I recently acquired 2 NIB engines and decided not to 'save' them for later. I put them on the stand and began breaking them in. At the time of running today the Saito has 2 tanks on it, the second being what is shown here, the Enya is on its third tank shown here. So obviously this isn't the best means to compare them, but this is how I did it.

The weather conditions were a perfect 65 F with humidity of 34%. I ran 10% Omega and identical 11x6 APC propellers. I started each engine up and allowed them to run at mid throttle for 1 minute to warm up. I then adjusted the high speed needle to peak RPM 1 time on the Saito and twice on the Enya. I did not let either sit at that setting for very long at all as you will see. I recorded a peak RPM and then showed a bit of the idling characteristics.

Each engine started right up once properly primed. Each engine reached a peak RPM of 11,040 RPM before I decided to back them off.

Here are some manufacturer specifications for each engine
Enya 46-4C
Weight 385g
Practical RPM range 8500-13,000RPM

Saito FA-50
Weight 435g

Saito 50 startup:

Saito FA 50 startup (0 min 38 sec)

Saito 50 runup to peak.

Saito FA 50 runup to peak RPM (0 min 46 sec)

...Continue Reading

I was at the field today flying the GP Escapade for the first time, which BTW, went fine. I saw a member here Ronwc and he metioned that he had a NIB Enya 46-4C. Of course I already knew this becuase I saw it posted on the forum before I even went to the field. Being a complete sucker for NIB engines, especially a 4 stroke, I had to take a look. Well once I got to his house the look turned into a transaction and now I have 2 Enya 46-4C engines. Well I certainly don't need 2 so I listed my tried and true used 46, opting to keep the new one.

Instead of keeping it new I immediately put it on the stand for a tank of fuel. I took several videos of the one tank I ran; they can be viewed here, https://www.youtube.com/user/dmrcflyr2/videos

So I was comparing the 2 46's to each other an saw what I considered an amazing difference. I also have a NIB 53-4C and pulled it out for a further comparison. Can you see the difference in photo 1?

Well the new 46 I got today has the breather nipple on the back of the gear box instead of on the front end as the used 46 and 53 have. This strikes me as odd becuase both of my 46's are the latest Mark II version and it is differentiated from the original version by what is stated in the supplement. Yet they have the breather nipple in different locations. The 53 SHOULD have come out after the 46 Mark II, but yet it's breather nipple is in the same location as my original 46. Other than that the engines are identical.

So I bought this ARF about a year ago and it sat there in the closet taking up room. I got sour on all things ARF such that I listed it on craigslist. I began building again and really wanted it gone. No takers on craigslist for over 3 months. One guy lowballing the crap out of me. Then a few months back I bought an Enya 90-4C engine and this would be the perfect airframe for this engine so...... Well yesterday I started pulling this out again and test fitting the engine on the supplied mount. One thing led to another and I was fully engaged in this assembly process.

Changes and issues. The Escapade is set up for right side throttle linkage. The rudder and elevator also go in specific places due to the fact that the pushrod tubes are already laid out that way. Well my throttle on the Enya is on the left side of the engine, as viewed from behind servo location. So the throttle servo must go in the place of the rudder servo. No biggie, I'll just mount the rudder servo in the tail. And I did just that and I figured this Enya engine is heavy weighing in at 29 oz. Even with that the tail was still a bit heavy with the rudder servo in the aft.

The throttle linkage was going to be a different story. The Enya throttle arm is near the firewall and up as high as the magnetic hatch so running the pushrod through there is out. I had to fabric a quick indirect linkage setup. Using an old 4 arm servo wheel I simply drilled and screwed the arm in place. The long arms...Continue Reading

Well today was the perfect day for a maiden flight, sunny, no clouds, light winds. I got the Waco onto the tarmac and pointed here nose into the wind. I slowly advanced the throttle and within 30 feet she was airborne. A few clicks of trim here and there and she was flying quite nicely in about 2 minutes. After another 5 minutes in the air it was time for the maiden landing.

As with most biplanes, she bleeds air speed quickly. I chopped the throttle above the runway and set her down for a nice 2 wheel landing and a short run out. Whew! Nerves now calmed a bit and time for another try.

The second take off was just a uneventful as the first. I set the ailerons and elevator to high rates to test out the aerobatic qualities. The Waco rolls nicely and loops look superb. Time for the second landing. On base leg and turning to final.....I lose radio contact!!! For about 10-15 seconds the Waco is not responding to any inputs. Finally I here the engine slow down and BAM into the ground about 300 feet from the end of the runway behind a dirt burm. I take the radio out to the crash site to see if it is still functioning and expecting to see a pile of Waco pieces. I come upon what looks like a fully intact airplane!!!

There was damage however. It was on the ground upright looking like it was ready to fly again. Once I got closer I could see the tell tale broken prop. The cowling and landing gear took the brunt of the impact. The gear was severely bent backwards and...Continue Reading

Family picture time. The one not in the photo is nestled in the cowling of the Waco 30. From left to right These are the Classic sizes. Missing FA-50.

FA-45MKII
FA-45S
FA-56
FA-65
FA-80
FA-91S

Well for the first time in a very LONG time, I had more than 2 airworthy airplanes ready to fly. I took 3 to the field today. The newly built SIG Astro Hog, an older Tower Uproar 40, and the Sportsman Aviation Waco 30.

I flew 2 of the 3 today, the Uproar and the Hog. The Uproar was sporting an never flown before but broken-in Enya SS40BB. The weather was nice, but the darn wind was really whipping up. It was a steady 10MPH with gusts to about 18MPH.

I took the Uproar up first since I had flown this plane many times before so it was all trimmed out. It was just a different engine on it, no big deal. So the flights with it were uneventful. A bit windy on the landings because this airplane is so light it gets tossed around a bit.

The Waco maiden flight was scrubbed due to the high winds. The Astro Hog was a last second decision to fly. I fired the engine up for a test, then ran it out to the runway for some taxiing tests. Well once on the runway..... I figured what the heck, I slowly advanced the throttle and the Hog ran nice and straight down until I gave it a bit of up and away she went! I gained altitude as quickly as possible to get about 2-3 mistakes high, of course it was much more turbulent up there. It did not take much to trim it out for straight and level flight and 1/2 throttle was all that was needed for good flight performance. I circled around for about 3 minutes and decided to attemp a landing so I could shake the the nerves. The wind aided here as it settled in nice an slow and on 2 wheels. Very nice!! I took it up again for another round. The final landing was just a uneventful as the first. It is a nice flying airplane and I can't wait to fly it in much less windy conditions.

Well the Hog is 99% complete now. I got it covered this weekend. I may still do a white stripe down the side of the fuselage and a blue stripe on the bottom of each wing panel for visibility. Right now the entire bottom is white. Yes it is red and white now unlike what I said I was going to do. Call it input from my wife. She did not like the idea of yellow on red. So it looks much like the box.

All in all it was an enjoyable build. I still have to hinge the ailerons and install the windscreen. The intial balance seems ok, but I really need to check the exact CG on the plans. It may require just a battery location adjustment.

It is fitting that this ends on the 13th post. That is a favorite number of mine.