Hey guys! For an early birthday present, my fiance allowed me to get a fuel plane setup. I found an old timer that was selling a bunch of stuff on craigslist and I snapped some of it up! Check out the pictures. Managed to get the whole lot for $280. Now I just need to get an AMA membership as well as a RC club membership.

Looks like you got a good deal !!! I couldn't tell the size of the engine on the plane and the size of the prop but it looks like a small prop for that engine, you might want to check that out. Also it looks like you should do some light sanding on the blade edges of that prop, it looks pretty rough . Remember a dull knife makes a bigger gash than a sharp one .

If that is the plane I think it is ( Tower Trainer ) it should be a pretty good flier . That one looks like it either had some wing damage and was recovered or they just wanted different covering. All in all it looks like you got a sweet deal. ENJOY !!! RED

I believe the engine on the plane is an OS 40. The guy i got the plane from took some tool and nastied up the prop edge. I think he was worried I would slice my finger off using it for a chicken stick :S

It is a tower trainer and has had the wing recovered. Apparently the old fellow didnt care much for the "sticky junk" that the plane came pre-covered in.

I am not sure what the prop is off the top of my head. I have seen some trainers with a 3 blade prop and was thinking about maybe getting one. Dont know what it will do to the flight characteristics though.

Got so involved in looking at the pictures I forgot a word of advice , if you haven't flown RC before , be sure you get some help ( an instructor ) or your good deal might just be a pile of junk real quick. ENJOY !!! RED

A few years ago i did a few flights on a Nexstar with a buddy box. Thats pretty much what got me hooked. I now have a J-3 Cub, F-86 Sabre and a Champ, all of which are electric. I have flown the electric ones a fair bit...and have crashed them all...lol. I have also spent a fair amount of time practicing on the Phoenix flight simulator. Im hoping to find an instructor and only have to do a few buddy box flights before I get permission to solo.

That Tower trainer will fly as smooth as your Champ or Cub, with better ground tracking than the average Cub . Glow planes don't fly any different than electrics.
Enjoy your good deal.

heck!
yeahya!

my first full sized r/c plane was a very early tower trainer!

they're good flyers. waaaaay better than nexstars, bit better than alpha 40 of today. not quite as good as an eagle 2, but def better than the two most popular trainers of today (nexstar & alpha).


the uhhhh. i beat mine up a ton learning how to fly it. i had a tendency of bouncing it down the runway b/c i slammed it down the first few flights & *really* softened the landing gear. so mine was real springy. after i was done with it my dad flew it WOT into a fence and killed it hah.





$280 bucks. that's a pretty good haul if the first & second engines in the picture run well. the last one is an evo and they everloving suck. the OS with the long muffler has a GMS/Tower muffler on it for a couple hundred more rpm (it's an anemic engine so thats cool). whats that first engine a fox? those are alright. ya, glow planes fly just the same. (assuming the same size & wing loading) they just... sound way awesomer & dont tear up remotely as much as cheap chinese electronics =p and you can fly longer & turnaround times are as fast as you can pump your fuel instead of "how many batteries can you afford to buy for one plane". lol =p

The first engine is a K&B.

oooo sexy. this is why i never play the "name that engine" game LoL!

i had several K&B .48's a long time ago. they were pretty good. had pretty good top end porting. sorta like some of the GMS engines. they weren't expensive and for cheap sort engines you could get them to turn up real good. i burned the rear bearings out of one & split the crank in half on the other. they were being abused tho. one was turning 9" props on a MCP the other i dont remember how it broke. i think i broke the crank on a bad hop or something.

I love my evo. Lots of people say they suck, but mine starts with a hit on the starter. You got a SLAMMING good deal. Don't ever think of getting rid of your engines, even if you think you won't need all of them. I had one plane for a while and thought that was all I was ever going to have, 4 years later I have 3 planes that are flying and a kit in progress. It turns into an addiction. Find a club and get your new plane flying.

Just my opinion : but I don't like 3 bladed props on smaller engines . 90 up would probably be OK but I've never had a good runner below 90 with a 3 bladed prop.

On that K&B you might want to run a little extra Caster Oil in the fuel for it. They also like to be run rich. ENJOY !!! RED

I'll second that on the 3 bladed prop. On a prop I'd go 11/5 over a 10/6

The engine on the plane is a Tower Hobbies engine, at least the carb is. It has the little Tower logo like on the tail. *Looks* like it says Tower Hobbies on the side of the engine but can't really tell in the picture. Doesn't matter, if it'll fire up, fly it like you stole it. Looks like the OS engine in the middle of the three is an SF. Some folks say the SF line was the finest that OS ever produced, but I don't know.

By the scraping on the head of the engine in the plane, looks like it's gone in head first before and the LG looks like Toysrme type landings because they're kinda splayed out. No offense Toysrme, I do the same thing. LOL Looks like you got a awesome deal though. You'll have a lot of fun with it and there's enough stuff to fiddle with for a while. Just in case you *can't* get anything started, don't get discouraged. Ask advice here and keep fiddling with them or take it to your local field and you'll get everything going sooner or later.

From what I understand about the K&B's, they are more of a torque engine and like swinging bigger props at lower RPM's. I would leave the Tower engine on the plane if I could get it to run, then the O.S., the Evo and lastly the K&B. Good luck with it and let us know how you make out!

Pat

P.S. If you've never started a fuel engine before I would definitely ask someone local for help. Fuel engines are no more dangerous than electric motors, but they *are* more difficult to hold the plane, crank the motor with a starter, get the glow plug off and get it tuned, dexterity-wise if you know what I mean. If you're not careful and paying attention you can make a mess of yourself in a hurry.

By the scraping on the head of the engine in the plane, looks like it's gone in head first before and the LG looks like Toysrme type landings because they're kinda splayed out.

Thanks for the words, Pops.

The plane is a tower trainer. I cant remember what engine he said was in it.
The gent that I bought it from told me he had "test flown" it. In my mind, test flown means a few flights, 1-4 i suppose, to make sure its trimmed and balanced well and to test. From the wear on the tires, it looks like a bit more than test flown to me. Also, by Toysrme landings, im assuming you mean a little too hard and bouncy?

He told me that the plane had never been wrecked and I did feel he was trustworthy. You never know for sure though, I guess. Anyway...I guess I didnt notice any extreme scratches on the engine of the plane.

Im excited to fly it and am looking to get in a club soon. I havent really messed with the plane so far. I do need to install my spectrum receiver in it before i do anything else.

Ill keep you guys posted. Hoping to get it in the air in a week or two.


Also, Im going to start a build log for the Dumas DH-89 Dragon Rapide over in the electric scale section soon.

Yeah, it doesn't really matter. You got a good deal and you're going to abuse the heck out of it getting used to fuel planes anyway, so it's no biggie. Yeah, I was just kidding Toysrme because he said he knocked his LG "springy" and those looked a little bent outward. Again, no big deal. Bend 'em back in some and let 'er rip. Looking forward to a report.