Thunder man

Hello,

I've got a Quickie 500 kit from old school model works, and I want to know if a four stroke glow engine would be practical for it, or maybe I'm better off with a two stroke.

If a four stroke works, what four stroke would be comparable to a .46 two stroke in terms of wight?

speedracerntrixie

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That’s a tough one. That airplane typically builds nose heavy with a .40 2 stroke. I’ve got a Super Tigre S40 on mine and had to put 6oz of weight in the tail to balance. This is after making a hatch behind the wing for the receiver battery. With a 4 stroke you would need to extend the landing gear to which is a weak point. On a hard landing, the gear flexes back and the wheels hit right on the wing spar.

Thunder man

That's what I was concerned about. I'll probably look for two strokes in that case, but I've seen one quickie 500 with a four stroke, so it would interresting to look further into this.

But thanks for the advice

speedracerntrixie

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I agree and believe it or not I think the 4 stroke has more speed potential. If you could get it to balance with a YS 80 on the nose it would absolutely rip. The prop however would however be the issue. You would need something like a 10x11

Thunder man

An 80 size 4 stroke would pretty cool, but would I need to reinforce the plane?

speedracerntrixie

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If the kit you have is built anything like the original Spickler kit I would say the fuselage is fine as is. You can replace the 3/16 tail pieces with some denser balsa and pin the tail section in place. I would move the firewall back an inch to help with balance but keep in mind that makes installing your fuel tank more difficult. Make a hatch behind the wing for the RX battery. The wings should be OK except on the original kit, there is no dihedral brace. On mine I just glassed the center. On anything faster I would add a brace to the third rib and glass. Here is a picture of mine, built from a 1980 original Spickler kit.

Thunder man

Thanks for the info, it really helps.

And your plane is really cool. I'm thinking of covering mine red or yellow and adding a black and white checkerboard pattern underneath.

I might stick with a .46 two stroke, as that was what was recommended by the manufacturer of my kit for the stronger option. Besides this is my first kit, so I should probably keep things a little more simple, but brainstorming ideas is a great way to get more insight, and you can never have enough insight in this hobby.

Just curious, what size of glow engine are you running? looks like a 40 or 46.

speedracerntrixie

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Mine was test flown with an HB .40 PDP. It was a bit slow so I rebuilt a Super Tigre S.40 ABC and installed that. It tops out at about 120 MPH. I wanted to stick with an engine that came from the same era.

Thunder man

That's cool, I might go with a os46fx

roncoleman

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Which OS carb are you using??

Thunder man

As far as a carb, I'll probably stick with the stock one

tedsander

FYI - for many years we had a very active racing circuit in my area flying them with .28 two strokes (Webra was the hands down favorite). With an 8x6 prop, and the lighter weight, still plenty fast. Meant as a less expensive introduction to Q500 racing, with any easy update to the somekin' 40's the big boys were using.

Thunder man

Thanks for the insight. Knowing .28 engines work well is nice

l'm sure I'll find the right engine, probably between .20 to .46. What would be a good pick for two stroke .40?

GREG DOE

The OS 25 FX is another fun choice. With an 8/6 it will give about 85 to 90 mph performance.

speedracerntrixie

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Webra Speed .40, Super Tigre S .40, Rossi .40, Picco .40 and OS .40 FSR ABC

Thunder man

Thanks for the list

Truckracer

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Beautiful Spickler! Brings back lots of memories. I was a very active Q500 racer from the beginning in the 70's well into the 2000's. I was fortunate to be able to race and win in 4 decades. I saw the event start with the Spickler, powered mostly with the K&B 40. Then watched it grow and change through several airframe and powerplant changes to what the event is today. Overall though, I think the most fun times were in the beginning. Through the years I also sport flew the older airframes with a variety of engines but any of the newer OS46 (or anything similar) with an APC 10-7 prop is hard to beat for decent speed and general flyability. Good fun and I still have 5 of them hanging from the ceiling that get flown on occasion. Again, thanks for the memories and keep that beautiful Spickler flying!

roncoleman

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Which OS carb are you using??

speedracerntrixie

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4BK. I had to fabricate a sleeve to increase the base diameter.

roncoleman

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I was just wondering. Back in the day when I stuck my toenail into Q500 with a Bridi Quickest 500, the 4BK carb bought out the beast in OS 40/45 FSR's. How does it work for you on other engines?

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speedracerntrixie

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Works really well. I haven’t put a tach to it but it hauls that Q500 around fast enough that I’m afraid to pull too hard in a turn.