Ok. first question, I've broke in my engine (OS 46 LA) It made mess all over the plane spitting feul all over the place. I've now got it running at its top performence and I still have to wipe the plane down after every flight, not as bad but it still makes a mess.. Does this stop? or will it always make a little mess? Second question. yesterday I went flying and on my second flight of the day the plane died and I had to land dead stick. (thought maybe just a stall) restarted plane and took off again, the plane got up about 15 feet and dead again.. I checked the gas and made sure it was flowing with no blocks in lines. I checked receiver to make sure all connections were good. It felt like the battery line was loose. Would that have caused my problem if the plug was loose and shorting out? Last question .. About how long do most receiver batterys last? how often do they need charged? thanks for any help you can give..............

2-strokes spit lots of oil. Get used to it, or switch to 4-strokes or gassers.

The battery has nothing to do with the engine running. Check your clunk and make sure it is in the proper position and that there are no pinholes in the feed line.

Rule of thumb: Three 10- to 15 minute flights per battery charge.

May have the high speed needle to lean. Have fun. Dennis

It will always make an oily mess. You symptoms are typical of a poorly adjusted engine. Find a local club and get someone to show you how to tune it. Loose battery connection would make you loose control of the plane, not cut your engine.

Miller,

As far as fuel spewing from the engine (muffler), yes that will always be the case. You might try diverting the exhaust and minimizing the amount getting on the wing.

Regarding the engine quitting, several things could cause it, but first make sure the engine is not too lean. You mentioned "top performance", however after adjusting to peak RPM, back off the high speed needle 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn. Your engine won't last long running at max RPM, especially when new.

The typical 600 ma battery should give you a minimum of 4 15 to 20 minute flights, but batteries need to be checked regularly. Use a voltmeter (with load) between flights to be sure enough capacity remains. Don't guess on battery capacity, it's a recipe for disaster.

DaveB

While your plane is on the bench, take it from idle to full throttle and back, quickly, a couple of times. Any hesitation and you should adjust your high speed needle until it transitions smoothly every time.

After this, get a helper to hold your plane nose-up. Give it full throttle and make sure it can hold rpm's.

The OS .46LA is a great, reliable engine. Once you get it dialed in, you'll hardly ever have to touch it.

Good luck.

I did adjust the needle back a little the next flight and it seemed to fly fine then, was'nt sure if it was the needle or the receiver battery connection

Please use the pinch test to adjust your engine.

With the engine at full throttle, briefly pinch the supply line. If the engine:

Dies immediately - it's too lean.
Runs a while, then picks up speed - it's too rich.
Picks up speed briefly then starts to die - it's right.

Back this up with a test flight. Pull a loop at full throttle. If the engine dies over the top, it's either too lean or you're looping too tightly for the fuel draw capability.

Dr.1

Some engines are more touchy than others. In general, OS engines are usually pretty easy to tune. Better to have it a little on the rich side, OS engines usually still run well even if they're a little rich. If you're on the lean side, you're more likely to get too lean in the air and have another dead stick.

Check your glow plug. I've dead sticked a few time last summer repeatedly due to a bad plug.

Jim

Yep, some 18-20% of your fuel is oil. That oil has to go somewhere, and that is somewhere outside the engine. Drats! [&o]
The 2-stroke glow runs on fuel and air, not electrical. So the receiver will not kill your engine unless you have a receiver that goes to idle for fail safe with low battery. BTDT! First time I did not pay attention, just paid for new plane! Full battery failure shortly after the second "idle."
You show to be in OK. There have been significant WX changes in the past few weeks. When it gets cold, the engine is sucking in more air molecules. It needs more fuel, so the NV has to be adjusted accordingly, especially if you were running, "top performence." Otherwise you go off lean and can lose the engine when you power up, or shortly thereafter.

Unless I have a larger battery, I quit after some 50 minutes time on batt. With a loaded check, I may do 1:20, depending on # and type of servos. Even on 40 size models, and especially larger, I mostly use 1300-2000 mah bats. or 2500 mah Lith. Ions. That provides all the time I need in a day's flying for any one model. I don't worry about a couple ounces added weight. It's always strange to me that some will place 3-6oz. in servos at the aft end of a machine and then have to add 12 to 24 oz. weight to the nose to compensate, [:-] but they won't add an oz. to structure even to keep the engine from breaking the firewall off. Weird!

Batteries should be well charged within the 14 hour period prior to any flying session. Unless you are using Lith. Ion, it is a good bet that within 2 days a lot of mah will dissapate on NiCads or NMHs. Yep, it takes a lot of both post-flight and pre-Flight to keep things working.

Good luck!

Wiping the oil off gives you a chance to check the plane all over for any repairs you may need to do -- it's an automatic safety check.

Read your instructions completely on battery charging, there are also forums on battery charging, check them out. I have my way but not everyone agrees so check them out. That is one of the most important systems you have, and it will be the first to bite you. ENJOY !!! RED

As for knowing how long your battery will last, like minnflyer said you can probably get at least 3 flights out of a 600 mah battery (I'm guessing that's what size you have), but if you don't want it to be guess work.

you can get a expanded scale voltmeter or a voltwatch, the esv is more accurate but you have to plug it into your plane to read it. The voltwatch is always on but it's not nearly as accurate and takes some skill to read.

esv
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNK81&P=7

voltwatch
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHDJ2&P=7

Austin