Many More Questions

I have been out of this hobby for 25 years - have 10 yr. old
and a 7 yr. old boys and trying to get them to go with it. The
10 yr. old has graduated this year from a .049 Skyray to a .15
Jr. Ringmaster, and is now flying .35 Stuka (on special ocasions)
and a plane that we redid given to us from a vetran gentleman from this area. Promoting control line flying is not too big a job around here - the kids hear an engine running and you have an
automatic audiance - what great fun...

Can someone please try to answer the following questions for us?

1. In a Tanger product review we saw that the fuselage and
outboard doubler was notched to create a pocket for the tank.
this made sense to me as to keep vertical centerline of tank
pickup as close to centerline of engine intake as possible.
we plan to use a metal tank (We have tried the plastic tank
with clunk - not much luck). We plan to put the horizontal
centerline of tank pickup about .125" to .25" higher than the
centerline of the engine intake. Keeping in mind the LA 46
has a backplate mounted needle valve. Does this sound OK to
to you guys?

2. What is the difference between the uniflow and the standard
vent tank?

3. We are in debate about Nobler vs. Oriental vs. Accentor
I had a Jr. Nobler 30 yrs. ago and have flown several Sr.
Noblers - They are great airplanes! What about kit
complexity? I started a Sr. Nobler about 20 years ago but
never completed it because I had to move - gave it to a
friend for his kids. It sounds to me that the Nobler is a
big comittment? Keeping in mind this is for my 10 yr. old
who I am trying to teach stunts. Do you guys think we should
go with an Oriental or Accentor? Any other suggestions for
kits that are built up fuselage that perform well?

4. Lead outs and lines are supplied with crimp style retainers,
We have used an electrical wire pliers with a crimping tool
for wire ends for this job. I guess they are stainless steel
lines and can not be soldered? Are we on the right track -
sure do not want to loose a plane because of a faulty line.
Do you guys use the eyelets for the line connection end of
the leadouts?

Thanks for your help,
Jeff, Chris And David

You will get comments regarding uniflow vs conventional suction. Without going into detail, definitely go Uniflow, make it accessable and adjustable as described elsewhere in this forum. 4OZ for the FP 40,4.5OZ for the SSW .35FP is about right.

Re: leadouts, most people who use flex leadouts wrap them with the eyelets at the wingtip and bushed at the bellcrank-crimps can be iffy. I prefer solid .032 music wire leadouts- cheap, easy, idiot proof, smooth, never had a failure but some will argue otherwise. Only disadvantage is in transporting the model requires some care not to bend the solid leadouts at the tip.

BTW-never, ever, under any circumstances use crimped flying lines on anything but a model you don't mind totaling. Ask me how I know this.

Good luck!

The LA46 is symetricle as far as its transfer ports go, so there is no reason to offset the tank. Set it up on the engine cl first, then adjust from there. It doesn't matter where the nva is in the system, it's where the pickup, and delivery outlet are that counts.

No argument with Jim P. I'm willing to used crimped line ends on smaller airplanes, up to say 19 sport type. If you wrap the ends as shown in the AMA rulebook (available online) they won't fail. The problem with solder and also (sometimes) with crimps is that there is a hard transition from solid to flexable and that is where the line flexes and eventually breaks.

A uniflow tank has a single air vent. (There is an overflow that is plugged-off after filling the tank.) In most uniflow tanks the air vent ends about 1/2 inch in front of, and next to, the fuel pickup tube. However, I've been flying one that has the uniflow vent ending at the outside front corner of the tank and am pleased with the results.

Basically the engine thinks it is sucking fuel from the end of the uniflow vent and does not know that the amount of fuel in the tank is changing. Therefore the engine does not go from rich at the beginning of the flight to lean at the end, as it would with a standard-vented tank. Thus, in a uniflow tank, it is the position of the end of the uniflow that is critical, not the position of the fuel pickup tube.

If you want the physics of it, look up Mariotte bottle or Edme Mariotte on the web. One problem is that fuel can siphon out the uniflow, if it is not properly positioned in the airstream. I use a one-way valve to stop this, or one can make a plug with a tiny airhole to go in the uniflow. Uniflow works fine with muffler pressure to the uniflow line.

Do make your tank position adjustable. Your tank is supposed to be where it makes the engine run right, where ever that may be.

Good luck!
Jim Thomerson