While at VSC I purchased a gallon of Mark Smiths Excalliber fuel for my Fox .35. Normally I use Sig 5% at sea level, it was recommended to me to go to 15% for Tucson Az.
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Fuel Mixture: 25% Castor, 3% Synthetic oil, 15% Nitro, and the rest Methanol
Cost: I paid contest price of $22.00 this will be higher when you factor in S&H and haz/mat
Came in 1 gallon non-metal container, it is a jug and I have no idea what it is made of.
No dye to add color, it is the natural color of Castor oil.
It is available from Mark on his web site and he said to me he will ship to customers.
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Pros and cons.
I found the fuel to be quite good at the elevation in Tucson; it produced slightly more power than Sig 5% does at sea level. Once the engine was tuned I never again touched the needle. It maintained stability at a wide range of temperatures. Engine runs were steady, with a more pronounced 4-2-4 break than I was getting with the Sig fuel. This surprised me because I was told that the higher the nitro content the less pronounced the break would be. Even in the heat of the late afternoon (approximately 90 degrees) there was never a hint of overheating.
I never detected any flakes in the oil. All in all I found the fuel to be quite good. I was so pleased that I bought a second gallon of fuel at 10% for flying at home. When I have some flight time on the 10% I will report on its quality.
I really did try to think of something to say as a con, but I really couldn't. I know Mark makes a wide range of fuels for all control line applications, but this review is limited to what I call a Fox .35 all castor blend (ya I know it has 3% synthetic oil).
Andy Borgogna
*********************************************************************
Fuel Mixture: 25% Castor, 3% Synthetic oil, 15% Nitro, and the rest Methanol
Cost: I paid contest price of $22.00 this will be higher when you factor in S&H and haz/mat
Came in 1 gallon non-metal container, it is a jug and I have no idea what it is made of.
No dye to add color, it is the natural color of Castor oil.
It is available from Mark on his web site and he said to me he will ship to customers.
*********************************************************************
Pros and cons.
I found the fuel to be quite good at the elevation in Tucson; it produced slightly more power than Sig 5% does at sea level. Once the engine was tuned I never again touched the needle. It maintained stability at a wide range of temperatures. Engine runs were steady, with a more pronounced 4-2-4 break than I was getting with the Sig fuel. This surprised me because I was told that the higher the nitro content the less pronounced the break would be. Even in the heat of the late afternoon (approximately 90 degrees) there was never a hint of overheating.
I never detected any flakes in the oil. All in all I found the fuel to be quite good. I was so pleased that I bought a second gallon of fuel at 10% for flying at home. When I have some flight time on the 10% I will report on its quality.
I really did try to think of something to say as a con, but I really couldn't. I know Mark makes a wide range of fuels for all control line applications, but this review is limited to what I call a Fox .35 all castor blend (ya I know it has 3% synthetic oil).
Andy Borgogna