Thumprding

Hello all. Even though I am new to this forum I not new to R/C air planes. I have flown R/C planes for approximately 15 years but have not flown at all for about 6 years. Recently I decided to get back into flying after my children asked when I was going to fly one of the planes I have hanging up in the basement.

Having built and flown a variety of 25 to 60 sized planes in the past I decided that I wanted a larger plane. I have seen them years ago and they looked great in flight. Lately I have been looking at Gas powered planes and engines. It was during this review that I learned that a weed wacker engine can actually be converted to a pretty good gas R/C plane engine. Based on the information provided by this site and Carr Precision I purchased a 25cc Homelite weed eater with the intent of coverting the enigne for R/C plane use. I sent the flywheel to CARR to be cut down and balanced and also purchased, a muffler, big bore carb, twister manifold, conversion kit, and velocity stack.

The plane I would like to installed the converted homelite in is a Great Planes 1.20 stick. I have surfed the net and searched this forum trying to find out if this combination is a good fit? I have been sucessful in my search and this is why I have posted this question.

What I am looking for out of the combination? I want a nice flying plane that had decent performance, can do basic stunts, (loops, knife edge, snap rools and so forth. Sort of like how my Goldberg Tiger 2 flies which has an OS 48 Surpass for power. Not a rocket but just a good flying plane that is fun to fly and easy to handle.

Thank you for the replies.

Curtis

P.S. Oh almost forgot, this is a great forum, the information and help that I see on this site is impressive.

Thumprding

Opps made a mistake. Not a Great Planes 1.20 stick but their Big Stick.

arobatx

I cannot speak about the Homelite conversions. I can tell you some related items for your contemplation.

I have flown a lightened Zenoah G26 (26cc) gas engine in planes ranging from 9-11lb aerobatic planes, fully capable for IMAC and 3D flying....through planes like a 20lb 89" Decathlon on floats off the water. Now I don't know how the Homelite will compare in power, but I would assume the STICK in question would fall into the 9-11 lb range since it is a 1.20 sized model and you should do alright! For reference we are seeing about 9300 rpm on the G26 spinning an APC 17x6 prop, about 9100 or so with a Carbon 18x6.

The engine and muffler combo in the Decathlon weighs 65oz, uses the 17x6 APC, and it hauls that 20lbs around well enough to do nice scale loops, rolls and snaps...even with the floats on. I really think your 25cc will give you what you are looking for on the Stick. Good luck!

arobatx

oh so you mean a .60 sized model?

arobatx

One thing you will want to be careful of is your wing loading when putting on converted gas engines. If you can maintain a 10lb plane with 1000 sq inch or more of wing area you should be fine.

captinjohn

That 25cc Homelite should do good on your Big Stick. Keep it lite as possible. Have Fun. Capt,n

arobatx

maybe send us a link to the plane you are thinking....so we know for sure what we are lookin at here?

jrjr2u

There are 3 big sticks by GP
.40, .60, and the giant 1.20-1.60

Also see this one:
http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/bridistick.html

Thumprding

I am looking at the Great Planes Giant Big Stick. 80.5 inch wing span. 1518 square inches of wing area.

Thumprding

Good looking plane. Did not know that Birdi was still around. Will check into it.

Thanks for the link.

jrjr2u

Bridi himself is now retired but Bluejay is continuing on with the manufacture and sales.
From what I can tell there haven't been any changes in the kits but I could be wrong.

flipflop

Done properly, it will work. You may have to move the firewall back 1.5 to 2 inches. I've been flying a 22.5cc Ryobi in an Ultra Stik 60 for the last two years, GREAT FUN!

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

I have a GP Giant Big Stik, (80" wing span) with a converted Poulan 42cc on it. It will take off in about 3 plane lengths and then climb vertically.

The plane would do good with a converted 25cc engine, great with a 30cc, and super with anything above that!

Mine has the Poulan 42cc, a heavy smoke system, etc., and the c.g. came out fine without adding any weight. No firewall mods... My Poulan might be a little lighter than some installations however, because I'm running it on Gas/Glow; without an ignition system. But then there's the weight of the smoke system....

AV8TOR

Thumprding

Thanks for all the information. I think I am going to go with the combination. I will let you all know how it does.