Roo Man

My Feedback: (1)

I have an FA80 and have test run with a 12-8. Largest I had.

Gary

mike109

G'day OF. Yes, it is really a nice engine. The radials look great, sound amazing but they are not the most powerful engines Saito makes and some can be a bit troublesome I hear. But this one is running well if not producing great gobs of power. I would say it is about as good as a good 50 at the moment though it is still on the rich side and still tight so it has some improvement still in it I suspect from what I have read.

I originally put it in a Hanger 9 Sopwith Camel but I decided to get it running properly in a Kadet and I am glad that I did. I originally had a Saito 82 in the Sopwith and as I still have one, I think I will eventually end up putting the 82 in it at least initially to see how it flies.

Cheers

Mike in Dubbo (Oz)

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Mike, I too had one of the .90 triples, I put a Keleo ring on it and it would not make any tank pressure. I cured that by sticking to props in the middle of its prop range. By letting it rev about 8,500 the needle was easier to set, the lower left cyclinder was the troublesome one. If I remember correctly a Bolly 13.5x6 was the prop of choice.

bpoates25

Hey all Saito members,

Though I am not a Saito club member, I do own a 56 GK. I have been using Cool Power 15% in it, and it runs great. With the ever rising cost of fuel, I have wondered if I could run Omega 10% in it without hurting it. It runs so good now, I don't want to do anything that will affect it's performance, or longevity.

Thanks,
Ben

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

It will run perfectly fine with the 10% fuel and you will hardly notice the difference

mike109

G'day bpoates25. I have been running all my Saitos (about 14 I think) and all my other four and two strokes (Laser, Enya, ASP) on 10% fuel for years with no problems. My fuel has 5% castor and15% synthetic as well as the usual methanol. You will not have any problems with the fuel you are suggesting. As W8YE says, you will hardly notice the difference (except in the price).

As an aside, a bloke I am teaching and I were flying yesterday. We both have Saito 62s. Mine was running perfectly with my home brew and he was using some of a similar fuel which I had made for him but from the club's ingredients. His engine would just suddenly stop for no apparent reason. We changed the plug. We did some tuning. But eventually we tried my fuel and the engine ran perfectly. My fuel container is nearly full; his was nearly empty. I suspect his fuel has picked up some moisture and that was giving us the sudden engine stoppages.

The lesson - when an engine that has been reliable suddenly wants to play up, try some different "known good" fuel before anything else.

mike109

G'day Dave

Thanks for the info. I will have a look to see if there is a Bolly 13.5 x 6 in the prop collection. The RAM 13 x 6 seems to work quite well. The engine is getting better with more running. It is now idling really slowly after a flight. I am going to keep flying it as often as I can to get its hours up a bit as I gather from comments here that they do take quite a while to give their best. I really should wave the tacho at it and see what numbers it is actually producing. Perhaps next time out.

Cheers

Mike in Oz

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I've used a APC 13 X 6 on my 90R3

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The fuel will pick up more than moisture. UV light ruins it for some reason? Makes it so the glow plug will not stay lit. Letting a jug setting in the sunlight all day every day will mess it up for sure. Flourescent lights do not do it any good either. I keep my fuel in absolute darkness all I can. I even use a metal can at the field.

bpoates25

w8ye and mike109, thanks for the quick response. I am definitely going to change fuel, and try to save a little money. Can it run on a fuel that has more caster in it than synthetic? That's really what I was trying to determine. As far as club Saito, I would be honored to join guys like you who are so knowledgeable about 4 strokes.thanks for your help.

Ben

Tarasdad

Engine code for the FA80 is "I" (letter EYE).

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

They like fuel with the oil package being 75% synthetic and 25% castor oil the best

All castor would make one awful gummy if it set around for a year or so.

BelAirBob

I asked Horizon this question a week ago and never heard back. I am sure someone here can help. I have about a 12 year old Saito 65 GK. What current 4 stoke will fit the same motor mount pattern that will give a little more power?

Thank you

bob

mike109

G'day bpoates25. I use oil which is 25% castor and 75% synthetic and this seems to work well for me. I did buy an old Saito 65 which had been run with lots of castor. It was possible to see lots of "coke" on the exhaust valve though it did not seem to cause any problems. Over time it became cleaner with my mixture. Lots of castor will probably coke up the engine and also leave much more varnish behind to gunk things up as well. If you run it often it will not cause too many problems but if you leave it several weeks between runs you may find it getting quite messy inside as the castor dries out.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Other Satio engines with the same mounting pattern as the 65 are

80
91
110

rickbrad

My Feedback: (30)

Here is a nice [unofficial]resource for Saito specs, dimensions, etc: http://saito-engines.info/specifications.html

Also, the Saito Small to Medium Single Cylinder Manual is available at this link (see page 17): http://www.horizonhobby.com/ProdInfo...der_Manual.pdf

The manual might load slow as it is a 6MB file. Worth saving to your HDif you like Saitos!

mike109

G'day BelAirBob. You have discovered that Saito had recently updated their line of engines. Your 65 is one of an older line which has been replaced by more compact designs. The nearest engine to yours in capacity in the new linup is either the 62 (great engine I have two) or the 72 (also great). But both of these have a much smaller footprint than your 65 (I just sold my last one). In the new linup, the engines 45, 56, 62, 72 and 82 all have the same mounting dimensions though they are all slightly different heights and lengths. I recently substituted a 72 for a 62 and it was almost a drop in fit. The 56 and 62 are very close in over all dimensions and the 72 and 82 are also very similar.

I guess you "need" something like a 72 for your plane but you would have to change the mount for it to fit.

Sorry to be the bringer of less than wonderful news.

The good news is that the new engines are lighter and more powerful than the ones they have replaced. Probably cheaper too.

Cheers

Mike in Oz

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

As for sunlight and fuel, a friend and I have had that arguement for years. It turns out we were both right and wrong. I said that sunlight had no effect on methanol, and I was right. But it DOES affect the Nitro!

Keep the fuel tightly capped to prevent moisture coming in (even from the heating and cooling moving the fuel can from sun to shade, etc.) which will cause moisture to migrate into the fuel can and ruin the methanol. S

However, I recently discovered (actually I read it) that sunlight does a number on the Nitro! I believe that it causes the nitro to decompose, but am not 100% sure about that fact. I've always kept the fuel tightly capped for the moisture reason. Now I'll keep it in a tin can instead of a plastic jug for the nitro.

Just my $.02

Bob

BelAirBob

Looks like the 91 would drop into the same motor mount. Thank you thank you

bob

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Yes, the 91 will replace the 65 perfectly

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Hey Jim, speaking of the .65, .80 and .91, I unboxed my old high compression .80 today and tried some of the WildCat 15% 2/4 with 18% all synthetic lube in it.

Fuel===WildCat 15% 2/4
Glow Plug=Fox Miracle
Prop===Bolly 13.5x6
RPM===10,250

15% is a little rattly in it, 10% or 5% is probably better but I've put a lot of 15% through it including several gallons of Fox 15% with 20% castor. It is still all original. It responds well to the TurboHeader at a 220 rpm gain.

Woops, I lied, it does have the upgraded spraybar in it, sorry.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I always ran a 14 X 6 on my 80. It didn't set the world on fire. Mine wasn't high compression. I think I should have been using a 13 X 7? The guy that owns it now is one of BLW's friends and he runs a 13 X 6 on it. One of those gray Graupner ones from Hobby Lobby.

Kostas1

Do you know what rpm it turned with the 14x6 ?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

It was more like 9300 rpm.

Kostas1

Thank's...