[diablo454]

Well said Curt, I fly all 3 power sources and for me I put a cap on the size of electrics I buy and fly. 3 cell lipos in the 2100 to 2600 mah size.
I like all 3 power sources everything has its place.....for me anyway lol

[OLD PRAIRIE RED NECK]

Originally Posted by Lazy Ace

Is it any wonder so many are leaving the local hobby shop and buying on line when store policy chooses to be so short sighted? The attitude that you will buy what I choose to stock is what will kill a hobby shop. I find it very discouraging that many businesses not just hobby shops have this attitude. Dennis

My closest hobby shop has this same attitude. He is only bringing in RTF foam fluff now and truck stuff, says that is what sells best. I have asked him to order several items in the past and he always refuses.

I understand what you are saying about shelf space Gordon but this guys shelves are half empty. I think it's pure laziness on his part!

We have a tire shop in town that has a sign that states "If we don't have it, you don't need it!" I thought when I first moved here that they meant they had a very extensive selection - wrong! I buy my tires in the next town over now.

[chuebner]

I think if you fly a lot then gas is the way to go on 20cc and above. The last few years I haven't found the time to fly much (about 5 Gallons a year) so the glow cost for me is minor.

And as far as the slime cleanup, I really don't mind.... Most of my exhausts are extended or routed in a way that the airframes stay very clean, and I am not lazy so I can clean up what's left on the plane with a quick wipe down. That's also a good time to check the external area of the plane and all the control horns, clevis, etc.

[Lazy Ace]

Originally Posted by chuebner

I think if you fly a lot then gas is the way to go on 20cc and above. The last few years I haven't found the time to fly much (about 5 Gallons a year) so the glow cost for me is minor.

And as far as the slime cleanup, I really don't mind.... Most of my exhausts are extended or routed in a way that the airframes stay very clean, and I am not lazy so I can clean up what's left on the plane with a quick wipe down. That's also a good time to check the external area of the plane and all the control horns, clevis, etc.

Yes even with my gas and electric I always clean them before putting them away in the vehicle/trailer. Like the dancing chicken said cleaning is a perfect way to inspect your model before putting it away. Even electrics need the bugs and grass stains cleaned from the model.

Dennis

[HAL9KPCM]

I was in a shop a few years ago thinking about getting myself a trainer airplane that my daughter and I could build and fly. I was met with get this foamy, it's too expensive to build. Pardon me? Did I even mention cost? I said I was looking for a plane to BUILD, not some foam to stick together.

[bbbair]

Plan 'B'

I spent an enjoyable afternoon this weekend listening to a local modeller describe how EASY it was (and inexpensive) to convert a Nitro engine to gas operations!

The process was both easy and cost effective - if I have half of a chance to 'Upgrade' my engines to gas ... I will!

Details to follow - wait for the conversion thread!

[OLD PRAIRIE RED NECK]

That has been happening for years. C&H Ignition is one of the suppliers of conversions. Historically it has not been easy or cheap though so I am watching this with great interest!

I suspect though that the oil ratio can't really change much so there will still be a clean up issue after each run.

[bbbair]

I am looking forward to the "Conversion" threads... from C&H ... or whomever...


Just my opinion...

[Lazy Ace]

I have a few experiences with converting glo to gas. You can swap out the engines which I have done or you can get a conversion set up and actually take a glo engine and run it on gas. I have also run some of these on camp fuel or white gas.

Swapping out is the easiest however the smaller you go the more finicky the gas motor seems to be. I understand they are getting better every day but the down side is with the small motors you have to have the ignition module and batteries to power it. When does weight become an issue? The advantage for clean up is usually these motors run a much leaner oil to fuel mixture because most use some sort of bearings on the connecting rod.

Converting an engine from nitro to gas has its own set of problems. You have to find a kit manufacturer that makes the adaptors for that particular motor. This will include the ignition and a carb. Without the carb your success will be near zero because the adjustment needles in a nitro carb are way to course for gas. This is still not an inexpensive conversion. If it’s not an engine that a kit is available for you will have to machine up your own holder for the ignition trigger and carb adaptor. In all cases you will usually need a degree wheel to set timing. The smaller the engine in my experience the fussier the tuning adjustments. Because these engines were designed for a richer oil to fuel ratio they usually have no bearings but a simple bushing on the conrod. This means even though you are running gas you will have to maintain the same gas/oil mix as the nitro motor originally was. Heat is an other factor when converting a nitro motor. Sometimes the cooling fins are just plain inadequate for gas conversion. Remember the nitro motor was never designed for gas and no mater what you do to make it run everything will be a compromise.

I have converted weed whacker, chainsaw and trimmer motors. I have built and converted diesel motors. I have built a few nitro motors and am in the process of attempting to build a scale radial and I can tell you that none of them are worth doing if you are thinking of saving a buck or two. If you are doing for the challenge then have at it and we all like to see progress reports and pictures.

Size for size and weight for weight the glo motor still produces more power to weight. Even when we were converting the old gas Quadra motors to nitro the performance increase was substantial. Ignition nitro idled just as low and dependable as the gas. With ignition the nitro transitioned just like any gas motor but would put out enough power to increase the prop size and pitch. You really didn’t want to increase rpm as these motors were not meant for it. Down side was the fuel consumption and cost of fuel was a lot more.

I still screw with some of these today tinkering is fun and challenging. Getting something to work that no one else has at the field is the challenge. I have found you will never save a buck doing any of these things but if tinkering is your passion then have at it.

The new system of using a glo plug instead of an ignition module is interesting and there are several engines out there that use this. I am not familiar with these though I have seen a few. It seams like they use a special carb designed for gas. The fuel mix is somewhere around 32 to 1 if I remember correctly. A special glo plug is used so this may be the way to go.

Dennis

[chuebner]

Hey Dennis....I still have that old OS .61 4st I bought from you years ago....still runs like a champ in my .46 size Mustang and just sips fuel.