AirWaves
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FUEL FACTS!
I wanted to thank you for presenting
David Gierke’s information on model air-
plane glow fuels. I find his continuing
collection of articles extremely informative
and entertaining. I never knew the real his-
tory of nitro and 2-stroke lubricants and
Mr. Gierke’s information set a lot of facts
straight. Next to my radio gear, my model
airplane engines are the most expensive
additions to my hobby. I am confident that
with this valuable fuel and lube informa-
tion, I won’t blow my investment anytime
soon.
the smoke line leading to my muffler. I
tightened the setscrew to pinch off the flow
and wow! My model’s smoke trail is more
than twice as thick and it has nice hang
time in calm conditions! I do have one
question. How do you secure the line
securely to the muffler? Mine keeps soften-
ing up and slipping off the pressure tap.
BIG BIPLANE BASH?
Bill Grossman, email
Charles, we agree, David Gierke’s model
airplane fuel series has been very popular.
With all those “old wives’ tales” floating
around about fuel, there is little wonder
why so many modelers have had difficulty
getting a handle on the subject. Good infor-
mation goes a long way in keeping our
engines safe and running properly.
Bill, well, you certainly wrote to the right place. Hosted by the Central Connecticut R/C Club
and sponsored by Model Airplane News, the eighth annual Big Biplane Bash is set for Sep-
tember 26, 2009. I am fortunate enough to be the contest director for this multi-wing shindig.
The event came about from my affection for WW I biplanes, but we also opened our club event
to all sorts of bipes. From aerobatic and classic civilian to early and late-era military and even
non-scale sport planes, this event is open to all sizes and types of biplane and triplane mod-
els. Your Hangar 9 Sopwith Camel is more than welcome. There are plenty of raffle prizes and
special achievement awards given out in a “pilot’s choice” fashion. Last year, we had about
50 pilots and close to 100 biplanes at the event. If it doesn’t rain, we expect a similar turnout!
If you would like more information about attending, just email me at gerryy@airage.com. I’d
love to hear from anyone interested in bringing a biplane to our event. -GY
-GY
-GY
SMOKE ON!
I wanted to thank you for an unex-
pected piece of advice that cured an
ongoing issue I have had with my Matt
Chapman CAP 580. This was my first giant-
scale aerobatic plane and the first I had
installed a smoke system in. I used a B&B
Specialties smoke system to pump Ben-
nett’s Best smoke fluid to my smoke
muffler. I know the system worked great
and pumped gobs of smoke oil into the
muffler’s expansion chamber, but I never
could get a nice, thick smoke trail. When I
read in Aaron Ham’s review of the Superior
RC Extra 330L that too much fluid could
cool the muffler down, a bell went off in
my head. I got a lock collar and slid it over
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