I was thinking of asking my wife for the Century Hawk Sport heli for christmas. I have a Thunder Tiger Pro 36 that has been broken in on my engine stand about 5 months ago. I had plans for it, but they fell through. Could I buy a replacement heli head for it and put it in the Hawk Sport? To put it simply, is the only difference between the Pro 36 and the Pro 36H the head? I compared the pictures, but that doesn't always tell the whole story.

Thanks

LowDing:

Generally, the head is the difference. Sometimes the carb and the end of the crank are different. but I thnk the TT ia alee-samee except the head.

I've heard some good reports ofusing it to replace the OS 32 FXH engine.

Bill.

Coool,
Thanks that will save me some dough.

Lowding

Been there, done that...
The head is the biggest visible difference but the carb is what going to give you trouble.
If you were putting a heli eng into airplane, it's not a big deal. You would end up with a rich midrange and maybe a flame-out or two until you got it dialed in.
The airplane carb is leaner in the mid range than the heli causing you to run the high and low needles rich to compensate. I'll load up while idling and drink fuel or die when you punch it. If you run the needles normal, it'll be lean in hover, very bad for an ABC heli eng.
You may be able to change to the heli low needle to get the extra fuel and put in a thicker shim to get the C/R down.
For what you spend on a head, needle and your trouble, you could get a .39 for your chopper and save yourself the headache.
Oh ya, once you cut the crank off shorter to fit the heli, there's no going back.
Kirk

Listen to Boomstriker.

The TT engines do wonderfully in airplanes. Their record in helicopters is, shall we say, less than sterling. As Boomstriker said, its all in the carburetor.

The OS 32 SX is THE engine for 30-class helicopters; it is the benchmark by which all others are judged. The trend these days is for ever more power, and since the TT 36 is definitely more powerful, you will get lots of recommendations for it. But if you do an extensive search, you find more posts regarding trouble with this engine than ANY other. Things don't seem to be a lot better with the TT 39; I still see some trouble posts about it.

I'll echo Boomstriker; aside from the cost difference of a new 32 SX and rigging your plank engine for a helo not being that significant, you need to take this fact into the equation....

Helis are difficult. Troublesome equipment drastically compounds that, and adds greatly to the learning curve. Adjusting a heli engine for proper running is NOT the same as needed for an airplane; you have much to learn. If you are fighting a balky engine, along with the thousand and one other things you have to watch on a helo, frustration is not far away.

Having said that, there are folks who have good success with TT heli engines, so its your call. But I think you're stacking the deck against yourself, especially if you plan to put a plank engine in your Hawk. The carburetors are definitely different.

I'm impressed with the Hawk Sport. I just ordered one yesterday as a trainer for my grandson. But never forget that a helicopter flies on the engine, and for a successful flight, EVERYTHING has to be right. Helicopters are very complex; not rocket science, you can do it, but you want to make things as easy as possible.

Steve

ooops, I already have the new head on the way. oh, well I think I will turn this into a learning experience and try it anyway. I think I can give a true account of what happens, but I will warn you that I am bias toward TT engines. Not only do I run all TT in all my planes, except for 1 Magnum 4 stroke. I just recently purchased a glow powered car with the 15 sized TT engine that I just have barely broken in. It kicks but too. I have had trouble with a 42 TT that had an air bleed arb that was mounted inverted, but other than that I have had no complaints. I may have jumped the gun on the first bit of advice I recieved, but that was based on my past experience with TT. So, here is my plane. I am going to procede with attempting to put the converted 36 in the helicopter, but I would like to test it first. The engine has been broken in, but has never been mounted before. Does any one know of a good test for a heli engine, without having to acctualy fly it in a heli. If not, I need to wait till xmas. The Hawk Sport is my wife's present to me. Well, I have been hinting at it since July and I have been a good boy.

TT had some issues with their heli engines in the past but R&D got them worked out.
The new engines are great. I've got a .50 and a .70 that have been fantastic.
The older ABC .36, .46 and .61 were basically airplane versions made to work in a heli.
The carbs were made too rich in the midrange --too much taper in the low needle.
A new or reground needle would help but being ABC means the correct mix is critical.
IMO, heli engines should be ringed, especially the bigger ones.
TT's new line-up (.39, .50, .70 & .90) are ringed motors with cast heads and good carbs.

Kirk

thanks for all the input, I am still undecided. Its going to be hard to wait another month to save up the money for a whole new motor, but what ever I do, at least I am won't be uninformed.