In flight saito problems
 

I have a saito 150 in a great planes corsair. Engine runs great on the ground. In the air after about 2 minutes or so, it begins to lose power. Have tried increasing and decreasing fuel mixture with no positive results. 16 x 10 prop. What is the problem? :(

In flight saito problems
 

Hello more info... Is the engine new ? If not when did the problem start ? Is it in a new plane ??? Did u ever bang it in a crash or on landing ?? Did u change fuel and what kind do u use ..etc.

In flight saito problems
 

Without anymore info than that, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is overheating. Do you have adequate cowl holes cut for air flow? Is the engine totally enclosed in the cowling? Try running the plane without the cowling and see what happens.

In flight saito problems
 

my first thought is over heating,easy way to find out is fly without the cowling.

In flight saito problems
 

Still new, and as stated above it is overheating, next time run it a bit richer, you should have a very definite trail of smoke, as soon as you take off, gain as much altitude as possible, throttle back to no more than 3/4 throttle, and do lots of loops and flying around, without changing the throttle setting, see how it does, Saito's are hard engines, they take a little longer than most to brake in, but then, is when you fall in love with them! Use 15 % nitro fuel.

saito overheating
 

walter D
I think you hit the nail on the head as did every one else, I,ve tried running w/o the cowling, and even run it on 120 size ultra stick, results were the same. Engine has less than 2 gallons run total, which is not many flights, it does eat gas. How long average does break in take? I was thinking possibly valve clearance to tight, is this possible?
U-stick

In flight saito problems
 

usually I look at gas at the 120 size plane because of the fuel consumption,doubt you have valve clearance problems,some where around 4 gallons the engine seems to be broke in,but it is a thirsty engine.

In flight saito problems
 

Terrell's right, my Saito's have started to become well behaved at around the third gallon of fuel, by the fourth, you'll have the sweetest running engine of them all.
If your're afraid of risking your model because of engine flame outs, do some more brake in on a test stand, if you are patient and run it rich, however, you'll get there.