Was flying the magician yesterday and it seemed like it was really scoot'in along. Watched the video and seemed to be in the 4 second lap times. It has an la25 w/ 9x4 apc.engine ran good, a little lean, definantly no 4-2-4. Would a 10x4 slow things down, or do I want to go the other way, smaller prop, more pitch or?   

   A 10-4 would likely speed it up, not slow it down. Hopefully you are using the *stock* muffler, if not, put that on and try again.

    Assuming you have the stock muffler, try needling it down. If that makes it run too aggressively, try a Bru-Line air filter with a "fine" (light green/tan-colored) element. That will reduce the breathing and allow you to lean it out a bit more for a given speed. If that's not OK, replace the spraybar with an ST unit, which will further reduce the venturi area.

    BTW, my 20/25 FP airplanes fly pretty fast, but they don't feel fast in the maneuvers.

     Brett

Thanks Brett, yes, stock everything. When you say needle down, like leaner? An ST spray bar, larger dia. reducing venturi area?

   Needling it down = richer. You don't want to run leaner than max at any time, because it will sag in the maneuvers. Older engines will also burn up in short order running too lean because it also makes them run very hot. Running too rich makes them run cool. Running them on the rich side also helps speed regulation because it will "lean out" in the maneuvers and pick up power.

   The other suggestions are about reducing the effective choke area which cuts the peak power by inhibiting airflow through the engine as the RPM rises.

    Just for reference, i set the 20/20FP and the few LA flights I have flown by peaking the engine out on the ground, and then richening it out 6-7 clicks - enough to make a distinct difference in the RPM. At various times this winds up being about 11,500 on the ground. On suction, it has to be even richer at the beginning, almost 4-stroking on the ground. This is with an APC 9-4 and a similarly-sized airplane.

     Brett