Is engine mount suppost to go at angle?
 

I can't get the engine mount to be straight. It's at a slight angle. Is this ok? I have a Kyosho Calmato sport with an OS .46LA. The engine mount sits a little to the right. Its not perfectly center. Any help, thanks!

RE: Is engine mount suppost to go at angle?
 

Yes, this is normal. Right and slightly down would probably be better. In fact, if you check it closely, this is probably what you will find.

Our engines spin the prop to the right (from inside the canopy), this makes the model try to roll toward the left (again, looking from inside the canopy). This effect is most noticable when accelerating upon the application of power. It doesn't matter what kind of engine/motor is turning the prop, whether gas/glow/electric. The right thrust is an attempt to help keep the model moving straight ahead.

Since models must be biased to fly up right and level, the engine/motor is canted downward a tad in order to counter act this bias and to keep the model from climbing with the application of power in normal level flight.

I usually build my firewalls absolutely square and then shim them for whatever right or downthrust I want. Sometimes, on really aerobatic models, I want the engine to be dead square without compensation through shims. The better you get, the less you will rely on such tricks, but these tricks can be very handy for those without a lot of flight time.

You posted an excellent question.

RE: Is engine mount suppost to go at angle?
 

Take a look at the rough sketch below. If this is what you're referring to it is normal and is done on purpose.

>>> edit - Ed gave a really good explanation. I didn't know all of the reasons, just that it was by design <<<

RE: Is engine mount suppost to go at angle?
 

It is OK to tilt the engine to any angle that is necessary. In the case of my
Cessna 182 the engine had to be tilted way over, so the exhaust and muffler
would align and exit a recess in the bottom of the fuselage. ;)

FBD. :D

RE: Is engine mount suppost to go at angle?
 

Ed,


Did you take a close look at the Sukhoi 26/31 planes?

They are definitely models and full-size planes, intended for unlimited aerobatic competition.
The amount of side-thrust built into this plane, is visible from any angle and is very obvious.

...And as to down-thrust; it is true mostly of high-wing models, with plenty of dihedral...
When you have a low-wing plane, with little, or no dihedral, you may want some up-thrust, to counter the plane's tendency to lower its nose when power is applied.

RE: Is engine mount suppost to go at angle?
 

My engine does tilt to the right a bit. Thanks guys for the info!