If it's an old tank I would suspect the clunk line has hardened and now the clunk is stuck at the back of the tank, maybe even held a little off the tank floor. At mid to low fuel levels with some sloshing you can easily get the clunk out of the fuel and cause big air bubbles in the fuel line.
Possibly, but that would be a MAJOR problem in inverted flight. The plane flew just as well in Australian mode as it did in American mode. The problem cropped up in steady level cruise flight which tends to make me think the problem is a bit further forward.
I had a clunk issue with Speedyboi once and it deadsticked about 3.5 seconds into a half throttle inverted pass. Clunk had gotten itself folded around to the front of the tank on a previous landing where I overran the runway and endo'd it in tall grass. Go figure.
I would also maybe suggest the needle valve; for some reason I find the little O-ring in the LA needle valve has a propensity to become flattened down over time and the seal just disintegrates, and just like that you've got air in your fuel. Don't even bother looking for a replacement O-ring, they're unobtainium.
Ye that doesn't surprise me. Might just be the case. If the problem isn't present on the 46AX I'd almost bet money on it. What boggles my mind on this, though, is that the engine has so little time on it. Pretty sure the previous owner ripped a Saito off, threw this on there, ran one tank through it just to make sure it actually ran, then sold the plane for the price of the engine.
The priming issue makes me think that the tank is set too low in the fuselage. Does it still do it when the tank is full? Fuel level in the tank would have an impact on holding prime, but most of the time you only prime an engine when the tank is full.
Yeah it does it on a full tank too. I can bring fuel up to it with just two choked flips but after about ten seconds I can see the fuel retreating back into the tank again.
I did try that once actually. Not race legal but I figured it was worth a shot for science. I used a colder plug instead of a shim but it seemed to work just fine. I think I used a TCA #6 or 7 with some 30% Fitz 1/2A fuel and it seemed to give it a few more RPM's on the top end, but I propped it kinda slow. Not worth the cost of the high nitro fuel IMHO. I prop all my LA engines slow, since at higher speed their porting means they really start choking. My racer has an 11x7 APC and guys always wonder why I can keep up with them with such a slow turning motor. If I ever end up doing something like building an old timer with an LA engine I'll use like a 12" or 13" prop for the old timer sound too. Maybe with a head shim just to make it a lil happier at the lower speed.
My thought was high nitro and high pitch 10" props. 10-10 APC for example. 40LA ain't gonna rev no matter what you do with it but I figured if you threw enough nitro at it you could pull a 10" pitch and get speed anyway. Absent that it'd be down to drag reduction but I don't know how much of that your ruleset allows since I don't have the rule book to hand.
40/46LA would be a good choice for an old timer, also a floatplane or airboat. What I'd use them for. They aren't powerhouses but they're indestructible, dependable, will tolerate abuse like nobody's business, and they'll turn shockingly large props without much fuss. A 12-4 would be a pretty good choice on an old timer or a floatplane methinks.
They'd also be a good base for a diesel conversion if a head can be found. I know Davis Diesel Development used to sell a conversion head for the 40FP which shares the same attributes(Though I think they have more aggressive porting and push more power out as a result) but I don't know about the 40/46LA.
Everyone uses the same fuel too, Ritch's Brew 15%. Given that most guys get their fuel through the club and that's what they get us every year they probably don't even have to supply the fuel for everyone at events, everyone will bring the same stuff anyway. They do give you the option for 15S/5C or full castor though. I usually pick the synth/castor blend but maybe I'll change it up just to see if it's any better...
I've heard that Rich's Brew is good -beep- but I've never run it myself since my LHS stocks Omega 15% for 25 bucks a jug. I just buy that.
Kek I had something like that happen once. Cheapo eflite servo melted itself to death during bench testing one day. No load on it or anything. Really not sure what happened...
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Just like yours it failed on the test bench in the middle of its travel range with no load on it.
I've never heard of a hitec servo doing it though. Generally the stuff they make is pretty good in terms of QC. The only other thing I can think of is maybe your RX has the type of ports that aren't entirely buried in the plastic case so there's a chance you can get the servo plugged in with reverese polarity if you both have the plug backwards and miss the plugin by one prong. I have killed servos by doing this...
I generally don't have problems with hitecs either. They're not what I go to when buying a servo but most of my used planes are loaded with them and I generally just leave them be unless they give me reason to disturb them. Speedyboi, for example, is full of Hitec 13g servos and it's one of my favorite aircraft.
My go-to servo is the venerable Futaba S3004 though. The only time I've ever broken an S3004 is when I tried to use one to steer a monster truck.