This is my first Gas Engine and need some assistance in rigging up a system to acuate the Choke Lever. The engine is mounted close to the firewall.

I'm holding the clevis/440 rod pointing at the Choke Arm.

Assistance Greatly Appreciated.

I have the bme44(looks the same) on a 29% AW. I stick my finger through the the left front cowl opening to 'actuate' the choke lever. Simple, easy, and NO added weight.
Hope this helps!

Stratos,

That's an excellent Idea! I'll do that...

That's my next kit in mind, AW 29% 84" WS and will put another BME50 or DA50. How much does that Edge weigh (I'm guessing it's an Edge) and was it easy to build?

I'm an average builder and built many planes from SIG, Great Planes, Carl Goldberg, Ohio RC, and Midwest's...

Gadgetman

I made a small tool...nothing fancy...just a hook device that I keep with the chicken stick. The hole in cowl for the choke is about 1/8" of an inch, and I just hook the choke and can move it easily. I dont leave it in while flipping it. It's that easy, just a small hook. You can even make one out of a cheap little screwdriver so you have a molded handle. I just store it with the chicken-stick, put it in pocket when flying, and away I go, with only very small hole in cowling.

and it attaches to the choke lever...and hangs out of a hole in the cowl...works just fine...

Back in the old days, PRE "environmentally friendly," WD 40 was a good primer..A 1/16 hole in the cowl for the plastic tube on the can is all it takes..IF it still works....

hehe....rcign, you've been doing this a while huh. I remember a demo someone did about 20 yrs ago, when RCgas was just coming out, and the size of planes were getting much larger, and alot of guys had fire extinguishers close at hand. Not a bad idea in todays RC, it was the WD that reminded me though.

It was a very large Corsair, I say large by back then standards, only a plane like that is everyday occurance now. The pilot was a nervous wreck too. I remember him using the WD, and the whole thing like yesterday. He flew the plane, all straight and level, and his finale was a slow roll...the crowd went crazy.

You know, as well as I, using a choke on that BME is sooo far ahead of the WD...my how things change.
We're pretty spoiled aren't we. I'm dang glad too.

Except for the 20 years ago, The pilot could have been Jerry Kitchen, with a Meister Corsair..He was at the QSAA in Vegas around 1989, doing touch and goes about 3 mph into a slight headwind...Like you said, the crowd loved it....
The Ether in spray cans works good, too, but a little goes a long way !!!!!

DGRANT,

Thanks for the idea, I think that your suggestion will fit better. I wont have a big hole to stick my finger through and my cowling will still look pretty.

I dont remember those day ya'll are talking about... :stupid:
But I've been flying for about 13years... You guyz must be OLD.

I'm glad we have this forem to talk about RC Stuff. I really enjoy it!

Gadgetman

I put a plastic clevis on it and a 1" piece of sullivan golden rod. The golden rod just sticks thru the cowl and makes it easy to install the cowl. drill a small hole in the cowl for the goldenrod and when finished screw a short 2-56 screw into the goldenrod that becomes your pull-push action

Hey Gagetman tell me more about your soft mount system and how you set it up.

Blackhawk,

I'm using the Dubro #688 mounts. I added a rubber gasket on the top 2 bolts for down thrust.

Gadgetman

Gadgetman - what compelled you to use a resilient mount? I think that you will find it that they are not necessary and will cause the engine to vibrate around more. Suggest removing and replacing it with the large 1.80 size GP nylon mount. It is plenty strong for the BME-50. You'll save weight as well.

PS - from your picture, it appears that the engine mounting screws are bent. The lock nuts are flat to the beam rails which are at a different angle than the beam rails the engine mounts on. This will cause the screws to yield.

Hi,

I also noticed the bent mounting bolts

Spend a little more time and rig a micro servo to the choke. After 6 months of messing around actuating it by hand on mine, I saw a throttle servo failure on a gasser. Problem was, the pilot relied on the throttle to shut the thing off.

I then realized I need a back-up to stop the motor, and a choke that is servo driven gives you the best of both worlds

Enjoy

Willem

DownShift,

I couldnt find a mount that would fit and I called Don's Hobbies and he recommended the Dubro #688. I'll check out the GP Nylon Mount and double check that my mounting bolts are not bent.

Willembad,

Yeah I also thought about a backup if I had a runaway throttle arm. It's just that the choke lever is in an odd location. I'm gonna have to design an elbow lever to acuate the choke.

Thanks Guyz,
Gadgetman