stunthanger.com
Building Tips and technical articles. => ARF'S => Topic started by: Tom Schwartz on November 21, 2011, 05:56:09 AM
-
I'm picking up a Brodak Smoothie for my son for Christmas, and I am looking for some engine recommendations. Was the Smoothie designed for the Fox 35? Or would something else work better?
Thanks
Tom in NEPA
-
Tom,
I used a Fox 35 Stunt in an ARF version I had a few years ago and it seemed to work fine. I needed to use the stock muffler to get the balance right, so perhaps something with a little more weight could be used as well. Certainly if you can get a Brodak 40, this engine would pull the airplane without any problems.
John
-
Hello Tom, one of my club members flies a Smoothie using the Fox.35 and it flies remarkably well. I'm a big Fox fan to begin with but I noted how smooth it ran in this plane. Over this past summer at a few of the contests , a young flyer coached by his father was using a OS MAx-s.35 in their Smoothie. It surely ran very well. One thing I need to add here though. In the case of either engine is the castor mess they both produce. This will cause the covering to surely come off. Precautions are extremely necessary to avoid this. The Brodak .40 would certainly be a less messy engine but will do the same if the precautions aren't taken. Sealing the seams is a must and I've seen some of their planes scuffed and painted with clear in the nose area with some of the overlaps gone over with dope of the same color as the covering. Ken
-
Sounds like the Fox is it. I have been very happy with my Fox 40, and they are a great company to deal with.
Thanks
Tom in NEPA
-
Tom,
If you plan on using the 40, I would look into finding a tongue muffler for it as it weighs quite a bit more than the 35 Stunt. You may have to tweak the gear a bit to get some ground clearance as well for the larger propeller.
John
-
The Fox 40 is 2.5oz heavier than its 35 cousin and if considered for use then perhaps shifting it as far back along the bearers is a good idea also.
(The spinner position can be maintained with a shaft extension.)
-
Thanks all, sorry I think I may have confused you. I only meant that I was very happy with the Fox 40, but I will be using the 35 for the Smoothie.
Thanks again,
Tom in NEPA
-
You can't go wrong with Fox35 / Smoothie combination- I have Fox35 with ceramic P&L, stuffer backplate, hemi head ,Randy Smith NVA and Scott Dinger Hyfo Tube muffler installed in my first ARF Smoothie - running on uniflo-Glo Devil Sonotronic RC plug, Powermaster 10% with 29% Castor oil and 10-5 wood prop. It runs like a sewing machine-as sweet & strong as one could ever imagine. Only mods to the ARF were to change out the leadouts, use Dubro hinges and reinforce the LG mtg plate -Regret I didn't take more care to seal and fuel proof the seams of the supplied iron on film covering- now have to deal with recovering elevators after using KR2 to try to get rid of the oil soaked into the wood. I'm concerned this effort will not cure the oil seepage issue-and will only be a temporary fix
thus-Fox will get a new home- have started preparing a second Smoothie- this time ARC and will cover with Ultrakote- I expect there will be a third Smoothie in my future- but this will be from a kit and will be finished with silkspan ( or maybe silk?) and dope .
-
To answer the question in the strict sense, no, the Smoothie was "designed" for a Veco engine because that's who was supplying engines for Bob Palmer in those days, up through the T-Bird era. But a more useful answer is, use a modern reliable engine that runs smooth and burns fuel with synthetic/castor mix that doesn't make such a gawdawful mess on the plane. The extremely short snout on the Fox also mandates a very far forward mounting position, not the best idea.
I built a Brodak kit Smoothie and also an ARF Smoothie, with an LA40 in both. An even better choice is the LA46, which seems to produce a better stunt run than the 40 (and is still available new, which the 40 is not). The rather compact Enya 40 (new design version) would be a good choice. An APC 11.5-4 is a good prop choice and gives a bit more ground clearance than the 12.25-3.75 that also works very will. If you can get your hands on one, a Brodak 40 would be a really great motor, light and reliable. May be available used or by posting on this forum that you want one.
The Smoothie is a great-flying design and is good in windy conditions. Legal in OTS, Classic, and modern.
-
My choices if/when I build a new one is Fox.35, Double Star .40 (bigger venturi, a couple extra head spacers), OS Max .35S, Veco Series 100 .29 or .35 (lean towards the .35). Even possibly an OS Max .25LA. It is a small, easy to pull design, especially the Veco version.
Right now mine (built in 1963) has a Veco/Allyn .35 (exhaust stack on the "wrong" side). ;D
Big Bear
-
Hi all, mine will be pulled by a recently run nin Merco 35 Red Head.......the old British Bulldog...... #^
Just another different option.
Kind regards from Spain.
Manuel
-
My Dad has a Smoothie ARF with a Brodak .40 in it and while I enjoyed flying it he seems to think it's a bit overpowered.
-
Hi all, mine will be pulled by a recently run nin Merco 35 Red Head.......the old British Bulldog...... #^
Just another different option.
Kind regards from Spain.
Manuel
You have a 'recently' run in red head? You lucky, lucky devil! VD~
-
S?PHahaha, the good think is this make me feel good...I'm 39 and the Merco 51...
Kind regards.
-
You have a 'recently' run in red head? You lucky, lucky devil! VD~
I have a Red Head Merco .35 that needs running in. ;D Plus a new sleeve/piston..... Gonna build Ken Taylor's Centuar from 1956. It looks much newer than that! (plus it's an upright engine)
Bill
-
I had a Merso .35 R/H and it worked fine. Everybody thought it was a mcCoy and just said nothing till after a flight. Fox .35 will do it no problem/ Double Star .40 better/ Brodak .40/ OS .35S good. McCoy .40 nice engine for this. Bang for the buck LA .46 or retimed FP-.40. You can easily fit larger tank and power advantage is perfect.
Dan