Battery Adapter Multi-Harness??
Hi All, Can someone point me to a source for a battery wiring harness adapter that will allow me to connect one LiPo battery to four ESC's? I prefer Deans connectors, but I'm flexible on connector type. I just want to find a nice, neat method to connect the four ESC's on my Quad to the single main battery. Thanks, John
Posted on: 6/23/2012 7:25 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Multi Rotor Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11129277

RE: At my wits end with a Zenoah G20ei.....
Hi All, We had a nice day here in the Boston area today, so I brought my Hangar 9 1/4 scale Cub out for an engine run, and test flight following the carburetor rebuild. Man, what a difference rebuilding the carb. made!! The engine ran extremely well, with a smooth idle, great transition, and fantastic top end!! I put five flights on it before the sun got low, and the temps started falling, and my fingers got cold [:)]! Thanks to all that responded to my earlier request for help!! John
Posted on: 1/28/2012 1:38 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10932525

Prop/Spinner Balancer???
Hi All, After reading a couple of recent magazine articles on vibration reduction, I'm going to try to be a lot more proactive about balancing the props and spinners of my gas powered airplanes going forward. As such, I'm looking for a specific recommendation on an accurate, high-quality, long-lasting prop/spinner balancer. I [b][u]don't[/b][/u] mind spending a few bucks, but I want something good! Thanks, John
Posted on: 1/26/2012 6:38 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10928535

RE: At my wits end with a Zenoah G20ei.....
Hi Dan, I'm not sure what you mean? To the rear of what? To the rear of the carb., to the rear of the airplane? What? I'm talking about a small hole in part #8 on the diagram you referenced. I can't see any hole in that piece on the diagram! Thanks, John
Posted on: 1/17/2012 12:13 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10913748

RE: At my wits end with a Zenoah G20ei.....
Hi All, Well, I rebuilt my G20ei carburetor today, a Walbro WT-811, with the Walbro K20-WAT carb. rebuild kit I purchased from eBay. After I disassembled the carb., I gave the entire assembly a good cleaning with Carb. and Choke Cleaner. Following the clean-up, the re-assembly went very smoothly, and I had the entire carb. back together in about 10 minutes. The only question I had while re-assembling the carb. was the orientation of the 'vent' hole on the metering diaphragm backplate? I doubt it matters, but can anyone tell me if the hole needs to face a certain direction? Overall, the carb. was in very good shape, and quite clean inside. I did notice that the metering diaphragm had several creases in it, and was not as supple as the new replacement part. The gaskets throughout the carb. were also somewhat hard, and dry. I'm cautiously optimistic that this rebuild is going to return this engine to it's former well-behaved self!!! I hope to run the engine in the next few days (unfortunately it's cold here in the Boston area!), and when I do, I'll report my results! Thanks, John
Posted on: 1/17/2012 10:22 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10913598

RE: Source for Pennzoil 2 Cycle Air Cooled Engine Oil in Qts?
Hi Truckracer, Sorry, I was referring to several subsequent posts (ie. after #3). Yours was very direct, and very helpful! Thank you! Actually, the entire thread was useful for me to better understand 2 cycle motor oils, so thank you to all that responded!! John [quote]ORIGINAL: Truckracer Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the question fully answered in post #3? There was no drama or kidding around in that post, just known facts that can be confirmed from Shell Oil consumer products. I guess that answer just wasn't good enough?! Geeeeesh, I just love these forums sometimes! [/quote]
Posted on: 1/12/2012 5:19 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10904772

RE: Source for Pennzoil 2 Cycle Air Cooled Engine Oil in Qts?
Hi again, OK, understood about the "beaten to death" nature of the topic! W8YE has given a specific recommendation for the Aeroshell Sport 2, so I'm all set and we can let the thread die a quiet death now [:D]!! Thanks!! John
Posted on: 1/11/2012 1:49 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10903902

RE: Source for Pennzoil 2 Cycle Air Cooled Engine Oil in Qts?
Hi, I'm not sure why you guys can't just state an opinion about a particular oil if you have one, rather than posting links (that don't seem to be relevant to the Aeroshell Plus 2 oil), and making vague references/comments?? If you like this oil, why not just say so? If you don't like this oil, why not just say so? Not all of us are "in the know" about 2 cycle oils, a posts that create more questions then they answer are frustrating! Thanks, John
Posted on: 1/11/2012 1:28 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10903879

RE: Source for Pennzoil 2 Cycle Air Cooled Engine Oil in Qts?
Hi All, I found this site for the Shell 2 cycle oil: http://www.skygeek.com/aeroshell-sport-plus-2-quart.html I wish you'd elaborate on the "all packaged by / distributed by SOPUS (Shell Oil Products US)" comment. I would expect that would be a [b]good[/b] thing, but your cryptic comment makes me think you feel otherwise?? Can you help out a guy "not in the know" as to whether the Shell 2 Cycle Oil is decent stuff or not?? If not, what is readily available in larger containers? Thanks! John
Posted on: 1/11/2012 6:54 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10903204

Source for Pennzoil 2 Cycle Air Cooled Engine Oil in Qts?
Hi All, I haven't been able to find this oil in anything other than 8 oz. bottles. Does it even exist in larger sizes, such as quarts? I'd like to order some larger bottles if they are available! Thanks, John
Posted on: 1/10/2012 6:49 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10902674

RE: At my wits end with a Zenoah G20ei.....
Hi guys, Thanks for the suggestions! I ordered a couple of carb. rebuild kits today. I'll report back after I perform the work and re-test the engine. Thanks, John
Posted on: 1/9/2012 6:20 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10900859

At my wits end with a Zenoah G20ei.....
Hi All, After sitting for two years, I started flying my Hangar 9 1/4 scale Cub again this year. Unfortunately, the Zenoah G20ei that powers this airplane has become progressively more finicky this year, and yesterday I took it home from the field without even flying it! Currently, the engine will not idle, or transition to to higher throttle settings without bogging down and dying. It will start at high throttle settings, and run pretty well at high power, but that's it. I finally reset both needles, and started tuning the engine from scratch, but never made the engine run much better..... I noticed a couple of things that might offer a clue to the problem. First while fueling the model, I noticed fuel dripping out of the intake velocity stack. I have a two line fuel system (vent, and fill with a 'tee' to the carb) and this has never been a problem before. Secondly, while the engine was running, I noticed a lot of fuel seemed to be streaming out from the vent hole in the carb backplate. After running, the entire carb area seemed to be quite wet with fuel. I assume all this points to carb trouble? Is it practical to rebuild the carb, or should I just replace it? A fellow member at the field opined that 'ethanol in the fuel corrodes the passages in the carb, and they aren't rebuildable". Has anyone had good luck rebuilding the G20ei carb? If so, where do I get a rebuild kit? Horizon does not show a kit for the G20ei. Thanks! John
Posted on: 1/8/2012 7:09 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10897670

RE: DLE20 to replace an OS FS120 Surpass??
Hi All, OK, I've ordered a DLE-20 for my GP Gee Bee R2! One issue I will surely have to deal with is an exhaust extension. I don't think there is any way that the little stubby port on the stock muffler will protrude outside the cowl! So, what to do? Can i extend it with a piece of flexible silicone tubing without sacrificing (much) performance? Thanks, John
Posted on: 11/7/2011 11:21 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10801078

DLE20 to replace an OS FS120 Surpass??
Hi All, Any comments on how appropriate the DLE20 would be to replace an OS FS120 Surpass four stroke engine? It looks like the all-up DLE20 weight is slightly less than the OS, but I'm not sure if the power is comparable? The application is somewhat weight sensitive (Great Planes Gee Bee R2), so I'd only like to go up to the DLE30 if necessary! What do you guys think? Has anyone swapped out these two motors before? Thanks, John
Posted on: 11/6/2011 6:50 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10800095

Charging A123 batteries in the plane?
Hi All, I'm about to replace an old NiMH flight pack battery with an A-123 battery. Until I started to do the installation, it didn't occur to me that there might be couple of problems with this new setup. First, I tend to use Maxx Products switches in my models. These switches have an integral charge jack built into them, so my charger plugs into the side of the airplane. This is really convenient for charging at the field (no need to disassemble the model!). Will these charge jacks handle the higher charge currents of the A-123 pack? The second problem I see is that the "balancing" port for the battery will now be buried deep inside the model. Probably not a problem for charging at home, but not convenient at the field. Is it permissible to charge an A-123 battery occasionally without balancing for the times I want to charge at the field? John
Posted on: 9/29/2011 5:29 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10740007

RE: Zenoah G-20ei odd idle behavior....
Hi W8YE, Thanks for the reply! I suspected as much, but thought I'd ask before messing around with the adjustments and making it worse! We've got a lot of guys at our field that spend more time "adjusting" their engines than flying, and I think that is because they spend more time "adjusting" their engines than flying....... [;)] Thanks and 73! John (KA1JMF)
Posted on: 9/22/2011 7:21 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10728746

Zenoah G-20ei odd idle behavior....
Hi All, I've got a Zenoah G20ei that hasn't been run in about 2 years (while repairs were being made to the airframe). Prior to putting it back into service, I replaced all the fuel tubing, and checked over the engine installation very carefully. With fresh fuel (32:1 ratio) in the tank, the engine fired right up, and ran well after a brief warm-up at high idle. After the warm-up, the high end is excellent, but the low end is not right. When I reduce the stick to the idle position, the engine immediately assumes a "normal" idle for about 10 seconds, and then progressively over about 20 seconds, further reduces in RPM to the point of almost dying. This occurs without any further movement of the throttle plate. During acceleration from idle, the reverse is true, the engine accelerates rather slowly at first regardless of throttle stick position, and then tracks throttle stick just fine once it breaks out of this "idle anomaly" mode. Does this sound like a low end mixture adjustment problem, or something else? I thought I'd ask before twiddling the adjustment screws!! Thanks, John
Posted on: 9/21/2011 8:20 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10728279

Any club webmasters out here?
Hi All, Our club is interested in upgrading our "on-line" membership application process, making it more intelligent, interactive, and intuitive. Right now our members need to complete an on-line application, and then pay their dues via PayPal as a separate step. We'd like to combine these steps, and do things like change the on-line application fields based on a 'new member' or 'renewal' selection, and the payment amount based on the same criteria. That would be a great start! Surely this has been done by other clubs before? Does anyone have the experience/knowledge to help us out? Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to go about this? Thanks, John
Posted on: 9/8/2011 7:30 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10708065

RE: It's here and Looks GOOD new Hangar 9 Taylorcraft
Hi All, I just pulled out my Zenoah G20ei powered H9 Taylorcraft for it's 2nd season of flying. I really like this bird, but I've never been completely satisfied with it's flying qualities. It appears that the plane wants to fly in a nose-high attitude, while seeming to "wallow" around the sky. It's not horrible, but compared to my H9 1/4 scale Cub (which flies like a dream), it's a bit of a dog. The CG on this bird is right on the wing tube, which I believe is the recommended location. So, how does the Taylorcaft fly compared to a Cub, and are my observations about the Taylorcraft unusual? Thanks, John
Posted on: 7/5/2011 7:53 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10607838

RE: Tommy's DC-3 Monster Plane
Hello again DC-3 fans! OK, I've been traveling in Asia for the past month [X(], but now I'm finally home! While I was away, my TMMY DC-3 arrived in Boston, and my wife and brother picked it up for me! I can echo what Mr. DJ said earlier when his bird arrived about the dirty, cut-throat rip-off artists that do this shipping stuff, and customs inspections. All told, in addition to the $700 I pre-paid for shipping this airplane, it cost me an additional $539 once it was ready for pickup here in the US [:@]! What a racket! OK, but I digress, and the pain of getting ripped on the shipping this airplane will soon be a distant memory....... This airplane is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. It is without a doubt one of the nicest models I've ever seen!! The quality of the workmanship is outstanding, and everything arrived in pristine condition!! All-in-all, I am very satisfied with my dealings with TMMY composites, and I would recommend them to anyone. I'm pretty fussy about quality and service, but I wouldn't hesitate to do business with Tommy again!! OK, I'm dog tired from my trip, but I did manage to get the crate unpacked, and snap a couple of photos! More will come in the following days, and construction will begin this weekend!! These pictures don't do justice to the quality of the model, nor do they do an adequate job of conveying the enormous size of this model!! Hopefully, I'll be able to show the quality and size in pictures as the build progresses!! This is going to be a fun project!! John
Posted on: 6/9/2011 5:58 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10565667

RE: Tommy's DC-3 Monster Plane
Hi All, Testing one, two, three, four....... Testing four, three, two, one....... Is this thing On?? Anyone out there?? John
Posted on: 5/6/2011 6:25 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10505687

RE: Tommy's DC-3 Monster Plane
Hi DC-3 Lovers! Well, my DC-3 from TMMY Composites is "in country" now...... I just received word that the container ship from Bangkok arrived in NYC on 5/1. The crate is coming to Boston via truck and will arrive sometime around the 17th of the month. Woo Hoo, a few more weeks and I can begin the construction process on this bad boy!! Too bad I'll be traveling in the interim, but stand-by for lots of updates beginning in early June!! John PS Mr DJ, please phone home, we miss you!!
Posted on: 5/6/2011 7:28 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10504706

RE: Back in the hobby after 15 years
Hi, Yes, welcome back to this great hobby! Just out of curiosity, why did you leave for 15 years? Also, did you find that much changed [:D]?? John
Posted on: 4/25/2011 6:19 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10484857

RE: Tommy's DC-3 Monster Plane
Hi All, OK boys, here she is in all her glory - Sigh! The trailer, I mean....... I hope to post some pics of the actual DC-3 airplane within a few weeks!! John PS Mr. DJ is everything OK? You've been awfully quiet these past few weeks!
Posted on: 4/23/2011 9:06 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10480105

RE: Home-made servo current meter?
Hi Noah, Yeah, it's easy to do. You can separate the '+' lead in a servo extension, and put some sort of connector on that that can easily be attached to your DMM. I passed the cable thru a small plastic box and mounted some banana jacks on the lid. A couple of things to keep in mind is that most DMM's can only measure up to 2A. Some will go higher, or you could also use a 'shunt' resistor in the box, and measure current indirectly by measuring voltage across the resistor. Also, the accuracy of the current measurement might not be great in a cheap meter, but you'll definitely be able to distinguish a "stalled" servo. John
Posted on: 4/23/2011 9:04 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10480100

RE: Tommy's DC-3 Monster Plane
Hi All, Boy, this thread sure has been quiet! My DC-3 is still in transit, but things are moving ahead with my project! I ended up getting a 5 X 10 trailer instead of the 5 X 8 as I originally mentioned. The deciding factors were (1) the availability of the side door, and (2) the longer margin provided by the extra length with the bigger trailer. I just got my plates today, so I'm gonna pick this bad boy up tomorrow! I figure I can get going on the setup while I'm still waiting for the airplane to arrive! My airplane shipped from Thailand on April 4th, so it's been in transit now for just over two weeks. I got a call from the shippers office in Florida, and at first it appeared that the plane might be unloading there, but that seems to have been a mistake. A follow-up call indicates that it will be coming directly to Boston. My guess (hope?) is that it will arrive sometime in the first week of May. If not, I may not see it until June as I'm heading over to Asia in mid-May for 3 to 4 weeks. Argh!!!! The timing of this shipment is really awful!! I'll post pics of the trailer tomorrow! John
Posted on: 4/20/2011 6:25 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10475463

RE: Tommy's DC-3 Monster Plane
Hi Mr. DJ, Well, who knows about the shipping screw-up, and I guess it doesn't really matter, but I was hoping to get this bird before now....... Grrrrr!!!! That's too bad about the wing - I hope the new hinge installation goes smoothly! I'll make a note not to drop my wing, ha, ha!! About the trailer, I know everyone says to go larger than I'm thinking. My issue is that it's going to be used almost exclusively for my DC-3, and for a Ziroli Corsair, but those aren't "daily flyers", so the trailer won't be used much. When it's not in use, which is 99% of the time, I've got to store it, and look at it, and that is my motivation for keeping it small! I was going to wait until the bird arrived to ship my gear to down-and-locked, but with this new delay, I'll probably ship them on Monday! Even if they take a month, they'll still be back in time for the arrival of the airplane. John
Posted on: 4/2/2011 1:10 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10438497

RE: Tommy's DC-3 Monster Plane
Hey Mr. DJ, Wowza......... That sure is one big a$$ wing [:D]!!! OK, this really blows! Nearly [b]a month[/b] after making the final payment on my DC-3, I still hadn't received anything "official" from the shipping company about the delivery of my bird. To this point, I only had an "expected" ship date from Tommy. I've been traveling for the past couple of weeks, and figured the paperwork would be waiting for me when I got back home. Well, I was wrong, so I emailed Tommy on Thursday to get a status update on the shipment of my airplane. He checked with the shipper, and forwarded an email from the shipper showing a "estimated departure date" of April 4th [:@]!! No explanation or anything about the one month delay, just a "semi-official" ship date...... The timing really sucks because I'll be away again for a few weeks smack in the middle of the time the plane is supposed to arrive here in Boston. Well, at least these turkeys aren't asking for my passport number, or some other BS, like they did with you, Mr. DJ....... So, I'm looking at about 6 weeks before my baby arrives. Like I said, this blows!! On the plus side of things, I went trailer shopping today, and now I know what I want/need to carry this baby. I've decided on a Haulmark 5x8 V-nose trailer with side door in white. The local trailer dealer had one without the side door, and he's looking to find one for me that has the door. John
Posted on: 4/2/2011 11:55 AM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10438398

RE: Tommy's DC-3 Monster Plane
Hi All, Well, with Mr. DJ on the mend, this thread sure has gone quiet!! I hope that his recovery is coming along nicely, and that we can once again enjoy his baby face, and his writings here on RCU!! OK, here are a couple of photo's of my baby during final assembly! Right now the scheme is kind of plain, but I'll be dressing it up quite a bit after the assembly and test flying stages have been completed! Now, I wonder who's bird will spread it's wings first, mine or Mr. DJ's??? Stay tuned for more when this bad boy arrives in Boston!! John
Posted on: 3/16/2011 1:01 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10404060

RE: Lets see the New Planes in the Hanger for the upcoming season
Hi All, OK, this one is not quite finished, but it will fly this summer! John PS One minor nit on the thread topic - it's 'hangar' with an 'a', not 'hanger' with an 'e'..... [:D]
Posted on: 3/12/2011 2:44 PM by Author "ezflyr" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10395804