Giving new life to a classic?

dckrsn wrote:

roddie wrote:

Hey, thanks for doing that Roddie.
I always wondered if there would be an
overheating issue, using one.
Bob

roddie wrote:

dckrsn wrote:

roddie wrote:

Hey, thanks for doing that Roddie.
I always wondered if there would be an
overheating issue, using one.
Bob

My pleasure Bob.. and I was thinking the same thing; regarding adequate-cooling.. I guess if you just used the disc/kit a few times.. until you got the hang of flying, that it might not be of concern. On the other hand (she wore a glove.. ) if used on an over-lean engine-run.. it could cause premature wear on the cylinder pretty quickly. I don't think it's a genuine Cox part.. and I can't see Cox recommending its' use either.  

roddie wrote: On the other hand (she wore a glove.. )  

Cribbs74 wrote:I really doubt the engine would overheat. It would have airflow, not as much as not running the disc, but enough. Air would be passing through the fins from the plane moving through the air also.

Cox cars had extremely poor cooling yet they managed to run and last.

batjac wrote:Well, it’s been a little while coming.  Between long work hours, rainy weather, and the wife in the hospital I’ve not had time to get out and fly this.  But I really needed to get it in the air.  It was really too wet out still, but I figured I’d get it in the air yesterday morning before the rain hit.  

The plane is flying on 25 foot lines like the original.  They’re 10 pound test Spectra lines.  The Babe Bee engine is hopped up a bit.  The plane balances out at around the 17% chord position. I normally shoot for about 20% on my models, but with that big stabilator I decided to start out at 15%.  For some reason, I like to use coins to balance my models.  They’re easy to use, and actually cheaper than the lead balance weight sold at the hobby shop.  Two nickels brought it right to 17%.  Final flying weight is 7.2 ounces, versus the original’s flying weight of 9.1 ounces.

The hopped up Babe Bee goes through the 5cc’s of fuel pretty quick.  I get right around 1:45 on a tank, so with starting the engine, giving it a final tweak, and then getting up off my creaky knees and walking out to the handle, I get a little over a minute of airtime.  5cc is good for beginners’ control line or free flight, but I need more.  I’ll put an 8cc tank and 30 foot lines for the next series of flights.

Sorry about the heavy breathing on the video.  I’ve been a little sick and I was feeling kinda weak and puny out there.  I thought about adding music to cover it up, but then it’d cover up that sweet Babe Bee sound.  





It flies very nicely.  The up and down oscillations are pilot induced, not plane induced.  That big stabilator makes the input response quite sensitive.  When I do my part, it flies smoothly.  When I get used to not over-controlling it, the loops will be great.  You can see a couple of almost circular loops on the video.   I hoped for a 1:1 ratio of the handle spacing to bellcrank so the control input would be rather tame, but it wasn't convenient with the SIG handle.  The bellcrank spacing is 3” and the handle spacing is 2 1/8”, so it should have been slightly under-controlled, but it’s still very responsive.

Five flights were about all I was worth, so I called it a day.  Going home with the plane in one piece is a win, I’d say.

The Hulk-Smashed Mark