;
So sitting in my attic for the past ~8 years or so is a .40 sized RC trainer plane. It has been flown like only once about 8 years ago. I haven’t attempted to fly it because I really don’t the the right size of field at my house, but since I learned that there is a local flying site, I figured I should get ‘er down and get it ready to fly. I knew the engine hasn’t run in many years, so I cleaned it and I am now in the process of trying to get it running smooth.
When I took the engine down off the plane, it wasn’t in really bad shape, but it sure wasn’t in good shape either. Upon first inspection the carb was gummed up to the point that it wouldn’t let the throttle lever move. Also, when I had to remove the muffler I realized the gasket was pretty much toast. I opened up the back and noticed the con-rod was gunky around where it met the crankshaft, and when I looked down the venturi I notices that the crankshaft was also covered in gummed up castor oil. So, this is where my work begins…
I used denatured alcohol to cut through all the gummed up, close-to-10-year-old castor/synth oil. To get the air intake on the carb able to spin, I put a few drops of alcohol in it and let it sit while I cleaned the inside of the engine. I used Q-tips (cotton swabs), cotton balls, and paper towels to clean the engine. I used q-tips to clean the crankshaft through the Venturi hole and also used them to clean the con-rod connections. After I cut off the old gasket with an X-acto knife, I cleaned around where the muffler attaches and cleaned the side of the piston.
After cosmetically cleaning the outside of the engine, I went back to working on the carb. After sitting for about 10-15 minutes, it was finally able to move. I use Q-tips to clean the whole carb. I then moved the throttle lever back and forth repeatedly to get it ‘broken in’. While doing this I would often add alcohol to the carb to help cut through any remaining oil.
After cleaning the carb, I reassembled the engine. I then like the engine to prevent any more trouble. Sunday evening I attempted to get the engine running. I got it to run in short 30 second bursts or so, and once I figured out why it kept dying (old fuel in the gas tank that mixed with my new fuel), my glow igniter went dead on me. So now I am jus waiting until I have time to mess with it some more. I’m pretty sure it will run fine with some all-fresh fuel. But we’ll see. . .
;
;
;
;
;
;
