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Should I break in an engine When it's installed to my plane or not?
Suggestions anyone? :confused:

New Engine Break in On or Off
 

There's nothing wrong with breaking it in on the plane. You've got to secure the plane well, and be willing to clean it up afterwards (same as after flying).

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On is no problem for most modern 2-stroke engines. Just take some time to get it running reliably before flying it. The engine will appreciate the cooling air while flying, and it will be experiencing its full power range as well, allowing it to reach full temp and cooling off, which is the basis of a good break-in.

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If the plane is finished I stick the motor in then break it in the plane,If I'm still working on the plane and have a new engine then I'll stick it on the stand and break it in,really doesn't matter.

Question?
 

How do you suggest I secure my plane down? :confused:

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I take a rope and tie a loop in both ends,one end goes over the tail of the plane ,the other goes over a block or the truck bumper,make sure there is no slack in the rope when starting,or you may need a traing bra.You can also build a stand that the plane sits in and a bracket on each side of the fuse holds the wings, if you have never started an r/c engine before you might have someone close by in case the prop gets a little hungry

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If it's a ringed engine then do it on a stand. If it's an ABC and you're not too worried about a complete break in then you could do it in the model (remember, even Jett advise about 40 minutes to run theirs in). One advantage of doing it in a new model is that it gives a chance to find any bits that might vibrate loose :D

As far as cooling air goes, with maybe a 100mph prop blast then a 60mph airspeed won't gain you much :)

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You'd be surprised at how some airspeed will cool the engine. The same principals that apply to full scale also apply to models, and full scale pilots know not to do extended full power sessions on the ground. I have fried some seals on a radial engine only using 50% power for about 5 minutes traveling about 40mph on the water.

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I've always tried to run the first tank full on the ground, and the rest of the break in runs in the air...sometimes...I can't help it...it gets airborne on the first tank:)...clear blue sky...nice smoke trail...super messy plane...I love this sport!:D

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Just a tip if you are going to break it in, in the plane. Try to get it off the ground so that the motor doesn't suck in any loose debris (small stones, grass etc) whilst running for a long time at full power - it'll trash the engine very quickly.

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Destructor,

My trainer was an Xtra Easy also. I ran 2 tanks thru it while on the plane before flying. Just set it on your clean garage floor, restrain it (I just held the plane with one hand while starting and manipulating the controls with the other) and have at it. Good luck.

Thanks Guys!
 

Thanks guys for all your advice. I think I got all the answers I need to get myself going on this exept one thing.
My Brother in law bought me some 5% nitro. I heard it's really good to fly for a longer period of time on this % of nitro.
Is this true and can I break in my engine with this nitro or go to a higher % like10,15%? By the way he bought this in Canada. I heard it's hard to find in the states.

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can buy it at nearly every r/c shop in the US and most other countries. My self and many others switch back and forth on % of nitro and I can't tell any difference,until I go above 35%,Generally I use 15% because it seems to run and start better in the winter. Some of my engines are close to 20 years old so I MAY BE RUINING THEM.

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How long does an engine usually last?
I know you have a 20 yr old engine but on average what is their life time if they don't suffer a crash?

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The life of an engine depends GREATLY on how it's taken care of. If never run lean, after run is used, and the intake and exhaust is covered when not in use...heck yeah, it will last 20 years!

Other than running an engine hot and lean, I think the biggest killer is dirt and moisture. If you go flying, and then take your plane home and throw it on the shelf in the garage until the next weekend...guess what happens? You've left fuel residue in the engine that just loves moisture...so...moisture creeps into your carb and muffler openings and starts doing what it does best...corrosion. You've also left nice sticky oil residue in the carb opening...and it does what it love to do...attract dust! So now it's the next weekend and you go flying...the inside of your engine has a teeny bit of corrosion started in it...but not enough to notice. Also...the first time you fire the engine up you suck all that garage dust down into the engine...it's like nice fine sandpaper...but doesn't do enough to notice...heck your engine runs great and you have a great weekend of flying...so what do you do? Take your plane home and throw it on the shelf in the garage until next weekend:)...and then you wonder why your engine starts loosing power the next summer...and then within 2 or 3 years it's a total turd and will barely run and has no compression.

So, always run your engine a click or two rich, zing some moisture displacing after run in there at the end of the day, and cap up the exhaust and carb openings when your not flying, and yep...you may still be running that engine 20 years from now:)

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Two other thing I forgot to add...:) NEVER turn your prop after a crash until you have cleaned the dirt out of the engine! and also...condensation! Inside your fuel tank...and especially in a cold/hot damp garage...your fuel tank is a prime target for condensation...and right on down the fuel lines it goes...into your engine! Whenever I'm not going to fly a plane for awhile, I always take both fuel lines off and put a union between them, and then take a seperate piece of fuel line and run it from the carb nipple to the muffler nipple to seal the engine from the outside air.

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Evening Destructor,really I have no idea how long an engine last. I read in one of the r/c magazine's that the ave. r/c engine lasted 15 hours of running. I break an engine in by the instructions,run 300 to 500 rpm on the rich side,use fuel with a blend of oil,castor/syn.install filter on carb,change when dirty,after each day of flying I disconn the fuel line from the carb.then burn the fuel out of the engine.Then I'll put 15 to 20 drops of air tool oil in the engine,if 2s in the carb,if 4s in the vent tube,if I'm not going to fly a engine for a while then I pull the glow plug,flush the engine with paint thinner or acetone,then install air tool oil the same plus a half dozen or more drops in the glow plug hole. Then hang the plane level until I,m ready to fly that plane again.

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WOW! That's some great advise! Thanks TF & T. Have you guys
been flying for a while ? I just can't waight to get my trainer up in the air. It's been a life long dream of mine to be able to fly a rc plane. I've been reading magasines since I was A boy but just didn't have the guts to just go out and do this.I realy think this will be a very enjoyable hobby for me.

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Evening Destructor,it's in my profile,but have been flying r/c since the early 80's,building and c/l since the mid fifty's. Most of my experience came the hard way,now with the phone and net one can get answers in seconds,which is great. I would much rather ask someone on this forum a question than do it the hard way,lots of good information here to be learned. Hope I've helped you.
PS. Another good reason to join a club is friends to fly and discuss this hobby/sport with.

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I started on C/L also in the late 60's and got my first R/C in 1976, and it took me awhile to build it and save up for the radio...I soloed on it in 1977. I had some "dark years" in the late 80's and drifted away from the sport some...but that didn't last long:)

Man!!! I got to thinking about that, and I'm going to have to say the magazine writer is full of it. If you think about going flying, usually I average maybe 5-10 flights on a plane in an afternoon at maybe an average of 12-15 minute flights. So at a very low estimate, one of my favorite engines gets an average of an hour on it every time I go flying, and thats usually once sometimes twice a week... So for the sake of simplicity, lets just say once a week...and I missed two weeks a year...that would be 50 hours a year on the engine. The engine I'm talking about is a TT pro .46 and it's been on many Spads and has even seen action in combat. I bought it in 1998 so it's at least 4 years old, so I would very conservitively say it's got roughly 200 hours of run time on it.

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Evening Tattoo,was in one of the major mags within the last three months,if I find the story I'll pass it on to you,anyone see the story? I'm like you, if that was all I could get on a glow engine then would have to go all gas.

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Thanks TerrellFlyer! It would be interesting to read the story! Incidentally, I put another hour on the engine today...and it's running better than ever...so make that 201 hours on it:) Happy New Year!

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Hi Tattoo,R/C Report, April 2002,issue #189.In Just Plane Fun/Tuning Those Engines by Stu Richmond. I liked the article,told basically why most engines wore out so fast,think he was reading this forum,also explained why others lasted so long.

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Darn! We don't get R/C report around here any more:( The only guy who sold it retired a year ago and closed up shop...It was always the best one too...I use to visit him about once a week and would leaf through the mags...if there was something good in one I'd buy it.

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I held off a bit on this life time of an engine but I'd heard about that report saying 15 hours. Sure it's possible to wear one out in 15 hours but you'd really have to be doing something stupidly wrong. And that means too lean, wrong or not enough oil, running it in a sandstorm and so on. Treated with a little care and common sense an average flier should get at least 100 hours. Treated like TF does then up it to hundreds of hours. In CL stunt flying where the engine is always quite rich 1000 hours is far from uncommon.

Duke Fox once tried one of his old technology cast iron piston 35's and ran it for 8 hours a day every day trying to wear it out. He got to 2000 hours and it had no discernible wear so he stopped the test. But this was using the correct fuel for that engine. He then ran one on normal RC fuel and the engine was ruined before it could run out the tank.