RE: I Have a New Respect for Turbine Engines
Wow! I thought it was bad enough when I heard about a guy reaching through a spinning prop to adjust the HSN or the LSN on his nitro engine plane. He came back to the air field the next day hoping to find the piece of his finger.
Posted on: 6/20/2012 9:00 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11125187

RE: Why not to swim after your boat
I've ran boats in bodies of water where the shoreline looked ok. Carefully stepped on the shoreline and I found out that one leg sank into the shoreline up to my kneecap. Now, imagine you are trying to swim out or back to shore and you think you can plant your feet on solid ground underwater and it sucks up both your legs and you are stuck. There was no way I was going to swim after anything with a shoreline that would cause me to sink like that. You are above water level and then you arrive at the shore and realize it is like quicksand. Warm water, hardly any current, no gators, very little wake.
Posted on: 5/22/2012 3:16 PM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "RC Boats General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11090867

Redneck on water
Well, I had to try it. I'm still in touch with my physics teacher from high school. We had to experiment. 1. Take the crank from a fertilizer spreader and tack on a handle and a shaft with a trolling motor propellor on it and use it to pull me in a raft across the lake. 2. Take a long pipe and put two oar paddles on it, one on each end at 90 degrees and use it as a rowing device in the raft to stop the zig zag back and forth when using regular oars. 3. This had to be the dumbest and yet most amusing thing of all. It probably blew out the clutch. Tie a rope around the engine mount of a radio controlled gas powered boat and take the other end of the rope and tie it to the handle of the raft and get in the boat and take the controller and try to use the boat to pull you around while you float in the raft with the transmitter. It worked for a few moments, then died. Ironically, once the boat was disconnected from the rope, it made a few cool laps around the lake until I killed the throttle to let it gently float near the shore. It has not run successfully since. The motor turns high RPM's and the prop sits there with a dumb look on its face. Duh. Should I turn? 4. I have not tried this yet, but maybe once I get another boat in the water, I'm going to put a fishing line on it with a lure and see if a bass will hit on the line as I run the boat around the lake. Should be interesting. I have heard someone use a heli to catch a fish this way once. Gotta see that. P.S. Watch out for the back rotating props on those Air Force air boats. I did a chicken stick start and somehow the prop blade found the softest part of my hand between my thumb and my pointer finger and nailed it, all while I was trying to show some kids at a park how fun this hobby is. Geez!
Posted on: 1/13/2012 11:40 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "RC Humor"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10907036

RE: RC Plane Hobby Is Not Expensive !
I'm just glad I do not fill up my car with nitro 35% or it would possibly cost me $490.00 for a tank of gas.
Posted on: 1/13/2012 9:01 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10906819

RE: RC Plane Hobby Is Not Expensive !
I love it when people get burned because they judge a person by their looks only. Your own neighbor could be a millionaire and you have no clue. Not everyone with cash blows it on all kinds of things to project the typical stereotype image of the rich. Someone with a lot of cash could be going around looking like a bum in a used car that needs a paint job. As for me, I'm going to try to avoid spending more money on servos for my Air Force air boat since it seems to eat them and spit them out all the time. If I want to wash the servos to make sure they are clean and not working, I put them in that boat and run it. As for money pits, I have found that replacement parts can hit you and when companies stop stocking parts it can be a p.i.t.a. Thanks AquaCraft and Tower Hobbies for dropping the Nitro SuperVee 27 from your radar. Some of us still enjoy running them and now what happens if the starter goes kaput or the engine is shot?
Posted on: 1/13/2012 8:58 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10906816

Member mokiman82
Just leaving a positive feedback memo for the member with the name "mokiman82". Transaction went well and item looked better in person than in the picture and I tested it the same day and, OMG, did that thing fly across the water!!! WOW! Note: I may ask a lot of questions and do a lot of checking out pictures and so forth, but at some point, I do show up for a purchase, even one that is more than 180 miles away, and I arrived at 8am sharp. So, yeah, I'm real, not just a tire kicker that does not do anything.
Posted on: 10/17/2011 1:07 PM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10769814

Canon 40D
Is it worth getting a Canon 40D body fixed with an error 99 caused by a motherboard issue? I used to use this with a 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM lens at air shows like the one coming up in Stuart FL Nov 2011 and I no longer have the 2.8 but still have the camera body with an 18-55 stock lens. While I cannot photograph the "H/C" (Human Control) planes in the air I can at least get some good shots of the ground displays.
Posted on: 10/17/2011 12:56 PM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "Digital Camera & Photo Editing"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10769795

RE: Hanger 9 P-51 PTS Landing Gear
My problem with the gear is the fact that I cannot seem to install it. It will not go all the way into the wing and fit in the groove and it seems I need a hammer. Might require brute force. The one landing gear wheel does not line up with the other, not the same angle and I would expect the price to get me matching mirror image landing gear that matches up right and does not make the plane tilt when on the ground. Supposed to be level not like this. This plane is NOT RTF if you have to fix stupid crap that should already be right when assembling from the box. I don't know if the problem is me or the product, but based on common sense, the gear should go in just the way the instructions indicate (duh).
Posted on: 10/10/2011 6:53 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "Crash & Rebuild"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10757732

RE: Is the alligator tours air boat a dependable boat?
They changed the motor and the exhaust and centered them so it should have a better CG. The previous had the muffler and exhaust on the side of the boat instead of top dead center down the middle. Also, do NOT run this boat in wind or it will flip on turns. Watch that the clevis does not come loose from the rudders. Also, they should have given more attention to the fact that the hull practically submerges in the water in the back. More flotation in the back would be better than it currently is.
Posted on: 9/23/2011 7:15 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "RC Airboats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10730333

RE: Hustler Engine Trouble
UPDATE The manual indicates the LSN is near the throttle shaft, so I'm one step closer. Thank goodness the former owner supplied the manual.
Posted on: 9/19/2011 11:40 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10724266

RE: What do the ARF guys do in winter?
I look forward to "winter", as "winter" in Florida means the heat has died down a bit and a cold wave has arrived for a few days. Would probably fly more than put boats in the water when it gets to the 60's and 70's. If I was up in NJ, I would take my air boat and run it on the snow. That would be fun.
Posted on: 9/19/2011 11:37 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10724259

Hustler Engine Trouble
INFORMATION I bought a Hustler 2 cycle engine gas boat used RTR. Rx/Tx work. Servos work. I think this model is an old model made by Hobbico. Mixed 40:1 fuel and put the ethanol treatment in there to avoid issues with that b/c of the 10% fuel is ethanol 87 octane gas. It has a chainsaw engine in there, McCullough, and for some reason, it stalls under load in the water during acceleration. Not sure why. It seems to idle a little fast so I need to slow it down so the prop does not spin until higher RPM. Would prefer no prop spin until in the water and I'm away from that 2 bladed butcher knife, as I've seen the cut foot from an accident with one of those. When the engine dies, it just cuts off. It does not sputter. It's like someone shut off the spark plug. I put a new plug in there. Original fuel filter in there. For some reason, the original owner has a rubber pipe going from under the boat near the prop to a connection at the exhaust header to the engine. I'm guessing this is a water intake to cool the exhaust pipe as this is an air cooled engine. QUESTION Where can I find some kind of manual or information for tuning this 22cc engine? I am not sure which is the HSN and which is the LSN. I'm going to look over the manual again that came with the boat and see if there is anything in there about it. Yeah, I know, RTFM. What would cause an engine to die instantly under load at acceleration? I don't know if this is the correct forum for this or not, so apologies if not the correct spot for this. P.S. I'm new at gas r/c boats, so there is a learning curve for me.
Posted on: 9/19/2011 9:40 AM by Author "Billmeister" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10724059