Just got my Avistar in today and need a little help. The back plate and spinner are driving me nuts. Can any one take of their spinner and take a picture of the back plate, prop, washer, bolt installed. I CAN'T get the spinner to align with the back plate to attach it how the diagram shows. I have to put it on at a weired angle? When i try and start the motor the how thing just flies off. Not a good start for my first glow plane. Driving me nuts.
Also any help breaking in the engine would be great. The manual isn't too clear in that aera. Can someone brake it down for me.
Thanks.

I love EFlight and i would really like to start off right with Glow Flight, but it's just such a hassle.

It sounds like your putting everything on in the right order not really sure what the problem is. I quess you do know that the motor starts counter clockwise? Make sure you get the prop nut real tight, don't worry you won't strip anything just get it tight. Maybe you could post a pic of what your having trouble with.

As for breaking in the motor. Usually you run it at full throttle for 5 or 6 tank fulls then your ok to fly. You want to turn out the high speed needle about 2 1/2 to 3 turns don't worry about the low end at this time. You want to hear the engine switching from clean 2 stroke to rich 4 stroke kind of like how a weed eater sounds when it's running. Run the engine for about 5 minutes then let it cool and repeat untill you have run at least 5 tanks through it. This takes a little time but it's worth it in the end. You could just fly it rich for a while but you might take a chance of it loading up and dying on you. Hope this helps some.

Ya the glow is a hassle until you get used to it but I love the smell and the sound. I recently just bought my first elec plane the Graup Terry. I havn't flown it yet but hopefully the weather will clear up soon. I'm used to flying 1/4 scale and above so this Terry will be weird to fly for me. Going from a 33% gasser to this small plane might be a disaster because I'll probably try to do some hovering with the electric and put it in. Ha ha! Good Luck with your trainer.

Funny you should ask...I just finished repairing the spinner on mine. I have two Avistars and the first thing I would recommend is to forget about the one that came with the kit. If you get a chance next time you are near your LHS, get a better one like a Du-Bro or the like. Both of my models ended up shedding the spinner after about the third flight. It appears that if you tighten them too much, the threads split and you lose the spinner. Of course, the inverse is true. Don't tighten them enough and you eventually get the same problem.

I know on my first model, it seemed like the backplate would not fit correctly either. I had to make sure the backplate was snug while I was tightening the prop or it looked to be off a bit. I will try to get my camera working and send a picture of one with just the backplate and prop installed.

T.

CAP232CMThe problem i'm having is the pin pattern on the backing plate. Theres 2 pins and 2 screw pins. The prop is supposed to sit untop of the 2 pins and the 2 screw pins are supposed to be verticalo of teh prop. Well if i put the prop where it's supposed to go then the 2 screw pins wont align with the spinner. Confused you more? It's hard to explain sorry. Thanks for all the other brake in tips and Good Luck with your Terry. I Love mine and also have a ton of video of it. Email me at [email protected] if you would like some video clips of it.

tsawyer148 thanks for the heads up on the spinner. I live on an AF Base in Japan so no LHS for me. I have to order everything I'll have to try and make it work. If you could send a picture that would be great: [email protected]

Also did you have any trouble with breaking in your engine? Did you use starting equipment or just try and crank it by hand? I try it with a starter but it's like the starter doesn't have enough power to turn it. I have a High Tourq 1 so i'm not sure what the trouble is.

Thanks Again for the tips fellas

Darenm, you did not say what kind of engine you have so I'll assume it's the traditional ABC type.
If thats the case you should NOT 4-stroke the engine during break in. This was necessary when pistons and cylinders were steel with little or no taper. With the new design engines power output is much higher as is the amount of heat produced, this extra heat, combined with the newer materials used, causes the upper cylinder and head to expand more than the remainder of the engine. To compensate for this a greater amount of taper is machined into the cylinder, this sometimes causes a noticeable tight spot at the top of the stroke. When in 4-stroke mode there is not sufficient heat generated to cause the proper expansion and may result in piston/cylinder scoring. You should run several tanks of fuel at a rich 2-stroke mode allowing cool down between tanks. place a couple of drops of after run oil in the carb and flip by hand with the glow driver disconnected to insure good lubrication during start-up. Open the throttle about 1/8 and attach the glow driver and use the electric starter.If the engine is too tight at the top for your starter heat the head with a covering heat gun to expand it a little, that usually does the trick.

It sounds like you haven't cut away the spinner to clear the prop.

It amazes me when I fit spinners that it hasn't already been cut away, as they are designed to fit a range of props and I haven't found a single occasion yet where they fit out-of-the-box

David C.

I will see if I can get my digital working, (memory problems), and I will post some pics this afternoon.

I have not had trouble getting the prop to fit the spinner. I am using a Thunder Tiger Pro .46 with a 10X6 APC prop. Have used several different kinds of props, (Master Airscrew, Zinger, etc.) and all of them have mated up to the spinner without any trouble.

T.

If I understand you correctly, I think the problem is that the prop does not go on top of those two pins, rather the prop sides rest against the pins.

Attached is a VERY rough drawing of how I remember it. Hope this helps.

I eventually dumped the original spinner for a Dubro 1/4-28 Spinner Prop Nut (avialable from Tower).

When you get it done, I guarantee you'll enjoy the Avistar. It's a great model.

Neal

Hate the Snow!

I agree with Crotts. The prop does not sit on top of the pins. You need to put the prop against the back plate and just align the prop so that the screw holes line up and it should work fine. As long as you don't have the prop on top of the pins. As for the engine, I have never heard anyone say to run an engine in lean during break-in. The closest I have heard to that was to open the throttle up full and run a tank through the engine and every 10 seconds change the needle valve so that the engine sound goes from 4-stroke to 2-stroke, then back to 4-stroke, etc. Other than that, they say to run an engine at 4-stroke sound or just as it starts to change to 2-stroke, a tank or two and then fly it, still rich, but after every flight, lean it out a little, and after 5 flights or so, you're at optimum needle setting.

If the prop nut continues to come off, then make sure your engine cylinder is not full of fuel. My first engine kept doing this and as soon as I took the glow plug off and drained the fuel out of the cylinder, it started right up and the prop nut stayed on.

Where in this thread did you read to run the engine lean?

This is a direct quote from Clarence Lee, taken from the June 2002 RC Modeler, page 40 column 3.

Gee Bruce, someone who actually reads the instructions. That's a rarity. As my friend Dave Gierke who authored the engine break-in article you mention said, it is not a good idea to run an ABC or ABN engine in a rich 4-cycle. As we have explained quite a few times in previous columns, the ABC and ABN pistons are fit tight at the top to allow for differential expansion rates between the piston and sleeve. At operating temperature the proper running fit is achieved. If the engine is run overly rich it does not come up to operating temperature and the fit remains tight. This more or less results in the piston being jammed up and yanked down, stressing the rod and wrist pin, especially when the engine is misfiring and running ragged in a 4-cycle. This, in turn, can lead to a broken rod or wrist pin.

I was only making sure it didn't seem like you wanted him to run his engine in 2-stroke mode during the entire break in period. You did not say to run it in lean. However I don't think it's accurate that you should not run it in 4-stroke mode at all during break-in. You're right in that no one says to run it in 4-stroke mode constantly during break in, but they do say to run it in 4-stroke mode half of the time during break in, the other half in 2-stroke. If it is run in 2-stroke mode all the time during the first couple of tanks, it will get too hot.

OS 46FX instruction manual states:Run the engine for one minute with the throttle fully open, but with the needle valve adjusted for rich, slow "four cycle"operation. Now close the needle valve until the engine speeds up to two-cycle operation and allow it to run for about 10 seconds, then reopen the needle valve to bring the engine back to four cycle operation and run it for another 10 seconds. Repeat the procedure until the fuel tank is empty.

That's all I was going by. It seems you need the best of both 4 and 2 cycle.

All manufacturers are different and they all tell you to do something different. I guess reading the manual wouldn't hurt.

Hey darenm,

I got my camera working and have some pics of the spinner if you still want to see them.

GO Here to see..
http://www.miners-peak.com/ccrcc/spinnerpics.htm

T.

tsawyer148 thanks a bunch. that's how i have mine setup.
i guess i wasnt sure how it works. i thought the prop has to push down on those 2 pins since it rotates to the left. just looks weired to me. Thanks Again.

The Avistar looks nice.
I was converting mine to a tail dragger but last night I found that there is not enough material at the bottom of the fuse.
So i'm going to machine an aluminum brace and screw it right to the bottom on the fuse.Don't know where you got that snow but keep it there.
Wi'll be in the 60's this weekend
Notice the slight bend in the nose strut.
It added a bit of caster and helps the wheel stay on track.
Also it's not connected to the rudder and still turns fine