Friday Ramble: Palm Sized Air Power

Deep underneath the dilapidated ruin of Castello Di La Filthie, down in the bowels of the earth, far from the rays of the sun and the sight of Man… lies the secret lair of the castle’s lord and Master… otherwise known as The Reclusium. The air itself is laden with evil, smelling of fire and brimstone. Other fetid odours like that of feet, farts, BO and chili combine to form a miasma of funk that will strike down men with less hardy constitutions. Villains from across North America coagulate here to plot, scheme and conspire against all that are good and worthy. The Reclusium has hosted such dastardly criminals like Fidel Castro (ya thought he was dead, didntchya?), Yassir Arafat, Hillary Clinton, and Pete F…just to name a few. Dirty deeds are done here… but they are never dirt cheap!

Years ago I mastered the vagaries of rotary aircraft with my sinister Crapcopters. Today the Russians are bombing the shit out of the Ukes with them, something I would have not thought possible a mere couple years ago. I really gotta have Vladimir over one of these days too…

But I digress! In my old age I fell back in love with fixed wing flight. I’ve been flying RC aircraft over at CFB Stubfart Airfield and having a ball. If you have an interest in RC planes… take a deep breath of fresh air - and join me in the ominous depths. Those of you with a triple digit IQ might want to pass on this poast and use your time more productively! With that outta the way - let us continue beneath the fold.

I’ve been challenged by infernal combustion engines all my life. My dad was a master mechanic and strictly forbade us boys from tinkering with the machines. His time was valuable, and he didn’t want to waste it by fixing our mistakes. He could start engines with a dirty look, and spot engine problems by the sense of smell. Our machines and trucks ran like tops on the farm…but I never really got to learn even the basics of elementary motorcraft. Pop is gone now…and if I want to tinker, now is the time. I’ve decided to become an expert on glow engines that run on nitro fuel. It’s certainly do-able. The engines are simple, and only take basic tools to tear down and reassemble. All I need is experience… and there’s only one way to get it… and that’s by doing.

Blog visitor G just blew me away with his generosity. He sent me not one - but TWO old engines to tinker with. Also included was a short note with a pic of  - I would assume - his Copilot.

Is that your pup, G?

I laugh because Hannah’s mom was a golden retriever. The father was a Rottie,

but the litter they produced all looked like

black labs

😂

Let us look at the loot!!! 

What a little sweetheart. That’s a vintage OS 15. 

That’s my hand in the pic to give a sense of scale.

There’s no throttle or muffler which confuses me. I know that waaaaaaay back, the guys used glow engines that ran at constant speed. They ran until they ran out of fuel and then glided back down. I think they saw limited use in the very first planes that only had one or two channels….? It still pops, the glow plug is good… I bet this sucker will run. If I can find a prop hub and washer for it…I’m going to try. Otherwise I’ll nigger rig a static display out of it… Scotty The Retard says he has an ultrasonic cleaner  but… I got this thing pretty clean for now. It will look good, posed with my vintage steam engine in the TV room if nothing else.

This poor, tired old engine needs some TLC.

He’s spent a couple days in the bath, and I’ve gone after him

with a soft tooth brush trying to clean him up a bit. He’s popping nicely too…

but the throttle is still bunged up rock solid.

I’m soaking that in the nastiest stuff I have…Kroil.

The vintage glow plug may or may not be useable. I put the 

igniter on it and I saw a dull red glow. Usually good plugs are almost incandescent 

in my experience…

I had to laugh… I got the crank turning… and the poor old soldier vomited brown sludge all over me and the bench on the first turns…

That’s what was inside the poor thing. But…other than the throttle, everything seems good. I will want to try and run it before pulling it apart. I’ve never seen an engine set up without a muffler like this. Once I have everything moving… I’ll take it down to the stubfarts at the field to look over. Those guys are founts of information, their tool boxes have junk drawers chock full of old parts they’re happy to get rid of…so it may take me some time to get them moving. 

G - thanks again for these charming engines. Your generosity means more than you know. Can we get the big .60 to roar again? It doesn’t matter! If it must be retired - it will be an honourable retirement! These things make great static displays too! 

If any of you guys have any recommendations or ideas - feel free to sound off in the comments.

As always… thanks for dropping in.

Cheers!

Filthie