Stalker 46 rear exhaust, anybody used one?

Has anyone out there used a Stalker 46 Rear-exhaust engine? Nice size, but no nothing about this engine. How dopes it perform? Thank you, John Lindberg

A flying buddy has a 46 SE, and it is a very nice engine. Great 4-2 break, fairly light, and excellent customer support. (the engine made hard contact with the asphalt, needed a new case)
If the RE is timed the same as the SE, then it seems to be around the same power as a ST 46 in stock trim.
Bill <><

I bought one for a Classic ship I was building last year. Great looking engine and was expecting it to perform like some of the bigger Stalkers I'd seen used. Ran great on the bench but once installed it gave me fits. On every inside corner the thing just about quit. Apparently the fuel charge was hitting the plug from centrifical force toward the top of the engine. Tried just about everything from different plugs, fuel, tanks, (uniflow, suction, muffler pressure, etc.) head clearance, props, needle valves and venturi sizes. I gave up after a month of playing with the thing and not being able to get a pattern in for fear of the thing quitting. Ended up modifying the front and getting hold of ST 46.
I ask the same question about the engine some time ago and didn't get much response except from people who owned the larger Stalkers who were really happy with them. Like I said, the larger ones I've seen, were outstanking.
I'm not trying to trash the engine, and maybe the one I had was the culprit. Just wanted to be honest about it.

Hi Alan,
I should have stated that the engine I wrote about was/is on a profile. Bob Hunt had the same type of problem you are referring to with a Webra 28 some time ago. (Tucker Special) In an inverted mounting, it would "burp" on the outside manuevers, IIRC. We have the engine now, and it runs great on a profile or upright. (??)
Fox 35 burp in reverse!
Bill <><

Doesn't Stalker recommend using synthetic oil in the fuel, perhaps for this very reason? It always makes me squeemish, but those who have done so report good results. But if you do get a hot run you run the risk of cooking the engine.

Len,

I felt the same way when running a Stalker 61. Took most of a season to get it to run right. I couldn't get past trying to run it like an ST 60. I finally did the obvious...take the manufacturers suggestions. I ran it on 3% nitro, 16% all synthetic oil. They actually said NO nitro, but I couldn't quite do that. But it ran great when the oil content was radically decreased. Engine now has quite a lot of time on it (for me anyway...maybe 300-400 flights) and it run very strongly.

When I said I tried different fuels I meant it. I started out with 5% all synthetic as the manuf. suggested. When the problem with inside turns showed up I went to the ever popular GMA fuel to no avail. Next was FAI fuel with no nitro and it still almost quit on every inside turn. Brett had suggested that I try Byron fuel but I couldn't find any so I went the other way and tried some high nitro Powermaster YS 20/20 and it still didn't work. Tried Cool Power and a few others. Hey anybody got some Missle Mist or K&B 1000?

Alan,

Did you try running the Stalker with a fairly low pitch prop in more of a 2-2 with the recommended fuel? I have no experience with the 46 but did hear that letting some of the Stalkers rev a little fixes the burp.

I have experience with the .61 in both side and rear configurations and do like them. I run about a 5 pitch 3 blade using 5% Powermaster GMA. I can't seem to break the castor habit

Bob,
As I said, I tried all kinds of props and running configurations. High pitch/low RPM and low pitch/high RPM. Nothing worked on the beast. Like I said it may have been just the one 46RE that worked like this. Luckily somebody traded me for a ST 46 that had been reworked by Randy Smith.

LAST EDITED ON May-07-04 AT 01:07 PM (CDT)
 
Alan,

What was the oil content? I have no experience with the 46, so I'm talking out of my hat here. But I do know that I had zero luck getting consistent runs or avoiding flameouts with the 61 until I dropped the oil content to 16% and got away from castor. Seemed counter-intuitive at the time, but that did work.

But hey, if you got an ST46 in trade and it works the you want it to, there you are...another happy flier.

While I have nothing to add to a discussion of Stalker engines of any size, I would like to point out the fact that when Alan says he has tried quite a number of different combinations, and then lists the ones he did, one and all on this forum can take him very seriously.

For myself, having known Alan for years, just the fact that he would kick in with a negative on this particular engine was worthy of note, as he would not do so if not *thoroughly* convinced the problems were not operator error.

Thanks Dan.
I really spent a lot of time trying to get to the bottom of the problem with the 46RE. The reason I bought the engine if the first place was after watching the two 61RE engines that Keith Varley was using. These things were very impressive and I figured a lightweight largish Classic model (Silhavey's Gypsy, last version) would be just right for the Stalker. I've seen quite a few of the Russian made engines in the hands of their builders at the World Championships and felt that they all ran in a similar mode with power that is slightly less than their competition. A Stalker 61 does not usually put out the power of say a good ST60, but the run is very controllable and is suited perfectly to lightweight stunt models.
I started with 5% Cool Power fuel that is all synthetic as called for by the maker. Cool Power, I think has about 17 or 18% oil. After all kinds of things I tried GMA 10% and the list went on. Sorry Brett but I never could find any Byrons fuel. That probably would have been the answer.
I'll state again that this could have been a problem just with this one engine and I still think the Stalker is a well made engine that is ideally suited for stunt. Maybe I got the lemon of the bunch.