A few years ago, my then girlfriend (now wife) knew I was interested in getting into R/C planes and bought me this .60 trainer plane made by Midwest with the radio, engine etc. (nice present, no?).

After four years of working on the plane, it's finally ready to test out and fly, but I am having a lot of difficulty starting the engine. It started once, but I cannot get it started again. I bought an electric starter for it, but it keeps getting stuck at either the top or bottom of the piston stroke. After a few times of this happening, the prop but falls all, and I have to take the spinner off, tighten everything up, and try again, only to fail again. I have followed all of the instructions for starting the engine to the letter, but it is still not working.

The engine I have is an OS Max 60FP. Please someone help, I've spent a lot of time, money and effort into getting this project done, and I'm at my wits end.

Also, I don't really have any buddies who fly these things, total newbie. If anyone lives in the Metro Detroit area who would be willing to show me how to fly this turkey, It'd me muchly appreciated.

Tom Petz

Yes, please hold out for help... I bet you'll be happier that way.
Surely there ae some Detroit flyers out there who'd be willing to help out.

Your engine problems will be far easier to walk you through in person, too.
(It sounds like you could be flooding and hydro-locking it, but "in person" is better to tell)

Good luck with your search!

Type in the key word, "Radio Control Airplane clubs in the Detroit area" ( or something equivalent ) in the search area of your computer. Although I haven't gone yet, that is how I found the nearest club near me that I'm going to check out. According to a lot of senior members on this site, at most clubs, you will run into friendly people who will be more than willing to help you out. You will probably find tons of help on this site too. Tim

nafai

a few things to look at, first take the glow plug out of the engine , with the plug removed , use the starter and turn the engine over to clear out excess fuel,

then connect the plug to your glow starter ,careful not to burn yourself , make sure it glows to a bright glow , if it does reinstall it in the engine , turn the adjustment screw all the way in and then turn it out 3 to 3 1/2 turns , with your finger over the carburator and the throttle wide open , (do not attach the glow starter) turn the prop counter clockwise until you see fuel come into and fill the fuel line to the carb. (stop as soon as it is full)

check the connections on your starter to make sure that it rotates counter clockwise (to the left) turn the prop to right and allow some free movement before it comes on compression (this is to help the starter to get moving before it hits resistance) attach glow starter to to the plug and apply the starter to the spinner , it should start , and you will see somke and oil coming from the exhaust its ok, leave the glow starter attched and let it run for a few seconds or until it warms up a little ,then follow breakin procedures.

let me know if you do not have the breakin instructions for the engine ???

that will be the next step after you get the engine to run.

Highlander

geeze Im a dummy, only give it about 1/4 throttle to start with,

its alot easier to do than explain ,LOL

Highlander

It sounds like your engine is set way too rich and is flooding. OS always seems to set the low-speed mixture very rich from the factory and I've had several that would not run without being leaned out first. By the way putting an electric starter on a motor that is flooded is not at all good for the motor...

OS makes excellent motors but dialing one in is a little tricky if you haven't done it before. Find a nearby club and bring the plane out when folks are flying- I am sure that they will have the motor humming in just a few minutes. And you can make use of the opportunity to find out about getting an instructor!

First off, go here-

http://www.modelaircraft.org

That is the website for the Acedemy of Model Aeronautics. They provide our insurance to fly at special flying fields and also work to keep flying sites open and to encourage new people to enter this great hobby! You will want to join the AMA to fly at the local flying field. Well, you have to more than you will want to...

Find the local flying field by using that website. Call up the president or vice president of the local club (all found on that website) and tell them you've got an airplane and tell him you need some help and want to learn how to fly...That will solve ALL problems. Do things right to start off with and you will have a much more enjoyable experience with this hobby. If you don't want to call, just take a trip out to the field. Introduce yourself to the guys and tell them your story.

You will more than likely end up taking a trip out to the field only to find a really great group of people that are more than willing to help. You will soon learn that radio control fliers are the most generous people on the planet...

I saw this same thing happen to a guy last week. He filled his plane with fuel & didn't dissconnect the pressure line from the muffler or tilt the plane up when filling it. By the time the fuel ran out of the end of the muffler the cylinder was also full of fuel & he couldn't turn it over. He had to tilt the plane up & lean it over to drain the fuel out of the cylinder into the muffler & out of the muffler. Then had to turn the engine over by hand to finish working the fuel through it. Then it cranked & ran fine. The engine was an os91fx.

Gil

Go to the Prop Shop which is near you.
Prop Shop Hobbies
23326 Van Dyke Ave, Warren, MI 48089
Phone: (586) 757-7160


They can help you with that!

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will post back when I have a working engine