Going Flying With Gas

Andre

Fly yes... land no.
Admin
This should be fun.

Pilot RC Extra 330 SC 92"


IMG_9502.jpeg
 

Chuppster

Well-known member
Very nice! I remember my first gasser, it's a whole new world and so much fun!

Two little things I picked up on in the video you might want to think about:

1) You mentioned you are running 91 octane. Make sure it's ethanol free! Sometimes they add ethanol to 91. You'll actually get better performance if you get some ethanol-free 85 octane. Higher octane fuels have more additives ("octane booster") than lower octane, leaving less gas to burn. I suggest you do a quick search for a station that sells it nearby. Good choice on the redline oil, that's good stuff.

2) You said you replaced the LiPo batteries with LiFe batteries. If you weren't running the SmartFly I would say this was a good move, but because you have the regulator LiFe batteries will not let you take full advantage of your servos. Your servos want 6v to have their full torque and the drop over the regulator (plus the voltage sag of the batteries) will not let you achieve that 6v. It may not be a big deal to you (and the airplane will still fly) but a LiPo or LiIon would be a better choice with the SmartFly.

You've got one very beautiful airplane and I hope to see some in-air footage soon!
 

Andre

Fly yes... land no.
Admin
Very nice! I remember my first gasser, it's a whole new world and so much fun!

Two little things I picked up on in the video you might want to think about:

1) You mentioned you are running 91 octane. Make sure it's ethanol free! Sometimes they add ethanol to 91. You'll actually get better performance if you get some ethanol-free 85 octane. Higher octane fuels have more additives ("octane booster") than lower octane, leaving less gas to burn. I suggest you do a quick search for a station that sells it nearby. Good choice on the redline oil, that's good stuff.

2) You said you replaced the LiPo batteries with LiFe batteries. If you weren't running the SmartFly I would say this was a good move, but because you have the regulator LiFe batteries will not let you take full advantage of your servos. Your servos want 6v to have their full torque and the drop over the regulator (plus the voltage sag of the batteries) will not let you achieve that 6v. It may not be a big deal to you (and the airplane will still fly) but a LiPo or LiIon would be a better choice with the SmartFly.

You've got one very beautiful airplane and I hope to see some in-air footage soon!

We don't do E85 in Canada ;)
As per the batteries, they were Li-Ion packs before and I do semi agree with you on the power but the convince of the smart fly with the power cut off is nice. Maybe something to consider for the future since I in theory can still run both packs into the rx but have to verify that.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Canada does have ethanol in SOME gas, from what I've read. I agree with others who say NOT to use gas with ethanol, it's not good for the carb. If you can't find any gas that is ethanol-free, consider using one of the pre-mix fuels marketed for weedwackers, chainsaws, etc. It's more expensive, but has synthetic oil and a longer shelf-life than regular gas.
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
In the U.S., sometimes you can find some hotter fuel near dragstrips. Something like 100 octane maybe.
 

Chuppster

Well-known member
In the U.S., sometimes you can find some hotter fuel near dragstrips. Something like 100 octane maybe.

Higher octane does not mean more power. It just means you can run a higher compression setup. 83 octane is just fine for model airplane engines, just make sure there's no Ethanol in it!
 

Andre

Fly yes... land no.
Admin
Man, I don't know how you have waited this long, I don't think I could have waited more than a week to fly it if it were mine!

Life is complicated and the hobby sometimes has to take a back seat to other priorities.

If I get out flying before the end of the season awesome, if I don't 2021 will be fun.
 

Bricks

Master member
Great looking plane you are doing a nice job getting it ready. Not a total necessity but if it was mine I would redo the throttle servo set up, if in the video the throttle was closed and the servo in that postition. To get the throttle stick more linear with the the power curve, as it is the throttle stick will not take advantage of it`s full movement as the top 1/3 or so of your stick will feel dead or bottom 1/3 . Here is the geometry on how I set up all my IC throttle linkages.
 

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  • Throttle Geometry.jpg
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Samh

Elite member
If you can, it is best to not even run a throttle curve. On my 60cc Pilot Yak I just moved the pushrod to the inner most hole on the servo arm. This put it at about .5-.75" and the throttle is plenty linear. I have great throttle response all the way from idle to full open
 

Chuppster

Well-known member
If you can, it is best to not even run a throttle curve. On my 60cc Pilot Yak I just moved the pushrod to the inner most hole on the servo arm. This put it at about .5-.75" and the throttle is plenty linear. I have great throttle response all the way from idle to full open

Every engine is a little different, on some of my planes I run a curve on some I don't. Which spline the servo arm is on can actually give you a throttle curve effect.
 

OliverW

Legendary member
Every engine is a little different, on some of my planes I run a curve on some I don't. Which spline the servo arm is on can actually give you a throttle curve effect.
On just about all my planes I run a throttle curve. It depends. @Samh you're advice has got me confused since some planes need it