Aviastar glow engine
03-17-2005 | 08:51 AM
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From: millville,
UT
Aviastar glow engine
Guys, I'd like to hear anything on that new Sig Aviastar 1.5 glow engine [ if you have personal expirence with them ] Looking to put this in a T F Sea Fury kit [ converting to the Critical Mass Reno racer ] Thanks a bunch, MM
The machining and construction are top notch. Very impressive.
03-17-2005 | 12:31 PM
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RE: Aviastar glow engine
I did a complete review in the second last Fly RC magazine. I ran the engine both on the bench and in the air, and it ran really well. As good as my favourite large scale glow engine, my Moki 1.80, and the quality is as good as any.
WOuld I buy one with my own hard earned money? Certainly would...
AJC
WOuld I buy one with my own hard earned money? Certainly would...
AJC
03-17-2005 | 12:56 PM
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From: Merrimack,
NH
RE: Aviastar glow engine
I have one I got cheap a few years ago, back when Dave Gierke was selling them. My seller had problems with it, sent it back to Gierke for servicing, Gierke sent it back to him saying he checked it out & found no problem. Guy didn't like it, sold it to me. I put it on a 72" Creek Edge last fall, got about a gallon and a half of 10% nitro 24% castor/synth blend through it. Had a hard time tuning it, eventually got maybe a half dozen good flights out of it before the season ended.
Clarence Lee reviewed the engine very favorably. So far my experience is still too brief to say I'm happy with it, but I do plan to fly it hard this summer. I will put a Perry pump on it before it flies again. I have it side mounted with BCM Pitts. At first I had the high speed needle all the way out (like 7 turns) and it still would not draw enough fuel to run full throttle. That's with large diameter fuel tubing and tank right behind firewall. I closed off one of the two outlet tubes on the muffler, and that helped.
A buddy told me the low speed needle controls fuel mix well up into mid-range, so I fooled around with that for a while. Getting low speed needle open far enough to run at full throttle without starving for fuel would leave the low end too rich, so that I spent a day and a half at an IMAC meet with engine stalling from being too rich to takeoff. I finally got a decent flight in after the competition was over. Tried a few different plugs, got best results with an OS F (maybe because I was running high lube fuel).
When the field is clear and dry I will run the rest of the second gallon of high lube fuel through it and then switch to 20% lube, 80/20 synth/castor. I had an APC 18x6W on it, but think I'll finish breaking it in with a 17x6 modified Zinger to see if I can get some more RPM out of it. I think I tached the 18x6W at 8300 max, but that was with low needle too rich to take off with. I expect the power will improve over the first 5 gallons or more, so it's too early for me to say I'm disappointed with this engine. In fact I have every expectation of getting a long useful life out of it.
As to whether I'd buy another, I'd have to say yes if I could get it at what I paid for this one (something like $125), but not at the price Sig is showing on their website ($350? haven't looked lately). OS 1.60 is still the best value around for this class of engine.
Clarence Lee reviewed the engine very favorably. So far my experience is still too brief to say I'm happy with it, but I do plan to fly it hard this summer. I will put a Perry pump on it before it flies again. I have it side mounted with BCM Pitts. At first I had the high speed needle all the way out (like 7 turns) and it still would not draw enough fuel to run full throttle. That's with large diameter fuel tubing and tank right behind firewall. I closed off one of the two outlet tubes on the muffler, and that helped.
A buddy told me the low speed needle controls fuel mix well up into mid-range, so I fooled around with that for a while. Getting low speed needle open far enough to run at full throttle without starving for fuel would leave the low end too rich, so that I spent a day and a half at an IMAC meet with engine stalling from being too rich to takeoff. I finally got a decent flight in after the competition was over. Tried a few different plugs, got best results with an OS F (maybe because I was running high lube fuel).
When the field is clear and dry I will run the rest of the second gallon of high lube fuel through it and then switch to 20% lube, 80/20 synth/castor. I had an APC 18x6W on it, but think I'll finish breaking it in with a 17x6 modified Zinger to see if I can get some more RPM out of it. I think I tached the 18x6W at 8300 max, but that was with low needle too rich to take off with. I expect the power will improve over the first 5 gallons or more, so it's too early for me to say I'm disappointed with this engine. In fact I have every expectation of getting a long useful life out of it.
As to whether I'd buy another, I'd have to say yes if I could get it at what I paid for this one (something like $125), but not at the price Sig is showing on their website ($350? haven't looked lately). OS 1.60 is still the best value around for this class of engine.
