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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Colonial Beach, VA
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Doc, I used a degree wheel and checked the timing on my FG 11, it fires the spark at 40 degrees btdc. Saito calls that a medium setting. It runs perfectly that way. Your set up is interesting. That pin does not appear to have been damaged by a slip. Curious situation and I'm sorry I don't know how to help.
Maybe we should all get together and coin a new phrase, The Unifold intake and exhaust pipe.

Unifold Pipe for a Saito 56
Maybe we should all get together and coin a new phrase, The Unifold intake and exhaust pipe.

Unifold Pipe for a Saito 56
Last edited by Hobbsy; 10-11-2020 at 03:16 AM.


Well, Looks like your locating screw is intact. If the magnet were reverse polarity, there would be no spark.
Looks like Lonnie and I were typing at the same time.

I dump the plastic pickup holder and fit these CH Hall Effect holders in their place. Yep, they are nice so many folks will just hate them. LOL!
Looks like Lonnie and I were typing at the same time.

I dump the plastic pickup holder and fit these CH Hall Effect holders in their place. Yep, they are nice so many folks will just hate them. LOL!
Last edited by Jesse Open; 10-11-2020 at 04:42 AM. Reason: Looks like Lonnie and I were typing at the same time.

I managed to pull hub down with 2 screwdrivers pushed from both sides. When pin is screwed in, it protrudes enough to hold into the groove.
refitted everything, and still no go.
So I demounted engine from plane and will inspect carb and mount to bench and test some more before giving up and sending to some shop.



refitted everything, and still no go.
So I demounted engine from plane and will inspect carb and mount to bench and test some more before giving up and sending to some shop.






Two screwdrivers? Cool, great idea, anything that gets the job done.
Any and every time you power the CDI unit l, the spark plug should be fully seated into the plug connector and well connected to ground . You can toast the CDI otherwise .

Any and every time you power the CDI unit l, the spark plug should be fully seated into the plug connector and well connected to ground . You can toast the CDI otherwise .

It is said that the RcXel CDI units cannot be damaged by triggering an output while leaving the secondary winding ungrounded. So they say, I'm not willing to prove that true or false.

Last edited by Glowgeek; 10-11-2020 at 10:18 AM.

Ok
memory refresh time the 72 and 82 share a lot of parts like I’m hoping the connecting rod. A fellow flyer gave me a 72 with a broken rod. i need to replace it. Horizon doesn’t even list the 72 anymore
memory refresh time the 72 and 82 share a lot of parts like I’m hoping the connecting rod. A fellow flyer gave me a 72 with a broken rod. i need to replace it. Horizon doesn’t even list the 72 anymore

Well I believe ground is provided over spark cable shield, and over L shaped cap to spark body, and inner electrode gets high voltage from spring inside L plug.
I get sparks with plug removed from engine but of course plugged in L cap when turning hub over... never initiaded spark with L cap empty, heard it can be bad for CDI, would nit like to test wrong/true if I dont have to.
valve clearances are checked and set to 0.03mm,
spark is there, around 28-30°BTDC
choke is funny on this one, no butterfly walve, but hissing is present, and fuel drips from exhaust after few times of trying to start it,
prop hub is placed OK, pin is not broken,
fuel is fresh, oil mix 1:20 full synthetic, other saito FG21 works like a charm on it...
compression is here, not something mega but not broken in fully of course,
battery is fresh 8.4V 2S LiPo (tried 2S LiFe too)
and just no sign of life when flipping it over,
and all worked ok about 4-5 months ago when I bought it new and run on bench per manual those 2-3 tanks with higher oil % and rpm as per manual...
carb can be hard to tell if is working ok or not, but fuel is present for sure when choking it,
and it pulls it from tank without problems if I connect empty line from tank, no restrictions...
gaskets are all in place and not broken.
I get sparks with plug removed from engine but of course plugged in L cap when turning hub over... never initiaded spark with L cap empty, heard it can be bad for CDI, would nit like to test wrong/true if I dont have to.
valve clearances are checked and set to 0.03mm,
spark is there, around 28-30°BTDC
choke is funny on this one, no butterfly walve, but hissing is present, and fuel drips from exhaust after few times of trying to start it,
prop hub is placed OK, pin is not broken,
fuel is fresh, oil mix 1:20 full synthetic, other saito FG21 works like a charm on it...
compression is here, not something mega but not broken in fully of course,
battery is fresh 8.4V 2S LiPo (tried 2S LiFe too)
and just no sign of life when flipping it over,
and all worked ok about 4-5 months ago when I bought it new and run on bench per manual those 2-3 tanks with higher oil % and rpm as per manual...
carb can be hard to tell if is working ok or not, but fuel is present for sure when choking it,
and it pulls it from tank without problems if I connect empty line from tank, no restrictions...
gaskets are all in place and not broken.
Last edited by dr.tom; 10-11-2020 at 11:12 AM.


Well I believe ground is provided over spark cable shield, and over L shaped cap to spark body, and inner electrode gets high voltage from spring inside L plug.
I get sparks with plug removed from engine but of course plugged in L cap when turning hub over... never initiaded spark with L cap empty, heard it can be bad for CDI, would nit like to test wrong/true if I dont have to.
.
I get sparks with plug removed from engine but of course plugged in L cap when turning hub over... never initiaded spark with L cap empty, heard it can be bad for CDI, would nit like to test wrong/true if I dont have to.
.
I believe that I described that.
The point of course is that absent a stinking spark plug grounded at the connector, the secondary voltage is looking for the next low resistance point..
Have fun, good luck, you have it....

Doc, check the silicone boot inside the plug cap for tears or misalignment. It is harder for the plug to spark when under compression inside the combustion chamber than it is outside of the engine so it could be arcing in the cap. Try a new spark plug too. If that doesnt fix it you could try swapping in the cdi unit from your FG21 as well. Let us know what you find.
Last edited by Glowgeek; 10-11-2020 at 04:49 PM.

A fun but solemn day at the club this afternoon. We all flew planes built and flown by a fellow club member who passed away 4 years ago. Kind of an annual memorial that we do for him. Griffin was a fine man and never met a stranger. Very fun guy to be around, my best friend and someone who kept a positive outlook on all things. A true Saitoholic if there ever was one.


A fun but solemn day at the club this afternoon. We all flew planes built and flown by a fellow club member who passed away 4 years ago. Kind of an annual memorial that we do for him. Griffin was a fine man and never met a stranger. Very fun guy to be around, my best friend and someone who kept a positive outlook on all things. A true Saitoholic if there ever was one.


Well it seems like intake valve is leaking somehow,
even when I removed rocker, so any option of it pressing it and keeping valve open is eliminated,
still get a lot of air coming out of carb (hissing with fuel mist) in compresion stroke, that's why it would not start any more, but draws fuel fine(exhaust valve works ok).

really cant tell why would valve fail on a new engine that was broken in properly,
and left in TDC to prevent spring wear for 4-5 months while I was putting the plane together.
only hope is that somehow the black blowby stuff from crankcase
sipped down to valves and formed some gunk that jammed when it opened after storage, engine was invert mounted to plane during that.

even when I removed rocker, so any option of it pressing it and keeping valve open is eliminated,
still get a lot of air coming out of carb (hissing with fuel mist) in compresion stroke, that's why it would not start any more, but draws fuel fine(exhaust valve works ok).

really cant tell why would valve fail on a new engine that was broken in properly,
and left in TDC to prevent spring wear for 4-5 months while I was putting the plane together.
only hope is that somehow the black blowby stuff from crankcase
sipped down to valves and formed some gunk that jammed when it opened after storage, engine was invert mounted to plane during that.

Last edited by dr.tom; 10-12-2020 at 02:49 AM.

My Feedback: (102)
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Colonial Beach, VA
Posts: 20,370
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23 Posts

Horizon should have it this month: https://www.horizonhobby.com/product.../SAI7210A.html Engine code RR

Thanks for the tips along the way,
yup, seems the gunk from crankcase came down(inverted) and messed valve seat.
i turned valve with pliers a few times around and knocked it too to make rapid movement up/down
and it reseated back perfect!
primed engine, flipped few times with hand and it works!
hope this was all the fuss with Saito and now it should work for 10 years w/o problems
yup, seems the gunk from crankcase came down(inverted) and messed valve seat.
i turned valve with pliers a few times around and knocked it too to make rapid movement up/down
and it reseated back perfect!
primed engine, flipped few times with hand and it works!
hope this was all the fuss with Saito and now it should work for 10 years w/o problems

Last edited by dr.tom; 10-12-2020 at 08:38 AM.

Anyone remember me talking about building a Powerhouse old timer plane? It's done, gigantic and all prettied up in patriotic silk span. The 56 runs flawless, of course.

Powerhouse, 94" WS, 6.25 lbs., Powered by a Saito FA56.

Powerhouse, 94" WS, 6.25 lbs., Powered by a Saito FA56.