Buying Nitro *

[Grumpy]

Does anyone mix there own fuel these days? My old man used to buy 40 gallon drums of methanol and castor and mix it for club members. I grew up soaked in methanol Even back then Nitro was expensive, and for helis you need a fair bit in the mix, 'straight' fuel wont cut it.

Like i said earlier, 'proper' I.C. engines are great and appeal on a level that electric never will, but they are very expensive to run, far more so than electric, there is no getting away from it. This isnt a matter of opinion, I can prove it with maths if anyone doubts it. It's only fair to give people the facts.

[SaneAdam]

No body has mentioned, oil,smell,noise,smoke,burnt fingers,constant tinkering! You can't beat nitro far better than whiny electric motors. .

Plus the pipe doubles as a great hand warmer in this weather I used to use my Scorpion Ultimates to warm my hands. But they can only warm a small amount of flesh at a time lol. With a pipe you have a great large surface area hand warmer

[AnthD]

Some great replies , funny thread !

its great how everyone enjoys there own Kit and even better some have the best of both worlds and have both ! Sounds like the plan IMO!
Ive got the Sim boxed ticked with Nose In/out hover going for 4 mins either way to brain train have it down to a tee .. On to slow circuts now which is more challenging and some basic Manouvres like stall turns and banking .. All in all feel very good and the Sim has been a top buy !

We do have a local Club that there's a couple of sound lads there with good knollage , Snowy from here has been a big bonus as he has some great Nitro knollage and skills on the sticks ! Think he's Just showing off really IMO ;-)

It makes sense to me to fly Nitro for the airtime being greater especially with a low head speed and it all dulled down a little at first , also yes people mention the pain in the ass with tuning but surly this is a good road to learn on , pick up and fly isn't going to be great for hands on experience? Just my humble thoughts at this stage , I have the perfect nitro set up to fly also and it's not as responsive/aggressive as Elec which again can only be good for newbs gaining time on the sticks .. nitro has just that appeal to me I did intend elec but I'm just sold with it .. That's not to say it's 100% but if I had to buy one today Id have Glow/Nitro with that IC engine all day .. If it's a mistake someone can have a great deal and buy it :-)

dont to think there's a right and wrong here .. Other than I'll get some good degreaser and the fair out for cleaning the Heli down which Im surprised the Elec lads haven't jumped on !? Ha

AnthD

[SaneAdam]

Cleaning the heli after use its not a problem. Takes 2 mins. Plus they stay nice and shiny and dust free due to all that self oiling in mid air

[Peteski]

Just go for it! Nitro is obviously what you want, so no point in trying to look at it objectively. If you do that too much you'll end up with electric power and be unhappy from day 1
Sounds like the sim is going well too. Should give you a lot of confidence.

[AnthD]

yeah Pet maybe it's lulling me in .. It's not a conspiracy for Heli manufacturers to cash in on parts I hope this Sim �� :-)

[trillian]

Plus the pipe doubles as a great hand warmer in this weather I used to use my Scorpion Ultimates to warm my hands. But they can only warm a small amount of flesh at a time lol. With a pipe you have a great large surface area hand warmer

Gassers are even better! Bigger pipe and everything runs hotter than nitro. I vividly remember one year when an unexpected shower and chilly winds caught me off-guard and I was huddled under my umbrella with my Century Predator gasser still hot from flying.

[Peteski]

yeah Pet maybe it's lulling me in .. It's not a conspiracy for Heli manufacturers to cash in on parts I hope this Sim �� :-)

LOL, yeah! But seriously it's a bit different when you get out in the field. I found my first CP flight with a little 130X yesterday was much harder than the sim. Maybe because it's such a small model compared to the big stable helis on the sim, but I felt less in control for sure in real life. I guess I was out of my comfort zone once again. It was great though, much more of a buzz than any sim session. Have you got any micro helis to play with yet? I'd certainly recommend one to go with the sim. Looking back over the last month I've learnt more with the micros than the sim for sure, but together they are a great way to rack up the stick time.

[AnthD]

Have a few bits to fly Pet , 4Ch micros there good fun .. As you say when your outside you have to be sharper the weather ect plays a big factor I spend most of my time gunning slowing full pitch in to the wind with a little HBee was about £100 then a few packs for it .. Good fun but like I said any wind kind of kills it! .. But without the little micros don't think I'd have started the obsession ! ;-)
I won't go for a 700 Im 99% I'll get a 600 , read some great arrticals online on the Glow engines too the little 2 strokes are looking pretty straight forward there's nothing too scary TBH and if it needs anything I may just take it to my local dealer , im
Assuming there pretty solid really ..

Could someone just chip in with the Tuning set up mentioned with Glow plug engines , are we just talking fuel mixing and engine tick over speeds that need adjusting here ..That's not the worst thing in the world ?

[jwatts007]

be careful not you use a too powerful cleaner it may affect the sticky pads your gyro and anything else you have stuck down may fall off...or even dissolve like mine did...a little soapy water does just fine...

[trillian]

Could someone just chip in with the Tuning set up mentioned with Glow plug engines , are we just talking fuel mixing and engine tick over speeds that need adjusting here ..That's not the worst thing in the world ?

Generally the tuning is not difficult because these engines will run on a very wide range of fuel/air mixture. The bigger engines will have 3 needles, idle, midrange and high speed. The OS50Hyper has just two needles, idle and high and usually the idle doesn't need to be changed. The most important thing is not going lean! But once you get them running in the right range you don't have to constantly fiddle with them. The manuals always have a starting point of where to set the needles and then you work from there to go a little leaner as needed. It's a bit more of an 'art' than a science because you must get to know the sound of the engine when it's running properly (and another good indicator is seeing plenty of smoke).

[AnthD]

Thanks Trill ,

I've just have read read a good engine Tuning read here ; Nitro RC Cars : Glow Engine tuning basics

worth a read for anyone in the same boat as me at least .. So say your flying in 5deg and the weather temp changes to 18deg a week later, will you need to tune the engine slightly with that temp diffrence and Have it running richer for the warmer weather?

AnthD

[snowy]

Some great replies , funny thread !

its great how everyone enjoys there own Kit and even better some have the best of both worlds and have both ! Sounds like the plan IMO!
Ive got the Sim boxed ticked with Nose In/out hover going for 4 mins either way to brain train have it down to a tee .. On to slow circuts now which is more challenging and some basic Manouvres like stall turns and banking .. All in all feel very good and the Sim has been a top buy !

We do have a local Club that there's a couple of sound lads there with good knollage , Snowy from here has been a big bonus as he has some great Nitro knollage and skills on the sticks ! Think he's Just showing off really IMO ;-)

It makes sense to me to fly Nitro for the airtime being greater especially with a low head speed and it all dulled down a little at first , also yes people mention the pain in the ass with tuning but surly this is a good road to learn on , pick up and fly isn't going to be great for hands on experience? Just my humble thoughts at this stage , I have the perfect nitro set up to fly also and it's not as responsive/aggressive as Elec which again can only be good for newbs gaining time on the sticks .. nitro has just that appeal to me I did intend elec but I'm just sold with it .. That's not to say it's 100% but if I had to buy one today Id have Glow/Nitro with that IC engine all day .. If it's a mistake someone can have a great deal and buy it :-)

dont to think there's a right and wrong here .. Other than I'll get some good degreaser and the fair out for cleaning the Heli down which Im surprised the Elec lads haven't jumped on !? Ha

AnthD

Cheers Anth not sure it was showing off more like chasing the sticks lol
I will buddy lead you up with a nitro and leccy soon and help you make up your mind on which route to take.

[trillian]

Yeah you run slightly richer (needles turned out a bit) in colder weather because the air is denser. Generally you're just leaning a few ticks at a time as the weather warms up and then once it levels out into average spring/summer temps it can pretty much stay put till the next winter.

Thanks Trill ,

I've just have read read a good engine Tuning read here ; Nitro RC Cars : Glow Engine tuning basics

worth a read for anyone in the same boat as me at least .. So say your flying in 5deg and the weather temp changes to 18deg a week later, will you need to tune the engine slightly with that temp diffrence and Have it running richer for the warmer weather?

AnthD

[hedge]

Thanks Trill ,

I've just have read read a good engine Tuning read here ; Nitro RC Cars : Glow Engine tuning basics

worth a read for anyone in the same boat as me at least .. So say your flying in 5deg and the weather temp changes to 18deg a week later, will you need to tune the engine slightly with that temp diffrence and Have it running richer for the warmer weather?

AnthD

I think for helis his area is well over hyped. Cars are literally (and need to be in order to be competitive) tuned to the point where they are ready to break, helis on the other hand will fly very very well set to run rich. My experience with OS is they are very forgiving and easy to tune. Muffler pressure has less to go wrong and works a treat. 20% nitro is more than enough. Tuning is easy in the UK On this engine - OS55hz - Set the mixture screw 1 screw driver blade width lean, then set both mid range and high range needles to 1 3/4 turns out. Now if your happy it works leave it! If not lean 2 clicks at a time the high end needle, take off - pitch pump ( or tick tocks ) for 1 min, land and put your finger on the back plate, if it's hot to touch your too lean richen up if it's only slightly warm or warm all good.

Basically the engine needs fuel, glow plugs and pressure. Lack of fuel can be broken fuel lines or crap in the carb. Glow plugs break and there is no expected lifetime keep 2 handy. Pressure is generally poor piston ring. Bearings need changing about every 8-12 gallons - if flown weekly. I personally like the engine overhaul as it gives me time to inspect the block and make sure it's all ok. Yes it can be frustrating but that's what makes it so rewarding when it's all running well.

Clutch liners and the clutch bearing stack go approx every 12-18 months. Both Trex 600/700 can be accessed quite easily. Fitting clutch liners is again a good area for me as I like to do this well and it give you a feeling of achievement.

Yes this all extends the hobby beyond just flying and setting up but flying and maintaining a fuel powered heli is a rewarding task.

Looking forward to hearing what you get.