RE: Fuel cost
 

My fiancee is very supportive of my hobby. She knows this is part of who I am and this cannot be taken from me. Its part of the reason why I went to school for mechanical design.

RE: Fuel cost
 

When i was flying glow i was burning a case of fuel per month.... 4 gallons. I am running all gas now.

RE: Fuel cost
 

RCKen...........here is something I happened on to when I was exploring a replacement for the fuel tank in my GP PT17 Stearman. Like lot of GP models there is no direct replacement tank so you have to look around a bit. In my search, I could find no place where I could verify what size tank I was looking for, although it is a substantial size. I called Hobbico/Tower/GP and they informed me that the tank was 32 OZ...........I asked them to re-check and they again informed me that that was correct. Now this is a model that calls for a .91 to 1.20 sized 2-stroke............it is a BIG tank!

RE: Fuel cost
 

I'd go the 15cc gas route and find a 60-sized trainer airframe that it'll fit into. You might have to shoe-horn it into your Sentra, but it'll be an economical low-mess solution.

RE: Fuel cost
 

Hi zackesch,
Welcome to one of the greatest hobbies in the world! IMHO No matter what the cost of fuel you will use the amount of friendships you will make more than makes it worth the cost!!

That being said, I think once you get married you will find that you will fly less than 16 hours a month. That would be about 30 minutes a day seven days a week, and realistically that won't happen. I am retired and fly as often as I can, and that usually amounts to about 4 to 5 flights per day, but I don't fly every day and you won't either. Wind, weather, and other conditions like no teacher available (if you are learning), will also limit your "air time". I average 3 times a week, 4 to 5 flights a day, 8 minutes each, or about 8 hours (480 minutes) a month. That's with all things going well, weather, family obligations, etc, so I think you will spend less on fuel than you may think. I suggest using 4 stroke engines as a fuel saver. Many guys in my club fly them and their fuel usage is about 1/2 of a two stroke. Whatever you chose to use, and especially if you fly "gas", bring a quality fire extinguisher with you to the field and have it handy at all times, NOT just in your car or truck, keep it out and handy. I have a "halon" one so no damaging chemicals or worse yet water gets on the planes or equipment. I have had to use mine so many times for club members who didn't have one, that they voted to have the club pay me for the refilling.

My main point is that which ever fuel you chose to use, it will likely be the least expensive part of you hobby experiences. You can never have enough planes, tools, support equipment, etc etc, to be happy, and that's not a bad thing. It's just a fact...

RE: Fuel cost
 

Also, Magnum Engines makes a gas replacement for a .46 sized glow engine. Go to Global Hobby's website for info. I remember reading a thread here on RCU on it. Testing was done on a trainer.

RE: Fuel cost
 

Ooooooh... that's tough!!! :D

(I can say that.. I'm single.. ;) )

RE: Fuel cost
 

Tinner, Thanks for the details of what would be more realistic to expect.

Thinking about it, I could always get a smaller model for in between flights of the larger birds too, like a 10-20 size.

Things always look different on paper then they do in real life. Perhaps my idea needs to go through a "paper filter" before i see the end product... Hmm, i have a hankering for a cup of coffee. :)

RE: Fuel cost
 

Something else to think about.....my Jet Cat P-200 burns 23 oz/minute, and the jet carries 220 oz. I get between 3-4 flights per 5 gallons of kero. At $4.00 a gallon, there's $20 in kero, add in $12 in turbine oil, and u have $32 per jug.....divide that by 3-4 flights, and it comes to somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 a flight....7 whole minutes BTW. Then....if I add in smoke oil to draw pretty lines in the sky, that's another $4 for 3 1/2 minutes of smoke...so...all in all, about $11 per FLIGHT....

Somehow all this didnt make me feel any better...[X(]

RE: Fuel cost
 

Just to let you guys know how much I like my gas engines (Zenoah / DLE).......... Two nights ago when I was burning leaves in the back yard, I was using 15% Coolpower to restart the burn barrel if I snuffed out the fire putting in leaves... :D:D

(Or maybe it was the Pabst Blue Ribbon mixed with my hatred of the color green!!)

RE: Fuel cost
 

OOO how about using a lipo to start that fire.:D

RE: Fuel cost
 

Wait! what was the question??? Are you new to flying RC?

Just get a 60 size trainer (click me) to start with

You will burn maybe a half gal a day (average). Thats only $9 a day. If you go one day a week, $36 a month. Like someone said, thats cheap for getting away from your wife to hangout with good friends.

(If that last sentence didn't make sense........... It will!!!)

RE: Fuel cost
 

Yes I am new to flying rc. I will be building a 40 sized trainer. I originally was looking at what is to be expected for an average fuel cost, but I overlooked at how much time I will have available. With tinners post, he put it more into perspective of what would be an average amount of time that would be flyable.

RE: Fuel cost
 

Our field has power outlets and shelves in the pits.

The boys who fly electric don't pay a penny for their fuel.

There is almost always some faster or smarter or in this case: cheaper. And you can't beat $0.00 for cheaper. ;)

RE: Fuel cost
 

its kinda like buying a car.if you have to worry about low gas mileage and the repair bill etc you shouldnt consider buying it.the same with rc if your the type to complain about the cost of nitro fuel or buying a big lipo battery then thats not for you.It is what it is.if I fly my satio 180 or my big OS 108 a gallon can go very quickly.If I am flying my electrics and I need a new 5s or 6s battery it can be expensive depending on the brand.In any event it is what it is and I enjoy my hobby so much I dont ever look at the cost.I only think about cost when I have a new bird and the the plane crashes and is totalled.but that lasts only until the next week.just something you risk as part of the hobby.

radio control can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be.right now I have 12 gallons of glow fuel sitting in cases in my shop.some I bought and some from an estate sale.

I belong to several clubs.the primary club is all about glow.and the other field only because its in a city is largely electric.I would love that club to spend some of our dues on a power set up at the pits so we could charge batteries without need to use a car battery .

at our other club we buy fuel in bulk and it does save money.

RE: Fuel cost
 

Im not complaining about the cost to fly, just wondering what I should expect.

All that matters is that I will be able to fly, build and tinker. :)

RE: Fuel cost
 

you guys are weird::: istarted flying in the ' 40's & fuel was $ 2.50 or so a PINT of course engines &tanks were smaller but even so
it was expensive when mowing grass for 4 hours was good for a dollar.

RE: Fuel cost
 

That sounds about right.... for a .40-.50 sized plane.

Remember that sometimes, or more often than not, you will not be able to put in all the flying time you may want.

One gallon a weekend, is a good flying weekend!

Toss in a small electric ( I always bring out a second small electric as a backup plane ) and a couple of battery packs, and your gallon per weekend, is more than enough.

RE: Fuel cost
 

I thought about the e-flyer route, but I would rather stick a small engine in a e-flight mini stick. well, at that point it will no longer be "e"flight but "n" flight. :)

RE: Fuel cost
 

Maybe I missed it, but nobody brought up the cost of travel to and from the flying site.

I have a 2001 Chevy Astro van that was bought and only used for transporting my aircraft. The way I figure it, between my original purchase cost, insurance & running costs, that it costs me about $100 each time I go to the field. Even if only the gas used to travel was factored in the cost of the fuel burned was much less. I fly gassers, glow slimers and electrics. BTW, a ST-3000 or a Saito 2.20 can seriously dent your flying budget but can you have any better expense than fuel burned? It is so much better than hanging out with the boys at the sports bar.

Enjoy

Bliksem

RE: Fuel cost
 

Size does mater!! When I stated about a half gallon a day for me it was with a couple of YS 1.20s and a lot of air time. One of my students bought the OS .55AX and I have never seen anything like it. The engine uses almost no fuel at all. He is flying a 60 Pulse and gets three long flights per tank of fuel, figure over 30 minutes between fill ups. His tank would last me about 10 minutes or less the way I fly. With a .46 your fuel bill will be next to nothing. When I have a student and flying a trainer with a .46 I was getting 8 days of flying for about a gallon of fuel.

RE: Fuel cost
 

If you want a 40 size trainer, you might select an engine that's economical on fuel, like a 40 size engine over the .46. The LA 46 has a small carb and is pretty easy on fuel compared to an AX 46. Thunder Tiger GP 40 compared to other engines flight times with using the same size tank, will also give you a longer flight duration you'll appreciate, as well as being a lower cost engine than some other brands.

I accept the cost of the hobby knowing the return / enjoyment outweighs the investment.

How's that zero go again?

Lipo balanced charger = $35-150
Lipo charge bag $4
Lipo voltage checker = $5?
Lipo cost, 1 per flight, most get 6 to 10 for a day of flying = $120 and up, way up!
The supervised charging instructions tell you to follow for safety, what's your time worth? Don't forget to drop the voltage for storage.
12vDC battery for the charger = $40+/- Yep, fly electric, pay a BIG premium up front, and you save on fuel, paper towels and Windex.

You will typically have shorter flight time with EP, restrict all flying styles to part throttle with the exception of a few bursts, or the rapid discharge ruins the battery, speed controller, or shortens it's life considerably. Puff puff puff.
Using electric on a trainer includes a lot of bent shafts in the learning process like those practice landings.
A hardened steel crank on a glow engine is pretty tough and can survive many ground insertions, aka auguring in.

RE: Fuel cost
 

That is an awesome song

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I meant to seay this was an awesome song but I forgot to quote it. Sorry

RE: Fuel cost
 

I fly every weekend, weather permitting. I average about 6 gal per year. I seem to fly more often than average for the two clubs I belong to.

At $15/gal that is $90. The cost of glow fuel is a minor part of the total cost of the hobby. One bad crash can cost the same as 5 years of glow fuel.