William Robison

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This got started in a different forum as a semi-hijack. I'm copying the posts here, participation by others is welcome.

Bill.

William Robison

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forestroke
Perpetual Beginner
From: Taipei, TAIWAN

William Robinson - I have a question for you since you seem to know a lot about technopower radials. I have just bought a B5 off the internet and have a few questions:

A. I am wondering what plane would go well with the engine. I am considering in the order of preference

1. Sportsman Aviation Corsair 52
2. CMP (GSP, KMP) P-47
3. Top Flight AT-6 60 Size
4. Kyosho Stearman or Super Stearman
5. Sportsman Aviation WACO 60

B. How can I route my exhaust out? Is it recommended? Or am I just going to have pipes sticking out from everywhere?

C. Will I have problems with tank pressure?

D. Any other things I have to look out for? I have the version where the rockers are aluminum and only the caps are plastic. Will these over heat running on the ground?

THANKS!!!

William Robison

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William Robison
Community Moderator
Certified
From: Mary Esther, Florida, FL, USA

Eugene:

You are in the right size range for the Technopower 5B engine, the best ones you have listed would most likely be either the WACo or the Stearman. The short nose moment usually needs nose weight with the usual engines, the TP radial has the weight. The power goes along with the size of the planes you are considering. One of the more modern planes might well be too nose heavy without weight in the tail, and then the entire plane could become too heavy to fly well. On the older biplanes they look, sound, and fly very well.

I suppose I do know a fair bit about them, but a lot of it is from failure analysis.

Overheating is a fact of life with the Technopower engines, get used to it. You can not leave them running on the ground very long. Start it, do your ground checks, taxi out and take off. No problem that way.

Yours with the cast rocker boxes is a great improvement over the originals, but you still have the steel sleeves inside the aluminum finned muffs. The latest version has one piece cylinders, all aluminum with chromed bores. Much better.

Your engine also has a cast master con rod. This is the last weak point that has been addressed. With the cast rod you are almost guaranteed a problem if you let the engine run over 6000 rpm. The latest production uses a billet rod, the latest ones will run at 8000 rpm happily. As a result, the latest engines also are a LOT more powerful than the older ones.

So what can you do? Marc Linville has stopped production of all the five cylinder engines, but you might be able to talk him into doing a one-off billet rod for your engine. That would be the greatest improvement possible. I don';t have the specification sheets handy, but as I remember one of the sevens has the same cylinder bore yours does, if you can get five AAC cylinder sets for your engine along with the billet rod you will have a great engine. All the new cylinders are also anodized black, an improvement in looks too. I'll warn you in advance, it is not an engine for an amateur to take apart and reassemble. Might be able to talk Marc into doing the upgrade for you. Remember too, the cost will not be pocket change.

If all this upgrade talk scares you I'm sorry. It is still an excellent engine just the way you have it, don't be afraid to fly it and enjoy it in the stock condition. Just be aware of the limitations and it will give you good service.

One further thing - keep the oil around 10%, 15% is too much after break-in. A synthetic/castor blend is fine. Minimum nitro, 5% is plenty.

Bill.

William Robison

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William Robison
Community Moderator
Certified
From: Mary Esther, Florida, FL, USA

Eugene:

Sorry, missed two points.

You do not need pressure feed on the fuel and that's good - there's no way to get any pressure from the stock engines. Not only is the crank case a constant volume, the fuel/air mixture is fed into the crankcase from the carb, the individual cylinder intake pipes pull it from the crank case.

This method of intake distribution is a definitely good design. Radials classically have distribution problems, with the upper cylinders going lean and the lower ones tending to flood. Most "Real" radials have what most would think to be a supercharger, a fan in the manifold. It can be driven to be a supercharger, but its main function is to keep the fuel and air evenly mixed and delivered to all the cylinders. It's called a "Diffuser." By feeding the mix into the crankcase TP uses the crank and rods as its diffuser, and also gives positive lubrication to the internals with fresh oil instead of what is blown past the rings in an ordinary model four stroke. The only other model radial using a diffuser, that I know of, is the Saito FA-325R5, it actually has a fan instead of using the crank and rods though.

Exhaust. The exhaust stacks are glued into the heads on the Technopower engines. This leaves just a few options. You can make a collector ring with stubs to slide on the existing exhaust stacks, Keeleo Creations will make one for you, or you can live with the five stacks.

Bill.

William Robison

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forestroke
Perpetual Beginner
From: Taipei, TAIWAN

William Robinson - are you telling me that i shouldn't be running the engine past 6000rpm? 14 x 6 at 6000 rpm isn't great power. Do you think i can prop it up so that full throttle is at 6000rpm or still prop it so WOT is at 8000 but then fly it at only 6000rpm? I have one delivered in 1994.

"the cost will not be pocket change" lol - I don't think he'd like to receive in pocket change even if i had it. I'm sure for whatever he'll charge for the cylinder heads and crank, I could buy a saito radial!!!

elmshoot - sorry to semi hijack your thread.

_____________________________

William Robison

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William Robison
Community Moderator
Certified

Eugene:

6000 rpm is the most you should turn it. Prop it for 6K at WOT on the ground, then be careful not to overspeed the engine in flight.

I will not guarantee you'll break the master rod if you turn it to 6100 rpm, but at 8K you most likely will have a problem.

Cost? Call Marc. Cost you just a few cents, and he's the one who makes the things so he knows far better than I.

Bill.

William Robison

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forestroke
Perpetual Beginner
From: Taipei, TAIWAN

William Robinson - I will do that. I guess I will need a 14 x 8 prop then. Thanks a LOT for your help. I'd hate hate to ruin the engine before it ever leaves the ground! I will write to marc since I'm in Taiwan. Also, I normally use 15% or 30% heli fuel (cool power) straight up. will i need to add castor? is that just normal motor oil (not synthetic) from like pep boys or walmart? Thanks!

William Robison

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William Robison
Community Moderator
Certified
From: Mary Esther, Florida, FL, USA

Eugene:

I spent many a happy hour in the Hsi Men Ting. I lived in T'aiPei many years ago.

Marc's recommended fuel is 7% oil, no more than 5% nitromethane, with the balance methanol. The oil, again per Marc, is synthetic. I still prefer using some castor oil in the mix, 7% synthetic with 3% castor giving a total oil content of 10%.

No, it is not ordinary motor oil either, whether synthetic or refined from crude. Most "Motor" oils won't mix well with the methanol. If you want to experiment and find one that will, do it in some cheap OS engine, not your nice radial. If it comes to that I'd be inclined to check the "Two Stroke" oils first, as they probably have the least additives.

I used to buy methanol and castor in the West Gate market area and mix my own "Standard" fuel, the nitro probably can be found there too. Everything else is there somewhere. You might even find someone selling Klotz oils. Or the Aerosynth that Jaka likes so much.

If all else fails just stay with a good grade of castor, run it 8-10% content. Nitro also is not necessary.

Good hunting.

Bill.

forestroke

Bill, thanks for moving this thread to a more appropriate location.

i also went to hsi men ting when i was very young. at that time it was already past its heydays and more often associated with vice than nice. in the recent decade, the area has made a comeback but targeting mostly high school and college students. the foreigners and older local people are now frequenting chic cosmopolitan bars, restaurants, and clubs in the "eastern district" where most of the new buildings are being erected. i'm sure it would be interesting for you to come back and see the city today.

as for the oil. i know many people that fly 2-stroke gassers. i'm sure they mix gas with some part oil. will i be able to use the same kind of castor? also, you refer to a "good grade oil" does that mean i can use a high end Castroil? (<---- that may sound stupid but i figure castroil = castor oil.

thanks!

William Robison

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Sorry to hear Hsi Men Ting went to pot, nice that it's coming back but I doubt it will ever be what it was then. When I was there Chin-Chou street, off Chung Shan North Road 2nd section, was known as "Sin Alley." Not too far from the Grand Hotel and what was then embassy row. May still be embassy row, but Nixon nixed ours. Foolish action on his part.

Also enjoyed the hot mineral spring baths at Yang Ming Shan - I'm sure that is still going.

I lived in Peking (PeiChing/Bayjing) in the middle 40s as a kid, then majored in Asian languages in college, so I had good Mandarin skills while in T'aiPei, I got around very well.

The oil. "Good grade" means either first pressing, or degummed. If you find castor oil; intended for human consumption it meets the standard. Possibly you can find some labeled "Baker's AA." That is first pressing, and is the recommended grade for model use.

Just because an oil can be used in a "Gasser" that doesn't mean it will work in an alcohol based fuel. That's why I said you might do some experimentation in a cheap engine before firing up the Technopower. Might also be better if your experiments are done with a four stroke engine too - castor oil can, but not necessarily will, cause valve stem deposits that will rob a lot of power. Using a four stroke will let you check that as well.

Biggest problem with ordinary motor oils is all the additives in them - anti-foam, detergents, and so forth. They do not help in a two stroke engine, that's why I suggested trying only the two stroke oils.

You said earlier that you are using "Cool Power" fuel. That indicates you can get the Morgan fuels. If you get a gallon of Cool Power 10% fuel and mix it with a gallon of pure methanol you'll be right at Marc's recommended fuel. If you use Omega 10% instead you'll have the castor I like, and again be right on Marc's fuel. Sorry I didn't think about that sooner.

Bill.

forestroke

that's good news. i'm sure i can get omega fuels around here. i think i'm seem them at the store. i'll invest a bottle.

i'm not sure where the sin city street you're talking about it... but there was an area of legalized prostitution up until a decade ago next to snake alley. it's mostly a tourist attraction now where people go to see snakes and drink their blood with some rice wine. i've never tried it but i hear it give men extra "vitality" :-)

whatever i try, i will try on another engine first. right now i've promised myself i'd do some spring cleaning (albeit almost summer now) before i put together another plane. to complicate things further, my Y.S. 63 is acting up and overheating.

anyway, thanks a lot for the tips. when i get the engine and plane flying, i'll be sure to send you pics even if it's disastrous! but then again, i'll probably be asking more questions before the plane is ever flying!

cheers, eugene

forestroke

just to spur the interest, i'm including a picture of the engine straight from the ebay listing :-) i've not taking pictures myself but it looks just as beautiful as it did when it belonged to someone else (some would argue that things always look better when owned by someone else :-)

William Robison

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Eugene:


Just to make you drool, here are three shots of the rarest of all - a 7B ignition version. A genuine gas burner. Also one shot of a 9C, the biggest TP engine.

Bill.

forestroke

William Robinson - though i must confess that i did drool over so slightly, i would completely need a bib if you could show me an installation of one of those radials in a plane. drool even more if you had a video with sound. that would be icing on the cake!

i see what you mean by the plastic rocker covers. that 9C is an absolute beauty. would love to see those mounted!!!

William Robison

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Eugene:

Get your bib on. Just sent an email with a clip of a 7B running as an atttachment.

Bill.

PS: Yes, it has sound. Get a towel to go with your bib. Haw. wr.

William Robison

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Eugene:

Just got a failure notice - your mail box is full.

Either clear some room, or give me a different address than [email protected] and let me know when you're ready.

Bill.

William Robison

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Sent to new address.

Bill.

forestroke

Bill, i got the first part and the rest was just garbled data! what a TEASER! the first part ended with the connection of the glow plug and the hand going to flip start the engine :-( need the rest of it now!!! lol.

forestroke

Bill, doesn't look good. always the same. the first comes over as a file and the rest as a bunch of garbled letters. unfortunately i already tossed the enigma machines after the war ended so i'm still up the creek without a paddle.

forestroke

thanks, bill... but still no dice. i guess somehow it just doesn't like to be split up into so many files. but thanks a lot anyway. i'll have to wait until i get mine running to see and hear the melody of the radial engine.

forestroke

Bill, i noticed that someone else here has the B5 and that he has a radial mount. how do you suggest mounting it if i don't have that radial mount? i've already emailed Marc about it but don't know when i'll get a response. i guess ply would work, too. what about standoffs? thanks! by the way, i mentioned your name to Marc as William Robinson :-)

William Robison

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Eugene:

You misspelled the name, but Marc will probably still recognize it.

The standoffs should work fine, just be sure to use fairly large flat washers on the end fastened to the wood. Both inside and outside of course.

Alternately you can cut a hole in the firewall for the carb and intake. Considering the mess it's liable to make inside I'd rather use standoffs.

Bill.

forestroke

bill, sorry about that... i didn't even realize it until you mentioned it. our eyes do play tricks on us! from the first time i saw your name, i had "robinson" engrained in my head i guess from the beatle song and the other namesakes in literature. i'll be sure to spell it right the next time!

William Robison

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Eugene:

No problem.

I don't know if it will work from T'aiWan or not, but pick up your phone and enter the country code for the USA and then dial (key) 800-741-8150. That's Marc's free phone number. You might find after getting into the US phone system the WATS number will work. Do remember the time zone difference.

Bill.

rcten

Mr. Robison, I aquired a 7 cylinder tp serial B7B-074 manfactured by Mr. Lohmolder in 1989, it appears to have all the upgrades, chrome cyl. alum. cast rocker box, machined master and connecting rods, from what I can tell it has never been run outside of the factory. What can you advise me about this engine as I intend on flying her.

Thanks, RcTenn