Black Widow Backplate Mike Pratt

has Cox updated the Black Widow backplate? A couple years ago I was recommending the BW to people when they suddenly changed the backplate design so it didn't work well in CL. Later Mike Pratt said he was working on a better backplate. Any progress Mike?

Not only did they change the backplate they took the fuel lines out of the tank. Removing the lines out of the tank is what made it bad, now when inverted the fuel can just drip out at least for the first part of the flight anyway.

Are the current engines high output, or the lower output engine with a larger tank? There have been comments that the Killer Bee is no longer high performance.

PhantomFlier,
Do you mean the vents? I haven't seen a a new Black Widow, so I am not sure exactly what you mean. I assume that they have gone to a single fueling nipple and an overflow hole (?). If that is the case, I would recommend capping the fueling nipple (after filling of course! )with a piece of plugged fuel tubing. That way the tank has to draw its fuel thru the small overflow hole. Since air is coming in, the fuel will tend not to flow out.

Another method is simply to plug the overflow hole with some JB Weld. You then fuel the engine by holding the plane so that the internal pickup is pointed vertically. The vent is thru the spraybar and venturi., This has the advantage of giving the engine a little prime when the fuel level hits the pickup and gets into the needle (but go easy!)

The second method is the one I have used on an old Babe Bee tank.

The new Black Widow has a nipple and a vent hole. I convert these to a stunt tank by adding a vent tube from the bottom, a fill tube from the top, and plugging the factory nipple and vent. There plastic and don't hold up well to being slammed into the ground. I've gotten to know the guys at Cox parts well with my monthly parts orders!
Got to find out how to get ahold of the old metal backing plates.
Rob Johnson
Orange, Ca.

If you use the Plastic Brodak mount, the busting of the backplate will go away. MM

You can vent the tank by drilling 1/8in hole and stuffing thru some fuel tubing. If you leave the tubing long enough to reach a bit foreward, more fuel stays inside. Plug the stock vent hole with a piece of .032 wire and epoxy or just epoxy. I turn the vents inside and the needle inside the circle. This gives the needle a steady flow and removes the inverted height difference. WFM. MM