Ringmaster 19

Ron
Just got notice I was high bidder for a Sterling Ringmaster 19 with 30 inch wingspan. I'm looking as this as a sport/trainer.
What are your recomendations for an engine. I have a Fox 15BB (ball bearing) which dosn't really impress me, with the next step up being a worn out OS 35 S. Neither seem to be good candidates to me. So I need (at least want) a new engine. Thinking of an OS 15 LA or OS 25 LA. Which do you think would be best do you have other recomendations such as getting a 19 off of the bay. Being period (time) correct is not important to me but correct power/weight is. As a side not i build heavy and live a 5300 feet.
C. A. Lot

If you can find a Fox .15 slant you'd have a better match than anything you've mentioned. They can be picked up on ebay at a resonable price. My son has a fox 15 on his. Photo below.

An even better match would be an OS.10.

I have two of these (if it's the Estes RM Jr) and with one I have a sweet Fuji .15 with a 8/4 prop that my 8 yr old son flys and the other has a OS MAX .19 steel fin that is a bit too much. It flys like a combat plane with a 8/6 prop.

I did try an Enya .09 on my sons and it was just not enough, IMHO, and he learned quickly with the Fuji. I am glad that I did not spend alot (retail) of money for the engine and planes. They both have been crashed DOZENS of times. I now call them "Ringdisaster" and they fly just as well with all the epoxy and CYA as the day of their maiden flights!

>Ron
> Just got notice I was high bidder for a Sterling Ringmaster
>19 with 30 inch wingspan. I'm looking as this as a
>sport/trainer.
>What are your recomendations for an engine. I have a Fox
>15BB (ball bearing) which dosn't really impress me, with the
>next step up being a worn out OS 35 S. Neither seem to be
>good candidates to me. So I need (at least want) a new
>engine. Thinking of an OS 15 LA or OS 25 LA. Which do you
>think would be best do you have other recomendations such as
>getting a 19 off of the bay. Being period (time) correct is
>not important to me but correct power/weight is. As a side
>not i build heavy and live a 5300 feet.
>C. A. Lot

You can't trust Estes. Even the NAME "Ringmaster 19" is a lie. The only 19's that matched it have been out of production for 40 years or so (Arden, Cameron, Cub, et al -- all about the same power as a Medallion 09, but probably less!)

As per this quote from my addition to this thread:

http://www.flightlines.com/forum/Forum6/HTML/002367.html

"Estes is truly a screwed up company. I have no idea what possessed someone there to buy two of the model companies they acquired. They bought Cox and dropped the higher quality items, and don't seem to adhere to any particular schedule about producing what little Cox stuff they will still make available.

"The poor manner in which they do business, it's amazing to me they haven't gone broke. Every time they buy something good, they turn it into manure, as in the case of Centuri Rockets years ago.

"Now, I was never a big fan of Sterling's way of doing business, either, but the last few years they were in business, they had some nice new stuff they introduced. Then Estes bought them. Why? They aren't producing new kits, and the few that they relabled, repackaged as Estes, they managed to screw up.

"(Suggesting that the Ring Jr. is any bigger than 30" in span, through messing with the plan, given its 09 power matchup, but showing a 25 on one? Ridiculous!)"

.

Kiwi

I finished building mine a short while ago and was gonna put an older fox 25 stunt on it. The people here talked me out of it. I have a couple of Veco 19s and both of them are heavier than the 25. I just got an Enya 15-III model 3303 That I am in the process of cleaning up and will probably end up using it on the ringmaster 19.

Right... A Fox 15 crossflow, or 'slant plug' is a good choice.

Reason? It is LIGHT! Same thought would cover an early MAX 15, which has some more power than most Fox 15 baffle piston engines. I think both are under 4 oz w/o muffler. Most recent 15s are MUCH heavier.

The plane doesn't need to be extremely lightly built -- there isn't that much wood there... but saving 3 or 4 oz on the engine alone is a great help.

If you do use a Fox 15 baffle piston, let it wind up on a light prop load and some nitro, say 10-15%. And it is an iron on steel Fox, so keep the Castor oil 25%, too.

Great fun!

Ron

Thank you all for the input, sounds like a slant head fox .15 is the way to go. I've always been one to go bigger and faster. I need to learn to stop and smell the roses.

Agree with Cat and Lou. Any early baffle Fox 15 will work quite well, steel fin, center or offset plug, slant plug monoblock, etc. Buy a couple or three off of ebay; they are everywhere, and cheap. Use the best running one; mine happens to be a first gen center plug steel fin, although the later monoblocks have a bit more power. And I have used it on a Jr Ring.

Or, go with any Asian Rim modern ABC Schneurle .10 of your liking.

Or, use a Greenhead K & B 15.

Or, a 70s Enya or OS 15 Baffle. I think they both were -III versions. The -II OS is good, too. Again, I have used either one or the other on a Ring Jr. These engines were still reasonably light then, but not quite as much as the Fox, or the all time lightwt. champ, the Greenhead.

The smaller planes, such as the Streak and Ring Jr, really are compromised by "heavy" engines. My Silver Swallow diesel .15 showed me that, again on a Ring. Jr.

NEW engines os 15 LA Would be my choise
Older engines Fox 15, OS 15, TEE DEE .09, McCoy 19.

This plane builds on the heavy side. HOWEVER, it's a good flyer and a good way to learn how to build a control line model.

Scott(IMHO)Riese

I'd keep the kit and use it as templates. Would buy some decent balsa from somewhere use 1/16 birch plywood and hopefully come out with a plane light enough to fly at your 1 mile altitude. If the wing is built like the 35 size ringmaster would seriously consider changing it to a C-tube like the S1-A kit had, its stronger and lighter.

Have used several of the engines mentioned. My choice from the list of older models is the Enya. I've been able to wear out Foxes, McCoys, K&Bs, O.S, but no Enyas and replacement parts are getting harder to find.

Norvel 15 BigMig is a good one too. Use a low pitch prop.

Scott: At 6 ounces, a McCoy 19 Redhead is grossly overweight for a Jr Ring. Note that it is 50% heavier than the baffle Fox 15, at 4 ounces.

The Redhead .19 is almost as heavy as a Fox 35 Stunt! And don't even mention the following Series 21 Testors McCoy .19.

The Fox, along with most of the other .15 baffle engines mentioned, are better choices.

I had forgotten the Coxes, by the way. There are various .15s and .09s here that would work well.

Hi Phil
You have sweet Fuji .15?!!!!! I've owned 2 of them and I'm sorry they are both complete and total garbage,one quit running on the test stand during break in never to run again!!Where did you get yours? How old is it?. Mine were made in the 80's.I got them on sale for $20 each worse $40 I ever spent.
Dwayne

Dwayne,

I picked it up on eBay a couple of years ago from a guy in Australia for $10... plus $12 shipping! It is the .15 IV engine that MECOA now produces. Mine is older and looks thrashed, someone took a wire wheel or brush to it, but after I replaced the NVA with a OS FP .15 NVA it gave it a nice 4-2 and has always ran real smooth and consistent. Lucky I guess! I am looking for another one or two... I might end up buying one of the MECOA engines and swapping the venturi and NVA...Still have yours?

I see they want $160 for the Fuji 15 over at MECOA - that seems rather a lot!

I gave my Fuji 15 away a while ago - I had a Fuji 19 a long time ago - never got into a plane though.

>Scott: At 6 ounces, a McCoy 19 Redhead is grossly overweight
>for a Jr Ring. Note that it is 50% heavier than the baffle
>Fox 15, at 4 ounces.
>
>The Redhead .19 is almost as heavy as a Fox 35 Stunt! And
>don't even mention the following Series 21 Testors McCoy
>.19.
>
>The Fox, along with most of the other .15 baffle engines
>mentioned, are better choices.
>
>
>I had forgotten the Coxes, by the way. There are various
>.15s and .09s here that would work well.
>
>Currell

I know...but I was thinking of when I flew mine. and that's the only engine I had. I did use the McCoy 19 sportsman and it was and is the best engine on my Ringmaster JR. BTW I still have mine. Built in 1965 and all I need to do is get rid of the bad tiusse and it's ready.someday

scott(your right about the weight)Riese

Ah.... the Jr. Ringmaster! Had one at the ripe old age of 14. Put a McCoy 19 RH in it and BOY was it nose heavy! LOL!!
I would use a "new" schneurle .10 in one today. LA or FP or......??
Bill <><

C. A. Lot,
If you really do build heavy you might want to try the Fox .15 you already have before getting something else. If you have to add nose weight it might as well be working for you.
Also, assuming it is a somewhat new Estes Ringmaster Jr., I would suggest including the space between the wings on the plan as part of the model to add a little more wingspan.
Good luck with it. I have an Enya .09 on mine (without the added span).

Looks like you've gotten a lot of good engine choice advice. One engine NOT to use is a FOX .09. I bought one as a kid in 1963 cause it was cheap ($4.95) and put it in my Ringmaster Jr. At full song it was only capable of propelling the plane at a fast taxi speed. It would sometimes lift off a few inches only to settle back to the ground. I think my Cox .049 Golden Bee had as much power. Finally saved enough money for a FOX .15 and it flew the plane fine.
DennisV

The .19 sized Ring that Estes produced had more wingspan that the Sterling piece; about, 4", I believe? The wood in the Estes pieces is certainly usable for what the critter becomes (a pretty good and fun sport flyer). The LA .15 seems terrific on the front of one.

See Ya

The top view of the wings on the Estes version shows building them in left and right halves, then joining them. If you measure tip to tip you could easily come up with extra wingspan.
My suggestion above was to purposely build it with the gap included to increase the wingspan. Looks like someone already did that.

George: I hear ya, but there is so little material aft on a Ring, Jr, it is very difficult to build a tail heavy one.

Anaother engine choice, and I am grasping some here:

The old Uedas, rare now even on ebay, at least made decent sport engines. I had a 19, and I think they made a 15. Good for a Ring or Streak Jr.

Currell,
Yes, UEDA did make a .15 - I have two of them in RC version. On both, the "O" ring under the carb melted...probably by oil. I applied silicone and they worked fine after that. Not a work of art, but a darn good $7.00 engine. They were called "Cougar".
I only broke them in, never had them in a plane.

The Ringmaster Jr. was my first "big" plane after lots of 1/2A's. My grandfather bought it for me in 1967. He presented me with the kit and a brown paper bag filled with every part needed to build it including silk, dope and an Enya .19IV.
The .19 was a beautiful engine. It was a bit too heavy for most of the .19-sized planes, but it was rugged and long-lived.
If I were to build another Ringmaster Jr., I would power it with an Enya .15IV or V, or an OS .15III. If I used an engine manufactured in the last decade, I would choose an OS .10FP.
Derek Moran

Not yet mentioned is an old Super Tigre G20 .15, which will swing a wood 7-4 at 12K-14K in 15% fuel. These are regularly avavilble for
$15-$25, depending. Very reliable engines . . .

>Not yet mentioned is an old Super Tigre G20 .15, which will
>swing a wood 7-4 at 12K-14K in 15% fuel. These are regularly
>avavilble for
>$15-$25, depending. Very reliable engines . . .

Ralph, It's a nice engine but not for the Ring Jr........Any engine
that weighs over 3.5 oz's is TOO HEAVY. The Jr. is a really most
suited for .049-.09 engines...and any old light .15 from the 1950's;
such as the slant plug Fox .15s mentioned in prior postings. Please
remember, The model only has 195sq"'s, and that's with a thinnish airfoil.

195 sqs? Norvel .061

Look at the Baby Barnstormer thread at this link http://www.clstunt.com/htdocs/dcforum/DCForumID1/7522.html