I've had several days of good flying with no crashes. But today the heli would balloon when the wind would blow and I would cut throttle. Then I would have to punch the throttle "hard" and hope that I had the time to spare between the heli and the ground. It recovered every time but there were close calls and altitude was difficult to control. The engine had what sounded like a rich "sputter" before it would "catch up". The air temp. was 65 degrees F. and the 110 had plenty of lift off power. The fuel setting was 2 1/4 turns out with 2 washers under the glow plug. In this cooler weather the engine requires very little throttle to maintain altitude when flying. It seems so relaxed that I believe the engines is getting too cool.....could this be the fault of the glow plug? The hobby shop won't be open until tomorrow.....so I'll get one then but do you think I'm on the right track? I have flown in the wind before.....everything was good until today.
Mark

You can try to lean it out just a little more. Im flying using the Vmax7 I have four washers under the head 15% nitro and my needle valve is open a full two turns. When its warm out I open the needle valve an extra 1/8 of an inch. So far This has been the Charm for my heli. Still lots of power. Ive been averaging about 3-6 tanks of gas a day for about two weeks straight. Been on the same glow plug now for about three months of flying. Warm to me is about 70 degrees.

Thanks Darth, I'll try to lean up a little more. How hot does your vmax7 run? Does the heatsink boil spit? Mine will if the outside temperature is 90 degrees or so. Now that the air temperature is much cooler the engine produces little heat. Spit just sits there. Just trying to find the normal parameters.
Thanks, Mark

The Vmax 7 will overheat and "boil spit". If it over heats, its usually because its running to lean. Sometimes you cant tell it is overheating until you drop the throttle to about idle, it wont idle, it will die. just richen it up and it will be fine. The Vmax will run rich with plenty of power to fly the Heli. You dont want it to rich. You want to at least lean it out then back off about 1/8 to 1/4 turn. Or you can add a washer under the glowplug.
Ive noticed that some of the individual washers both for the Vmax6 and the Vmax7 are different thickness, they arent all the same. This seems to be more critical when adjusting the Vmax6 but not so much with the Vmax7. Tuning the V7 is a whole lot simpler. washer stack isnt as critical when wanting to get enough power to fly the heli. The power is there whether its running rich or running lean.

Darth, you were correct when you suggested "other" causes for my vmax7 problem. A new glow plug made no difference. Forgive me for going into so much detail but I need a little more advice. This engine has about 3 gallons of 25% Omega fuel thru it. During 80-90 degree weather the 7 performed well with the fuel set at 2 1/2 turns out. The idle was sometimes "rich" but the engine still had good lift. I had 1 washer under the plug. It diffenitely required more throttle to get off of the ground than it does now that the temp. is 60-65 degrees. I have added 1 more washer for a total of 2. It takes very little throttle to get off of the ground. It takes very little throttle for fff. But as you fly the engine becomes "sluggish" (gurgles). I think it is rich. Upon throttle increase ( to control what now has become a drop from mid air) the engine slowly speeds up until it hits what I'll call its "power band" at which time it launches upward. The whole episode looks like a helicopter shaped yo yo. I usually land it as quick as I can bounce it in. I have leaned to 2 turns but the engine did get too hot. At 2 1/4 turns the engine isn't too hot and the heli seems easier to control but you can tell that you're still on the edge of a problem. Also the engine would not idle. It would "load up" on fuel and die quickly at idle. Two things seem to have help this: #1 going from 2 1/2 turns out to 2 1/4 turns out. #2 going one step to the left on the throttle servo horn. My last flight out this evening was good. I landed several times to check engine temp. and it was ok. The engine idled for 60 seconds or so until I took off again. What do you think? Did 20-25 degrees drop in air temp make the engine act different? Would more washers help? It can't be a major problem with all that lift, right? I am using the 2 four degree grips. This is my first problem with my 7. Thanks in advance,
Mark

Did 20-25 degrees drop in air temp make the engine act different?
You will be surprised how the air temp will affect the engine performance. It will make a difference. I also would try adding another washer under the glow plug. Sometimes when the engine runs good for a while and then starts to overheat, try removing your needle valve and plugging your vent hole on your gas tank and flush your fuel line. I just experienced a slight overheating yesterday and I flushed the line and after that everything was a-ok. Any little particle wedged around your needle valve will choke off some fuel and will cause a leaning effect which could cause an overheat situation. Im running 15%nitro and and keep my needle setting at about 2 turns thru 2 3/16 turns. Usually the warmer it is outside, Im running at a slightly richer setting (2 3/16). I have four washers under my glow plug. Seemingly this has been the charm for my engine ever since it was broken in. At about 1/4 stick Im Hovering to slightly climbing (depends on the wind) half stick, its full throttle. Go with three-four washers under the plug, Lean it out and back off about an 1/8 of a turn. The only thing you should be doing once you get a full flight in without overheating is adjusting the needle valve according to outside temperature and if you do have an overheat, flush your fuel line. I havent had to tinker with my V7 much at all except for adjusting needle valve for temperature change and flushing the fuel line. Sometimes its good to check your glow plug every now and then because they do over a period of time wear out. Also they develope a crystaline on the glow coils which will affect plug performance. if you are really careful, you can remove the crystaline with a straight pin or pointed tooth pick. take real care not to damage the coils. Out of three gallons of gas I have sucessfully cleaned my plug coils of this stuff about three times and each time noticed a noticable change in engine performance.

You hit the "old nail on the head" Darth. I got home from work today and what did a see? A still and overcast evening looking back at me.......added 1 more washer before I even started. Flew 2 tanks. Another dream day. Not so much as a stutter out of the old 110......SMOOOOOTH.... If it hadn't got dark I would still be flying.....must have needed a tad less compression and a bit more tuning. Kinda like you said. The old vmax7 has still got it.
Thanks,
Mark