Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

Hello ... i have a very old Buzzard Bombshell plane 72" and was wondering what type of glow engine people are using for this! (If any out there?)

thanks,

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

I would say somewhere from a .60- a .90, but i would gt some more opinions.

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

that might be a bit big as this is a vintage plane. it is a really slow flyer i believe so i was hoping for something around a 40 to 50 2c. but i don't really know what others are using!!
did you finish your grounded plane? i read about it in another post!!!

you should have seen what i started with when i got this plane from the previous owner. took all winter to get it together as it was never finished and what was finished wasn't done all that well. but i'm happy i've got it done!!!

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

The superstar is gettin there. I am jsut about to update the other post so go and check over there :D

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

http://www.myunclewillies.com/gpage6.html

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

swixtt,
I have a Vagabond old-timer of similar size to yours. Mine flies very well on a .25 and could probably even manage on a .15. Today's glow engines are a lot more powerful than the old spark-ignition engines of "back in the day"

papermache

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

I have a Trenton Terror that flies great on an OS .25FP. 12x3.5 prop. I have flown that engine as a glow and diesel on the Terror and performance is good. With the diesel head on I have gotten 45minute flights on the 4 oz tank. The Trenton Terror and Bombshell are very similar in size and weight.:D

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

I was given one about twenty years ago. Used to let my wife fly it when she was interested (not so much anymore). A fellow modeler heard that I had one and persuaded me to sell it to him. He Still has it I think.
But anyway, mine flew with an old O.S. .35 2stroke and later with an Enya .46 4stroke. More than enough power from both engines. I liked the 4stroke better. Would take it up to a comfortable altitude and fly along at "Just" above idle until the fuel was gone. Which was a long time with a four ounce tank. That's about all you can squeeze in there.
It can be a bit tricky to takeoff because the fuselage blanks out the rudder some until a bit of speed is built up. But once in the air she's a beauty.
Have Fun !!!

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

My old buzzard flew with a Fox 40 and it had enough power. So a 40 size maybe a 45 would be good for the old girl.
David:D

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

Depending on how your BB is constructed, reinforced, whatever it will fly well on some .25s (Especially with a smooth hand launch), no problem with a .29 -- .35, o/p with a .40 and I certainly would not go beyond a medium type .46. A 40-46 might need a close look at the wing interior bracing.

Flew a BB back in the '70s. It was an older ST. 40. Belonged to my friend and he let everyone fly it. In the past 7 years I have had 3 "Old Timers" of the 70 -75" span. The first two were well over-powered with an Enya .29 and the last one was with a ST. 29. The first two were monokote and beefed up for RC. The last one was silk and dope. All three suffered multiple fatalities before a final, simply because of many pilots (including newbies) getting into situations and over-stressing the wings. That is where the OTs fail. IIRC, the BB is a bit stouter than those I had.

It is so graceful to get one all trimmed to fly medium circles, set the TMTR down, and when it slowly drifts away, retrim to the other direction in a much larger circle and watch it slowly fly itself back - no / low wind days :)
When it's all trimmed up to do that, give it to a newbie and in 10 seconds he's upside down. Proves just how it got there. ;)

Good Luck and have a ball.

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

Hi Doug; I read your reply on the Buzzard thread. I completed one this winter with an ST 40. Tried flight last night and it fell off the wing at about 10 ft. It seemed to want to go straight up once it left the ground. Did you have any down thrust in the engine?
It was a little windy when I flew but I'm not sure if tht was the problem. Any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks Pete

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

A fellow at our field has a Buzzard Bombshell with a Saito 30 and it seems to be a perfect match. Not a rocket, but really a relaxing flier.

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

Thanks for the reply. Do you know if he hand launches ? I tried ROG but didn't have success. If you speak with your firend I'd be interested to know if he has any down thrust in the motor. Thanks impalas

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

Sorry Pete that I didn't get back to right away. Don't sit on the PC that often.
Mine had a couple degrees of down thrust and right thrust. But it sounds like you are balanced to far back. Make sure you are balanced 25 to 30 percent back from the leading edge. And double check your incidences. Can't remember what they are supposed to be. And on mine the wing would slide back in the wing saddle until I blocked it at the trailing edge to prevent that.

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

Hi Doug; Thanks for the quick reply. and info. This was a MEN kit. I balanced it according to plan which was about 5 1/4" back from leadng edge. I had it right on so I think I'll go with the 25%. that will move it forward. That will move it up to about 3 inches. I should know better. I always like the plane to be a little nose heavy . You can always take it out a little at a time. I had already installed a stop block when I built it. there is no incidence reading on the plan for the wing. the stab is 0. I checked and they both read the same on the bench. So, I'll try again after the fix and the corrections to CG. Thanks a lot for your info. I'll let you know how I make out.
Thanks again Pete

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

Just for a simple guide for these old timers, the SAM rulebook limits glow engine size to a 0.10 cu. in for each 225 sq. in. of wing area for competition. Most of the Bombshells I flew against used older baffled 40s, since if I recall, they had about 920 or 940 sq. in. wings. Something like an 11-4 or 11-5 prop with a 40 seemed to give a climb similar to what they got when using some of the older 60 ignition engines, which usually turned 13-6 or 14-4 props at under 10,000 rpm.
If you want to use larger engines, pay attention to the wing construction. Since in the thirties and forties, these planes flew under power till the small amount of fuel was burned off, and dethermalizers hadn't been invented, and the only RC devices were what a few hardy and courageous fanatics designed and built themselves, they were frequently lost out of sight, and so weren't really built too strong to keep the cost down. I think the Bombshell may have been at the upper end of the structural strength, though.

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

So... i ended up installing a .46TTPro engine that i found on sale. I put a 11x6 prop and that plane will climb straight up until it's spec in the sky. I am going to get a 10x5 so it doesn't pull it through the air so fast but basically i find that just over idle it will just cruise along without gain altitude. i shimmed the trailing edge a little bit and that seemed to help some... but really all the things i tried didn't really make a huge different in it's flight. it is just the way it is designed to fly so you have to go easy on it really. i've done about trips out to the field now and am really enjoying this old classic plane. You have to see how easy this plane is to land.... you can fly till it's out of gas and cruise in without any problems. nice and slow and very predictable!

RE: Buzzard Bombshell Engine
 

And if you read some of the glider columns about studying the air and finding out how to find and use lift, you may find yourself able to still be flying three or four times as long as the engine run would let you as well.