Ducay

Hey Guys,

just getting into R/Cing now. I just recently got a Hobbico Nexstar Learner plane and I have some questions.

First off, I have everything built and I wanted to try the engine out (in my garage minus wings), but for the life of my I couldnt get the engine to go.
Im using a 10% nitromethane fuel, and a rechargable glow-plug ignitor.

My questions are:
1. How can I tell the glow plug is ready and hot enough? When I remove the ignitor everything looks the same, not sure if the visible part of the plug should be glowing too.
2. The manual tells me to cover the carb and do a couple of turns of the prop so that the fuel line that runs to the carb is full. I do this and the line fills up, but when stop turning the fuel starts receeding away from the carb.

Also, any other tips on getting it started? Im just using a hand start and not a electric starter.

Thanks
Travis

Montague

The only part of the plug that glows is the element, which is inside the engine. If the plus is good, it starts glowing fast enough that you don't have to worry about waiting for it to heat up. To see it, take the plug out and stick it in the ignitor and watch it glow.

For hand starting, bring the fuel up to the carb like they instructions say, then give it 2-4 extra turns to get the fuel in to the engine. Start with just 2, and if it doesn't start, add a bit more fuel until it does. Some engines like a wetter prime than others, so you'll have to learn how many cranks yours likes. Don't worry about the fuel going back up the line a little, if you get fuel in to the engine as a prime, the rest will be quickly sucked up the line once it starts.

CougarRules

The only way to tell if the plug is glowing is to get a glow plug driver with a bilt in ameter otherwise change to a new plug or one you know is working and dont forget sometimes the plugs can be dud straight out of the pack!

FHHuber

If possible... find a local person familiar with starting glow engines to assist.

Don't run it in your garage... the garage will fill with irritating fumes (not very dangerous... but very irritating to the eyes) quickly. You want to run it outdoors.

Be careful with that propeler... its kind of like the blades in a "Cuisinart" when it gets going. It will slice and dice anything you feed it... including your fingers.

balsa brain

If there is an rc club in your area,don't worry about running the engine until you go to the field for the first flight.There will be somebody there to help you with getting it going and helping you to learn to fly it.You will find that you meet the finest of people at a flying field.

Ducay

Thanks for all the help.

I am planning on going to the local club this w/e and getting some help, but I would still like to try it out.

How long does the ignitor have to be on the plug so that its hot enough?

randy41

Just about the instanced you put the igniter on the plug it should be hot enough
to start the engine.

collier

You didn't say how open the throtle was? The manual should tell you. I have to put my finger over the exuast and flip the prop about twice. Don't look in the carb when you do this or you might get an eye full! The fuel will spit out of the carb a drop or two. Put your glow ignitor on and flip it a couple of times and it should start. How long on the glow plug? It will be ready before you will.

FHHuber

[X(]CAUTION HAND FLIPPING![X(]

The common train of thought is... I want the thing to rotate this dorection... so I'll flip it the same direction. WRONG ANSWER. (especially with that 3 blade prop wanting to eat some fingers.)

Set the prop so that when turning it BACKWARDS, the downwardgoing blade will meet resistance from compression just as it is parallel to the ground.

When hand starting, rest the tips of your first two fingers of the right hand on the above prop blade, and briskly press downward. As the prop reaches almost 80 deg from where it was... the engine should "Kick" and the blade should slip from your fingertips. your fingers will automaticly spring into almost a closed fist, getting them clear of the prop by about 2 to 3 inches. RIGHT WHEN YOU NEED THEM TO BE OUT![8D]

The engine will start... and it will run going forward.[8D]

*******

One problem with this... It assumed (oops we know what that means...A** U ME) that the engine is properly tuned.

THER IS NO SAFE WAY to hand start an untuned engine with a 3 bladed prop. You need an electric starter for the first time the engine is started.

collier

I use a piece of 3/8in. hardwood dowel about 12in. long with a rubber hose about 3in. long slid on the end.AKA the chicken stick!! I like my fingers and plan on keeping them.[sm=lol.gif]

FHHuber

I call "Chicken Sticks" Prop beaters. I don't like them... they tend to beat the heck out of the TE of a prop the way most people use them. (then you have a broken prop blade portion flying into your face...) Also... its something to drop into the prop just as the engine starts. (then you have a chicken stick AND a prop blade flying...)

Yes... if you don't now how to safely hand start... a Chicken stick is good for saving your fingers. But its better to learn how to safely hand start. (and have the electric starter for the balky engines that need to be tuned.)

ho2zoo

My Feedback: (5)

A new engine can be difficult to hand start. If you have to flip the prop with your hand, wear a thick, leather glove. Works much easier than a chicken stick. Those plastic props will slice you no matter which way you flip them.

FHHuber

Really... that back flip method i posted WORKS and is VERY safe.

You never handle the sharp TE of the prop. (sliding your fingers along the TE of an APC prop... you may as well take a steak knife to your hand.) So there is no reason to alter the TE and damage the prop's efficiency.

I hand start everything from 0.020 to the .91 four-stroke with this method and have not been even nicked since I learned the method. (I used to come home witth little gashes all over my fngers from the 0.049's when I was a kid... That stupid spring starter is just ASKING for a cut finger.)

ho2zoo

My Feedback: (5)

What I am saying is that if you wear a leather work glove, you don't have to remember a prop flipping procedure. You can flip it any way you want with reasonable safety! And I have seen plenty of props with a razor-sharp flash on the leading edge of the prop. Especially those Master Airscrew props.

jrpnde

ho2zoo has a good suggestion by wearing a work glove while starting the engine. Just make sure it's not a really bulky one that could get wrapped up in the prop. Although some think an electric starter is a luxury once you start buying extras for the hobby, it does keep the fingers out of the way...especially if you're having trouble getting the engine started. Set the needle to the manufacturer's suggested default opening. With the throttle control/trim look into the carb to see if there is at least a slight opening and its not in the fully closed position. Adjust for a slight opening. The engine won't run if the throttle is compltely closed...no matter what you do.

Ducay

Okay, I decided to check out the glow plug, so I took it out and hooked it up to the ignitor, and it started to glow. Ive never seen a glow plug before, but the glowing did not go all the way down to the bottom and out of the glow plug (it stopped about 3or4mm from bottom)
Is this normal? Because a piece of wire extends down and out of the center part and I figure it would light better if that were light all the way down.

Montague

Yeah, that's pretty normal. If you get a bright glow over most of the wire, that's normally plenty.

(there are a couple of ways a plug can not work, but still glow, but they all involve the engine running for a bit first, so it wouldn't apply in this case)

phread59

One word of caution. If you never started a plane be sure the tail is secure. Tie the tail to an immovable object. pull the string taught before starting. This way the plane will not jump foreeward and bite you. Please be careful. it is usually best to have help the first time you ever start an engine. Good luck with your new plane and enjoy.

Mark Shuman

Hill202

My Feedback: (24)

I agree with FHHuber I use the "backflip" method on all my larger engines, although I do use a rubber coated chicken stick rather than my hands. I have yet to find a pair of leather gloves thick enough to protect my fingers the way i want them to be

Cjsworks

I cheat, lol I just use a dropper and put a few drops of fuel in carb and give it a few turns and away it goes everytime. I also take a fine file and clean the burred edge off my Master Airscrew props. After seeing what they do to my chicken stick I decided I like my fingers better where they are.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

If you guys want to risk YOUR fingers, fine, but please don't recommend that method to others. I for one, have a full set of ten fingers, and they're the last ones I have.

Newbies, Please do NOT ever stick your fingers into the prop arc (Running or not). Use an electric starter, or a "Chicken Stick" (Which in reality should be called a "Smart Stick") to start your engines.

(Note: A Chicken Stick can be anything from a store-bought device, to a rubber-handled screwdriver, to a stick dropped from a tree... Just about anything is safer than using your fingers.)