it to bench run but in A plane it stinks.
I have two LA 46s, perfect right out of the box and can't tell you how many gallons of fuel have gone through them. These are in light fun fly planes and have plenty of power for there use, not for racing though.
In four strokes I have had great luck with the OS, I have three, 2 120s and A 70 but I think the Saitos are more user friendly, JMO. My YS is A mite touchy after I messed it up with dirt and ground contact, I just got it back from being rebuilt and it is still broken, going back to YS Monday, there service dept. missed something in the pump, they didn't bench run it.
I'm now going to stick with gas engines, I love my RCS 1.40 and have never seen A problem with A Zin, the next engine is going to be another gas in the 45 to 65 range, at this time???? Not sure of the plane yet either.

SBR_RV

well ,havent owned anything other than OS engines.
But at the moment i am having trouble with my 46AX, only because i dont how to set the low idle needle. can anyone explain?

Super D

I just have a 46 AX, that I broke-in last weekend. Mine was very rich on the low side. Your going to need a tiny flathead screwdriver, in the center of your control arm on the carb you'll find the tiny screw way down in the center.
I turned mine in about 1/2 turn before it would transistion well.

When I say tiny, its very tiny, 1/16 slotted screw driver.
So far mine has been great, especially mounted upsidedown on a pattern-ship.

FenceMagnet

My Feedback: (2)

I have an OLD ASP .40 ABC..... I dug it out of my "old engine box" and put it on my Advance 40 ARF, replacing a K&B Screaming 48 that ran fantastic, but was quite heavy for this airplane.... the ASP is several ounces lighter and allowed me to remove 4 ounces of tail weight !! I set it up at home in the driveway, then proceeded to the field.... well aware of the many derisive opinions of the ASP's in the past, I eagerly awaited my arrival.... I put the plane in the pits and unloaded the rest of my stuff while the vultures circled and noticed the change in power.... several said "It'll never run..." "it'll dead stick every time..." "what a piece of crap...." Undeterred, I fueled up, choke-primed it, attached the ni-starter and gave the prop one back-flip.... it came to life instantly and I goosed the throttle a few times to clear out the rich prime..... I throttled back to a VERY low idle and got up and walked away.... got some rags from my van and wiped my hands... cleaned my glasses.... had a drink of water..... got my hat from the front seat.... walked over to the plane and lifted it from the tail cradle.... set her down and picked up my transmitter.... extended the antenna and taxied out to the runway..... lined her up and eased in the throttle..... smoothly accelerated and broke ground in a nice gentle climb.... made a few passes and opened her up for some zoom-zoom aerobatics.... heard some comments... "it'll deadstick soon..." "sure flies the plane good though...." "he must have modified it..." I did a few touch and goes, then landed and taxied back.....

the moral of this story? Your Mileage May Vary..... Preparation is the key to success....

[:-]

Eagle Al

Jessie boy you have convinced me that you don't have any taste and probably not much money either judging by the wheels you own. I drive a 600 SL AMG Benz, and I have a BMW M3 for the girl friend. I also have my own private flying field to indulge my other delusions regarding model planes!

Ciao,

Eagle Al[8D]

Harry Lagman

You know what they say about glasshouses and stones, Jess...

You are now at the top of the pedants' proofreading list

jessiej

duplicate post deleted
j

SBR_RV

yes i have made ajustmants to the carb needle but with no luck. when the engine takes about 3 seconds to reach full RPM does this mean i wind it out for more fuel?
when it runs at very low RPM even though given full RPM, does this mean it still needs more fuel?
sometimes it would rev then slow down then rev then slow down fairly fast?.
another question, do i set the main needle valve first, then the low needle?
hope i explained it ok

crazyextra300

ASP, frickin' crap motors!!!

Had a .90 in a goldberg ultimate, the stupid thing had poor power, ran stupid hot and dead sticked often, and thats how I lost my beautiful ultimate, may it rest in pieces

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

Why don't you tell us how you really feel? LOL

Mustang Fever

My Feedback: (2)

I think it's all in how the engines are broken in, and treated afterwards.

I have three Tower 46s, and they are all reliable and powerful, good running engines. The only time I ever had a problem was due to ingesting dirt in an inverted application. It scored the piston/liner, and lost all its crankcase compression. (It was weird- I could hear it flame out when I went vertical, so I'd nose the bird over into a shallow dive, then throttle back to idle and it would relight.) I sent it back to Hobbico and they sold me a new one for $40. My 46s are on: A Lanier Sabre; a GP Kaos; a Hobbico Superstar with GP floats.

The break in procedure is critical. Doing the "pinch test" during runup is critical. I always err on the side of "rich" for the first half dozen or so flights on a new airplane, until I'm sure the engine is not going to go lean on me. One thing I also do during runup is point the nose at the sky with the engine running full power, to make sure it doesn't go lean when vertical. I think most so called "problem engines" are damaged due to running them too lean. Just listen closely at the flying field sometime, you'll see what I mean. If you can't hear a little bit of "crackle" when the airplane is on the ground at full throttle, it's too lean, and when the engine rpm picks up during flight, you'll fry it.

I have an OS 40 LA on a Lanier Shrike, and it's a hoot to fly. Not a lot of power, but not a lot of airplane, either.

I have three Norvels- .049, .061 and .074. All of them are great engines. The .061 has an incredible amount of power for its size and weight. It's going on a Herr Aqua Star.

My only other flying engine is a Magnum 15, which must be on steroids. I have it on a little Heinkel 31 sea plane that acts like a Schneider Cup contender.

I have an OS 10 LA, but have yet to find an airplane with low enough performance to put it on. The Norvel .074 is twice the engine a 10 LA is.

Grouchy

I have two Tower .46 junkers. Kept them running long enough for a little combat !!!

I stick to OS, YS and a few Super Tigres

Mustang Fever

My Feedback: (2)

Want to sell either one or both?

pianori

My Feedback: (2)

I just do not understand why people are having such a hard time with MDS engines. They are incredibly powerful for their size. I bought one 40 size for starters and yes I was skeptical based upon what I read here in the threadsā€¦ (Now I also have a 78 that I put in a P51) But let me tell you people REED THE MANUAL on how to se these engines to run. Most people want to open the box, mount the engine on the plane, fuel it up and fly. Well if that is what you want then get an OS or a Super Tigre. But still then for ultimate performance you need to tweak the low idle screw to get it to work right in transition. I have had Thunder Tigre, Super Tigre , OS FX, and FP and LA, YS and now MDS. It is strange but I do one thing that most people do not do and that is READ THE MANUAL on how to set the engine to run. For the MDS if you do not have the manual go to the horizon website and downloaded in pdf file or call them and they will send you one.
The problem with MDS is that the engine needs to be se completely different than the OS or other engines out there. Most people say ā€œ I know how to set the engine..ā€ and do what they think is right. Initially I did the same thing, but soon I realized that it does not work for the MDS. Then, the unthinkable! I read the manual on how to set the engineā€¦..
I have to admit that the manual is poor written. Nonetheless is very helpful.

Well, for those of you that you have not red the manual this is how you set the MDS to run like no other of your other enginesā€¦.
1. Do not use more than 10% nitro (it is still of combustion timing but it will do)
2. Use preferably 5% nitro
3. Use a hot plug like OS A5, A3 (I use A5). I have not used idle bar yet as I did not see a need for it. But others claim to use a spark lug with an idle bar. Either way, make sure your plug is hot.
4. Screw in the high speed needle valve until closed. Open the HIGH needle 2 &1/2 turns (counter clockwise).
5. CLOSE your throttle arm and screw in the LOW idle until it stops turning. Then open (counter clockwise) 2&1/2 turns.
6. Prime the engine by squirting very little fuel into carburetor.
7. Open throttle Ā¼ turn and start engine.
8. Let engine warm up for 1 MINUTE and then start to increase throttle. This engine needs to be warmed up due to the metals expanding.
9. Start to increase throttle. It will have a rich setting at this point. Start to close the HIGH speed needle TWO ticks at a time until full throttle is reached.
10. Do the pinching test. Pinch the fuel line momentarily at high throttle and listen for rpm drop or increase. If the RPM increases you are too rich, so close your HIGH speed needle (clockwise). If the engine does not change much in rpm or dies you are where you want to be. At this point turn the high needle open (counterclockwise) ONE to TWO clicks as it needs to run a tad rich.
11. Reduce your throttle to idle and wait for 10 sec. At this point the LOW idle will be running rich. With a screw driver close (clockwise) the LOW idle screw 1/8 of a turn. Now do the low idle pinching test.
12. Pinch the fuel line while the engine is running at low idle. If the engine, while at idle, increases its rpm more than 200 the low idle valve is too rich. Stop the engine and close the low idle speed by 1/16 (clockwise). As you keep on doing this you will notice and improvement on transition between high throttle and low throttle.
13. You will have set the LOW speed needle valve properly once you do the low idle pinch test and only get about 100 rpm increase. Your transition will be instantaneous at this point.
14. Last test is the VERTICAL TEST.
15. Start your engine and while in the horizontal position give it full throttle. Now tilt the engine up until it reaches 75 degree pointing up.
16. If you engine is set properly you should have no variation in rpm. If the engine reduces in rpm or increases in rpm increase or decrease the HIGH speed needle by ONE or TWO click.
17. Once you engine stays working while in the up orientation YOUR ENGINE IS SET.
Do this and you will not have any dead sticks and you will fall in love with your MDS.

MAKE sure to break in your engine on the stand for at least one gallon of fuel.
This engines uses automotive metals so the break in time is significantly larger than any other engine. Once you break it n you will have an engine that will last you for many years to come.
Happy flying.
Sincerely Eric

checkmate91

Only flown one glow engine, OS40LA currently in an ARC Ready 2 Trainer. Previous trainer speared into the ground from a great height and we had to dig the engine out of the crater. Hosed it down and fitted into the Ready, it's been doing its thing for 3 years. Better on 11" props than 10" in my experience, but having said that, when you're only doing left and and right hand circuits (and the odd figure of eight when the wind ain't blowing) it doesn't make that much difference. So, I like it. Others in the flying club quite like ASP four strokes, quiet and inexpensive. On that subject my OS40LA only cost Ā£50...

The worst engine I ever owned is in the front of my wife's 1993 Mini. It had a cracked cylinder head that took AGES to diagnose.

Wing-Ding

I had a Tower .46 on a trainer. No matter what I did, I couldn't keep it running. Tried several different heat ranges of glow plug and was always tuning it. I feel I am a fairly experienced glow engine tuner, but nothing seem to keep this baby going reliably. Fortunately, the trainer was pretty forgiving on deadstick landings. It didn't seem to be the tank or fuel lines, because I put a VMAX in its place, which I got from Richmond RC (long story). That VMAX runs perfectly and has NEVER conked out through two flying seasons. I can't say I recommend the Tower .46.

oneflyrn

Bill,
I am somewhat new to the "Universe" but have been flying, building, and teaching for nearly 20 years. I do recommend the VMAR planes with a couple of side notes and highly recommend the VMAX engines that www.richmondrc.com sells with these planes, especially as a combo deal. For the money, you just can't beat it. Several people will complain about the covering that sags (which it does) but hit it with a heat gun and it's tight again. If you have to repair any covering, it unfortunately is nearly impossible to match the detail that's incorporated in their covering. But if you don't like it, rip the covering off and re-cover it. I've had issues with the fuel tanks that come with them. Too thin and break easily, even while simply installing them! The rest of it looks great. They fly decent and scale looks are very nice. They are really good planes for beginners to build because they aren't complicated and a lot of the parts are already installed. Yes, there are a few flaws here and there. You're buying something that can be built in as little as the 4 hours it took to build the last Mustang I bought from them. The terms ARF and quality sort of cancel each other out if you're looking for a precision built time piece. Not for $150 anyway.
As far as the VMAX engines go, I now have 5 of them. I also have a couple of YS .45s, OS FX .46s, OS .40 FPs, OS .40 LAs, Manum .40s, Magnum .91s, and a bunch of brushless electric stuff. I'd say I have a pretty thorough understanding of engines and rate the VMAX .46s very high, even above the OS FX and AX .46! First and foremost because of performance. They idle at less than 500 RPMs, consistently! The top end RPM with a 10X7 prop and 15% fuel is 15K RPM. Most of the time I can finger start them (unless cold or very hot). The only downside I have found with this engine is that it won't do 3D very well. Turning a 12X4 prop, it just doesn't hit the RPMs quick enough to suddenly hang off the prop. I'll also say the breaking in of this engine isn't as easy as some other engines. Have had a difficult time getting it to turn over on it's first few starts. The engine is very tight when new and takes a few runs before it becomes easy. After an hour on it though, it will start like a champ. Now check the price. When purchased with an ARF from them, $50 gets you an engine that I think is slightly superior to the OS equivelant. If you don't get the ARF and buy it outright, it's $70. How much is that OS? $115!
As far as other postings on this subject, I'm very disappointed in some of the advice given. Most RC engines will run fine if you know what you're doing and if there aren't any flaws in the engine itself. It sounds like several people have bought bushing engines like the .40 LA and FP and Magnum .40 GPs and said that they're gutless. What are you guys putting these things in? .40 size aerobatic planes? They are designed as an entry level trainer engine to go on planes that are no heavier than 5 pounds! In comparison, are you guys putting VW engines in Corvettes and saying the engines are lousy? That's exactly what some of you sound like. You have to know the application these engines are designed for. Yes, I've come across an engine or two that wouldn't run right but every one of them have been able to be taken apart and problem located in the maunufacturing, a flaw in a part (crack or whatever), or something that was done by the owner like a busted needle valve. 9 times out of 10 it ends up either being a fuel contaminant, crap in the carb/needle ports, leak in the fuel or pressure tubing, or bad glow plugs. The other thing to keep in mind while you're bashing the manufacturers, have you contacted the manufacturers about bad engines? Most have warrantees that cover bad engines for at least 90 days and some for more than a year!
Good luck and welcome back to the hobby!
And the rest of you, relax and lighten up! Such harsh words for a fun hobby! Sheeesh!

Oneflyrn

carrellh

This was a great reply!

Back on the engine topic...

I have a Thunder Tiger 61 Pro (made in Taiwan), great engine now. It was very lean on the low end needle out of the box. Every expert at the field said "it's loading up at idle, lean the low end" and it was really frustrating trying to get it to start and run on a trainer. Finally went out really early with my brother, determined to get it running or toss it in the trash. Richened the low end more than a full turn, ran better. Kept richening in smaller increments for a while. When my instructor arrived tha day, he was absolutely amazed at how well the engine was running and how easily isstarted.

I also have
ASP 61 two stroke - This engine was so tight it had to be 'cooked' with a heat gun before it would start. So far it has only been bench run but it seems really good.
OS 70 Surpass 1 - It has about 5 tanks through it. It was 'good' out of the box and seems to get better and better with each tank.
OS 91 Surpass 2 - Still in the box but I have no doubt it will be great.

My brother has TT and Magnum 2 strokes, and OS and Magnum 4 strokes; all good. His Magnum 4 strokes took longer to break in than his OS; but, once broken in, they run great and are totally reliable.