I posted this on the general fuel plane forum, but somebody told me I should post it here.


I flew my new Q-Tee yesterday with a Texaco 049. I was able to get a good flight on the first try. But when I told my friend to try it I couldn't get a good engine run. I was using 5% nitro and 18% oil, which probably explains the trouble. That's the way it always goes. Give the other guy the transmitter and the engine starts to bog down. So I flew it myself (the engine behaved better this time, of course) and it went so high that it was hard to tell what it was doing any more. After the engine quit it caught a thermal and went up another couple hundred feet. It stayed up at least ten minutes after the engine stopped.

I'm going to make about 8 ounces of 1/2A appropriate fuel for the next outing. I used to fly Cox a lot back in the 90s, and I always used the same Omega 10% fuel that I used in my larger engines, and it ran well enough. Now that I make my own fuel it will be interesting to see what happens when I use the good stuff.

I always loved the Q-Tee. It's the plane that taught me to fly, after I realized that I could crash it without it sustaining the kind of damage that the larger planes suffered. I've built quite a few Q-Tees in 30 years, although I haven't had one in a while.

Balsa -great looking Q-Tee. Funny how we circle back around and build the planes we once had. I have a few in mind from my days past.

Once you get the Texaco back on higher % nitro you should get 4 minute reliable engine runs providing excellent flights runs. What size prop are you using?

What do you plan to build next?

Brian

Filter your fuel good. There might be some greebles in there.

Thanks, I was really happy with how it turned out. I'm currently using the gray Cox 7 x 3.5 prop. I've received some advice to try larger props, so I may be doing that next time out. I really enjoy returning to planes that I flew a long time ago. It always tells me something about myself and how I may have changed since then. I still enjoy the planes, too.

My next project is the Divider from RCM plans, scaled to 130%. My friend has one at the original size (42") and it flies great. So we decided that a 40 size one would be worth a try. I have it about half built currently. I have been thinking that there are plenty of planes that are really great at their original size. Re-scaling plans seems like a lot of work without a lot of benefit.

Maybe I should build a Whizard next.

Convert to electric. I flew my q-tee for one day on a Blackwidow .049. The engine was a PITA to get running well. Went home and converted to electric and never looked back. way more power and a real throttle.

No thanks. I don't like electric. The engine is half the fun of RC for me.

Originally Posted by Balsaworkbench

No thanks. I don't like electric. The engine is half the fun of RC for me.

I'm with you Balsa. While I enjoy electric and will always have some models with electron fuel, I am going back down the glow path! For me electric just seems to suck a lot of the fun out of modeling. I'm finishing up a CG Cub with an OS 70 Surpass and I have a bunch of models planned for winter build that will be glow and gas. Planning on getting a DLE20 gas engine, haven't decided what it will be mounted on and I have a bunch of Cox engines. AND I have a Q-Tee with a Cox Babe Bee on it that I need to maiden. It had a BL motor on it but it just screams for a Cox! No pun intended!


Mike

Originally Posted by Balsaworkbench

Maybe I should build a Whizard next.

Great, thanks a lot. This reminds me I planned to build a Whizard!


Mike

Back when glow engines were the status quo most people didn't like Cox because they were too much hassle. I always figured it's just another skill to be mastered. With some care and attention, you can have a ton of fun with Cox engines.

In case you haven't run your 70 Surpass yet, I have one currently on a Senior Telemaster. That's a really great engine that doesn't get talked about very much. It's a real pleasure to use.

No.... mostly cuz a COX didn't throttle well enough on an Airplane model.
Oddly cox throttles were passable on their cars.. But those were unloved .. at best.
One soon tired of an engine that runs full bore then stops... when it ran it's teeny tank dry.

No.... mostly cuz a COX didn't throttle well enough on an Airplane model.
Oddly cox throttles were passable on their cars.. But those were unloved .. at best.
One soon tired of an engine that runs full bore then stops... when it ran it's teeny tank dry.
Nostalgia is 90% selective memory

Originally Posted by Bare

Nostalgia is 90% selective memory

I suppose that could be true. Or it could be that I had a lot of fun with Cox engines, and now I'm having a lot of fun again with Cox engines.

Originally Posted by adaptabl

Convert to electric. I flew my q-tee for one day on a Blackwidow .049. The engine was a PITA to get running well. Went home and converted to electric and never looked back. way more power and a real throttle.

Do you want to sell your Black Widow?

I have done the full circle thing back to COX also. Right now I am just finishing up a Whizard. I have bigger planes and engines to build, but seem to have gotten hung up on 1/2A lately. Just something about them and I can't explain it.

If you want a Whizard or a Q-Tee, Balsaworkbench laser cuts them and quite a few other kits. I have bought several from him and will be buying more.

http://www.balsaworkbench.com/?page_id=302

I grew up on .40 sized glow planes in the 90's... Sig Kadet MKII with a K&B .40 and then a Henry Haffke Peashooter from MAN with an OS 46 SF. Fantastic engine that was incredibly reliable, powerful and would start by finger flipping easy every time.

In college while at Ohio State, a friend introduced me to 1/2A scale 3-channel models running on Cox engines.... never looked back. We would use Cox TD .049 / .051's with Ace throttle sleeves - great idle and high throttle range. Used 10% Omega fuel with 2 head gaskets to lower compression a little (save wear and tear on engine since top performance not needed). Also did some 1/2A Texaco models with Golden Bees and Texaco engines (8 x 4 props on the Texaco engines). Half the battle there was getting the engines to run 4 minutes reliably, but as mentioned, that is half the fun.

Now, when I come across Cox engines at swap shops, my boys and I will clean them up and run on the test stand. They have become quite proficient at tuning and running them.

I have some electric planes, but they are for the quick easy go to the field to fly and stay in practice.

Curious to see how a Q-Tee would do with the TD .049 setup w/ throttle ring and a 2 ounce tank, easily get 10 minute flights or more. Guessing it would be similar in power to a Black Widow.

Balsa - RCM Divider is a good looking low wing model, I can see why it would fly good. I flew a couple of Whizards.... also a few GLH's

Brian