The Teacher flys my plane!

[Paul Taylor]

Got out in the heat today and my mentor and coach flew my Vector. Moved the leadouts, removed a little trim weight, and I think it is dialed in. Only thing to do now is to make a larger tank.
We ran into this problem at Brodaks. The engine will run out of fuel if we use 10/22. But in the cooler air of Brodaks we could get the pattern in on 5/22.
Now that we are in the summer heat, I need the 10/22 but not enough tank.

I will learn the tank building process tomorrow.

[Mike Palko]

Nice job Paul. Sounds like she's flying better than ever. Keep up the good work!

BTW, you've got a good mentor.

Mike

[Steve Helmick]

So, what's the engine,  prop brand and size, venturi size, spraybar size, tank brand and size? Remember, you can add a "sump" to your existing tank with no height adjustment required. Plus, once you look inside the tank, you may find that the pickup just isn't positioned to empty the tank. Even with a plastic clunk tank, you can rework the clunk to get more of the fuel to empty.  Steve 

[Paul Taylor]

Steve,
It is a LA .46, OS FP NVA, FP Venturi, not sure of the size. When we were up at Brodaks (cooler weather) the plane would run out of fuel on 10/22, put 5/22 in it and did not run out of fuel.

Need the Nitro!

[Doug Moon]

You can add a cap full or a little more of coleman lantern fluid (kerosene) to your fuel and your mileage should go up enough to finish the pattern. 

[Dennis Moritz]

Try a small FP venturi.

[Paul Taylor]

Nice job Paul. Sounds like she's flying better than ever. Keep up the good work!

BTW, you've got a good mentor.

Mike

Thanks Mike.

I need to learn how to build a custom tank. Always learning.

[Dwayne]

Try a small FP venturi.

Yes order a LA./FP 25 venturi from Tower, my 46 now uses 3.5 oz to run 6.30 min.
Dwayne

[Doug Moon]

Try a small FP venturi.

But that really defeats the whole purpose.  You will cut your power by doing this.  You will limit air intake which limits fuel intake which reduces power.  You were saying you need to go up in Nitro for power.

Another thing you could try, if you havent already, is a Bru-line airfilter.  The green filter will reduce the venturi size a little, less than going down to the 25 size, as it is a thicker foam.  If you dont have a bru-line filter or cant locate one an o-ring and some layers of pantyhose will also do the trick plus you can tune to the exact size you need by adding and removing layers to complete the pattern and no more.  

You could always try the old school trick of sticking a piece of balsa in one side of the ventrui between spraybar and the venturi wall.  I have seen many guys do this when taming an FP 40 for a smaller plane.  It lookes funny with a pice of balsa hagning out the ventrui.  But it works every time.    You can try it a flight or and see the reduction in power and see if the added nitro will make up for the reduced venturi size.

The hotter it is the less dense the air is your mileage will go up as well.  Have you tried the 10% nitro in your area now that the heat is here to stay? If so where in the pattern do you run out?

The added cap full of coleman Lantern fuel to one full gallon of glow fuel really works.  Bob Gieseke turned me onto that trick when I was running out early one year and couldnt get a bigger tank in the plane. 

  

[Paul Taylor]

Hey Doug,
I have two layers of pantyhose on it already. It was starting to run out in the vertical eight. It would give me that little burp and then start to lean out. That was on 10/22. I did try a tank of 10/20 and was a little better.

But now I should be OK. It took the better part of the day but I did learn how to built a tank. I now have a custom 6 oz tank in the plane.
 

[Dennis Moritz]

I run an LA46 on a Vector ARF. Also ran one on a plane that was a Tanager size profile. The profile was flown sloppy rich barely hitting a burp in the vertical eights. Flew near 6 second laps. I used every bit of the six ounces in a clunk tank. Useful and effective combo. Tho it oiled up the plane after every run. It was set up with a large FP venturi. My Vector ARF was initially configured the same way. But I didn't have the fuel capacity. It is possible to mount a five ounce Brodak hard tank in the Vector without cutting into the leading edge of the wing, but more ounces than that requires enlarging the fuel tank compartment. The five ounces was not enough to do the pattern. Even when I needled the engine in some, fuel consumption was still too great. I went to a .265 venturi (the large FP venturi is .283). I now do the pattern using 4 ounces to 4.25 ounces of fuel. The engine is still set on the rich side. Breaking comfortably at the top of the verticals. More power possible if I choose to run a leaner mix. Plenty of power as is. In the variable windy conditions at the Garden State Circle Burners home field last Sunday, the combination worked very well. Many asking about what engine I was running. Fuel is Powermaster 22%(50/50) 5%. Prop 12.25x3.75apc, cut down to 12. Other members of my club have been pleased with using the .265 venturi LA46 in Vectors and Vector sized planes. Their experiences have been similar to my own.

[kenneth cook]

        Paul, sometimes tipping your outboard wing to the ground while picking the nose high during fueling can get you a bit more as well. Fueling slowly and what I just mentioned as crazy as it sounds can get you some additional mileage. I went through this exact same problem with two of my planes. As soon as I was into the overhead 8 things were really going lean with very little fuel left if even enough to complete the cloverleaf. If it's even possible, canting the tank outboard may possibly utilize all the fuel within the tank. Ken

[Dennis Moritz]

10% fuel will generally give you less run time than 5% fuel. The percentage of methanol is reduced as the nitro is upped. I have been told by top fliers in our club that methanol determines mileage (run time). But I think this will be moot, if you try the .265 venturi. Pat Johnson among other West Coast fliers have recommended using this size opening. I got the idea from them writing on these forums. LA46s have a great deal of reserve power when used on Vectors and similarly sized models. A Brodak 40 will power these planes. I have seen them do it many times. LA46s are loafing easily powering Vectors. Cutting down venturi size, reducing max possible power, not an issue.

[Larry Cunningham]

The smaller OS venturi will yield a happier, gentler "stunt run" as well. OS previously supplied two venturis, with the larger one installed. Same advice, just use the smaller OS .25 venturi..

L.

"My experience is that as soon as people are old enough to know better, they don't
know anything at all." -Oscar Wilde