July 2003 73
BRODAK’S NEW .40 engine is the first truly innovative
concept in Control Line (CL) Stunt power plants to come along
in decades. (I put that “.40” in quotation marks because the
engine’s actual displacement is .426 cubic inches.)
The Brodak .40 truly astonished me; it’s almost exactly the
kind of CL Stunt engine that I’d have designed had I been on
John Brodak’s engineering staff. Its long, tapered intake passage
is a feature that I’ve added to many CL engines I’ve customized.
And the Brodak .40’s collet-type long-taper needle valve
provides dead-reliable “fine-tuning” adjustment. It also
eliminates an annoying and too-often obscure source of air
leakage: down the almost negligible gap between the threads of
the needle and those of the spraybar. That tiny air leak has upset
the steady running of quite a few CL engines!
More innovations in the Brodak .40 are that its short stroke
(87% of the bore) and its light aluminum piston result in
extremely smooth running. (The engine is an AAC [aluminumaluminum
chrome] design with a chrome-plated aluminum
sleeve.) These are the sort of features you’d expect to find in a
high-rpm engine, yet the Brodak .40 performs best at 10,000-
11,000 rpm, using 10- or 11-inch-diameter, 4- or 5-inch-pitch
wood propellers. (Brodak can supply those too.)
The Brodak .40’s low design rpm provides two benefits for
CL fliers: long lap times—51⁄2-6 seconds in level flight on 70-
foot lines (no reason for anyone to get dizzy while flying!)—and
a nonscreeching exhaust tone that won’t make enemies of
residents living near your CL flying site.
Yes, the Brodak .40 comes with a muffler. That includes a
pressure fitting, but the engine is also designed to run on
suction-fed fuel. That’s to help the Brodak .40 perform as it was
designed to do: in a rich, “4-cycling” mode in level flight; with a
power-boosting instant change to “2-cycling” in tight-radius
Stunt maneuvering such as Square Loops and the entry to (and
exit from) Wingovers.
Something else I admire about the Brodak .40 is its superb
instruction sheet. Written in plain, nonboring language, it tells
everything one needs to know about proper break-in procedure
(and the reasons behind that), propeller selection, and fuel
requirements (including the reasons for those).
Joe Wagner
T h e E n g i n e S h o p
212 S. Pine Ave., Ozark AL 36360
The Brodak .40 on a “typical test mount.” Notice the ample
clearance between the muffler and the clamp-down wing nut.
Brodak’s new .40 was created especially for CL Stunt flying.
That’s probably no surprise—but its design features are!
On test mount, hex clamping nuts save height, pivoted lever
simplifies throttle operation, wood tank mount can be repositioned.
Pre-muffler-rule RC engine; O.S. .15 has coupled intake throttle,
exhaust baffle combination, giving reliable speed control.
Brodak’s muffler is the only one I’ve
seen in years that permits easy
installation on the “average” modelengine
test mount. Access to the typical
1⁄4-20 wing nut—used in these mounts for
clamping down the engine—isn’t
obstructed by the muffler in any way.
Good things can come in small, plastic
packages: Hobbico’s After Run Oil and
unique Valvespout for model fueling.
I appreciate that feature greatly. That’s
because in early January I helped some
local modelers learn how to operate their
Christmas-gift Radio Control (RC)
engines. They were .10, .25, and .45
displacement, and each one required timeconsuming
modifications to one of my test
mounts.
There is one test-mount change that
takes little time but saves valuable
“installation height”: replacing the stock
wing nuts with steel hex nuts. An openend
wrench provides nut-tightening access
under a low-height muffler so that
removing and reinstalling the muffler is
unnecessary for the break-in.
The main problems I’ve found in
setting up RC engines on “commercial test
mounts” are in the throttle actuation and
the fuel-tank positioning. Making a
custom wooden holder for a plastic tank
isn’t hard. But properly locating and
securing that takes some forethought,
especially since the dimensions of model
engines—and their mufflers—can vary so
widely.
Now for throttle-actuation methods.
The control arm is located on the same
side of most RC engines, so I’ve learned
that a pivoted sheet-aluminum actuating
lever usually works well for throttle
control. I cut and bend the pushrod from a
bicycle spoke, as required to fit the
particular engine.
Two of my own test-mount “throttle
levers” are pivoted with sheet-metal
screws onto small hardwood blocks. These
blocks can then be screwed down in any
required position on the 2 x 12-inch pine
top of my portable test stand—whatever’s
needed for each different-size engine.
My all-metal Tatone Mount (long out
of production now, I believe) allowed a
more direct throttle-adjusting
arrangement. I constructed that with an
extruded aluminum bracket pop-riveted to
the nonsliding mount block. A flat sheetaluminum
throttle-actuating lever with
three pushrod holes in it is bolted to the
bracket—with a washer between the two
to prevent binding, of course.
David G. Hoffman of Melba, Idaho, a
longtime reader of this column, wrote:
“What ever happened to the pivoting
exhaust baffle that used to be so common
on RC engines?”
“I realize that the more common flat,
‘rocking’ design won’t work with a
muffler. But how about the semicylindrical
kind that rotated on a fore-andaft
axis, such as the famous Veco .45 RC
used? It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out
a way of adapting that to a motor with a
muffler.”
David has a good idea. A major benefit
of the movable exhaust baffle (coupled to
the barrel carburetor on RC engines of the
1960s) came from its variable heat
July 2003 75
retaining properties. As the baffle
closed when the engine speed dropped,
it obstructed the exhaust-gas outflow.
That slowed heat loss from the
combustion chamber, thus it helped
keep the glow element hot and the
engine firing. That enabled reliable
idling at exceptionally low rpm.
A good example of that benefit is the
performance of my 1975 Lee Custom
.19RC. It could run for minutes at a time
at less than 2,000 rpm, yet respond to a
full-throttle command almost instantly.
I’m sure that was because of the rapid
release of exhaust back pressure at the
same time the carburetor barrel opened.
The newly unrestricted exhaust outflow
prevented “choking up” of the
combustion chamber as the intake
throttle went wide open.
But as I told David, there may be an
easier way to obtain the benefits of a
variable exhaust baffle than to work out
a rotary baffle within the engine’s
muffler passage and an operating
linkage for it coupled to the carburetor
control arm. I haven’t tried it yet, but it
wouldn’t be hard to make a pivoting
“butterfly valve” that would attach to
the muffler’s outlet.
Such a valve wouldn’t need to be
connected to the carburetor’s operating
arm. It could have a separate pushrod of
its own to the engine’s throttle servo.
That brings up an afterthought about
the Brodak .40. Since it’s a CL engine,
it lacks a carburetor. Yet if someone
wanted a variable-speed control for a
Brodak engine, say, for use with a threeline
control system in a CL Scale
airplane, I think a butterfly valve in the
muffler outlet would do a respectable
job of controlling the rpm.
The Brodak .40’s intake passage area
is rather small, so the lack of a variable
carburetor there shouldn’t cause
problems. The next time I run my
Brodak .40, I’ll try restricting its muffler
outlet by sliding a flat plate of some sort
across it in stages—and see how much
speed variation I can manage.
A couple of commercial products I’ve
been using for sometime deserve
mention. One is the Valvespout squeeze
bottle for model-engine fuel that Eric
Clutton sells (at 913 Cedar Ln.,
Tullahoma TN 37388; Tel.: [931] 455-
2256; Web site: www.cafes.net/
doctordiesel). These work equally well
with any type of model fuel, and they
come in several sizes.
For years my favorite has been the 6-
ounce bottle, and now Eric has
Valvespouts in a 10-ounce size too. The
major feature of the Valvespout’s design
is the one-quarter-turn on-off valve in its
brass output nozzle. That makes it
convenient for fueling engine-powered
RC, CL, and Free Flight park flyers. You
can carry the bottle in your pocket as you
move around the field. The closed valve
doesn’t leak, yet it can be instantly
opened whenever you need to refuel your
airplane.
Another useful item I’ve happily
employed for a while is Hobbico’s
(distributed by Great Planes) After Run
Oil. Model fliers have been using many
different fluids to protect the insides of
their engines between flying sessions—
gun oil, Marvel Mystery Oil, sewingmachine
oil, auto-transmission fluid—but
all of those have many vociferous
adherents.
(There are two products that should
not be used inside model engines: WD-
40 and 3-in-1 Oil. Both suffer evil effects
from the evaporation of their “volatile
components.” They leave a gummy,
hard-to-rinse-out residue behind that
nobody wants inside his or her model
engines.)
Hobbico’s After Run Oil could just be
a repackaged commercially available
lubricant such as auto-transmission fluid,
but whatever it is, I appreciate the
convenient size and thin nozzle of the
Hobbico product’s “package.” That fits
so nicely in my mini field box! MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/07
Page Numbers: 73,74,75
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/07
Page Numbers: 73,74,75
July 2003 73
BRODAK’S NEW .40 engine is the first truly innovative
concept in Control Line (CL) Stunt power plants to come along
in decades. (I put that “.40” in quotation marks because the
engine’s actual displacement is .426 cubic inches.)
The Brodak .40 truly astonished me; it’s almost exactly the
kind of CL Stunt engine that I’d have designed had I been on
John Brodak’s engineering staff. Its long, tapered intake passage
is a feature that I’ve added to many CL engines I’ve customized.
And the Brodak .40’s collet-type long-taper needle valve
provides dead-reliable “fine-tuning” adjustment. It also
eliminates an annoying and too-often obscure source of air
leakage: down the almost negligible gap between the threads of
the needle and those of the spraybar. That tiny air leak has upset
the steady running of quite a few CL engines!
More innovations in the Brodak .40 are that its short stroke
(87% of the bore) and its light aluminum piston result in
extremely smooth running. (The engine is an AAC [aluminumaluminum
chrome] design with a chrome-plated aluminum
sleeve.) These are the sort of features you’d expect to find in a
high-rpm engine, yet the Brodak .40 performs best at 10,000-
11,000 rpm, using 10- or 11-inch-diameter, 4- or 5-inch-pitch
wood propellers. (Brodak can supply those too.)
The Brodak .40’s low design rpm provides two benefits for
CL fliers: long lap times—51⁄2-6 seconds in level flight on 70-
foot lines (no reason for anyone to get dizzy while flying!)—and
a nonscreeching exhaust tone that won’t make enemies of
residents living near your CL flying site.
Yes, the Brodak .40 comes with a muffler. That includes a
pressure fitting, but the engine is also designed to run on
suction-fed fuel. That’s to help the Brodak .40 perform as it was
designed to do: in a rich, “4-cycling” mode in level flight; with a
power-boosting instant change to “2-cycling” in tight-radius
Stunt maneuvering such as Square Loops and the entry to (and
exit from) Wingovers.
Something else I admire about the Brodak .40 is its superb
instruction sheet. Written in plain, nonboring language, it tells
everything one needs to know about proper break-in procedure
(and the reasons behind that), propeller selection, and fuel
requirements (including the reasons for those).
Joe Wagner
T h e E n g i n e S h o p
212 S. Pine Ave., Ozark AL 36360
The Brodak .40 on a “typical test mount.” Notice the ample
clearance between the muffler and the clamp-down wing nut.
Brodak’s new .40 was created especially for CL Stunt flying.
That’s probably no surprise—but its design features are!
On test mount, hex clamping nuts save height, pivoted lever
simplifies throttle operation, wood tank mount can be repositioned.
Pre-muffler-rule RC engine; O.S. .15 has coupled intake throttle,
exhaust baffle combination, giving reliable speed control.
Brodak’s muffler is the only one I’ve
seen in years that permits easy
installation on the “average” modelengine
test mount. Access to the typical
1⁄4-20 wing nut—used in these mounts for
clamping down the engine—isn’t
obstructed by the muffler in any way.
Good things can come in small, plastic
packages: Hobbico’s After Run Oil and
unique Valvespout for model fueling.
I appreciate that feature greatly. That’s
because in early January I helped some
local modelers learn how to operate their
Christmas-gift Radio Control (RC)
engines. They were .10, .25, and .45
displacement, and each one required timeconsuming
modifications to one of my test
mounts.
There is one test-mount change that
takes little time but saves valuable
“installation height”: replacing the stock
wing nuts with steel hex nuts. An openend
wrench provides nut-tightening access
under a low-height muffler so that
removing and reinstalling the muffler is
unnecessary for the break-in.
The main problems I’ve found in
setting up RC engines on “commercial test
mounts” are in the throttle actuation and
the fuel-tank positioning. Making a
custom wooden holder for a plastic tank
isn’t hard. But properly locating and
securing that takes some forethought,
especially since the dimensions of model
engines—and their mufflers—can vary so
widely.
Now for throttle-actuation methods.
The control arm is located on the same
side of most RC engines, so I’ve learned
that a pivoted sheet-aluminum actuating
lever usually works well for throttle
control. I cut and bend the pushrod from a
bicycle spoke, as required to fit the
particular engine.
Two of my own test-mount “throttle
levers” are pivoted with sheet-metal
screws onto small hardwood blocks. These
blocks can then be screwed down in any
required position on the 2 x 12-inch pine
top of my portable test stand—whatever’s
needed for each different-size engine.
My all-metal Tatone Mount (long out
of production now, I believe) allowed a
more direct throttle-adjusting
arrangement. I constructed that with an
extruded aluminum bracket pop-riveted to
the nonsliding mount block. A flat sheetaluminum
throttle-actuating lever with
three pushrod holes in it is bolted to the
bracket—with a washer between the two
to prevent binding, of course.
David G. Hoffman of Melba, Idaho, a
longtime reader of this column, wrote:
“What ever happened to the pivoting
exhaust baffle that used to be so common
on RC engines?”
“I realize that the more common flat,
‘rocking’ design won’t work with a
muffler. But how about the semicylindrical
kind that rotated on a fore-andaft
axis, such as the famous Veco .45 RC
used? It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out
a way of adapting that to a motor with a
muffler.”
David has a good idea. A major benefit
of the movable exhaust baffle (coupled to
the barrel carburetor on RC engines of the
1960s) came from its variable heat
July 2003 75
retaining properties. As the baffle
closed when the engine speed dropped,
it obstructed the exhaust-gas outflow.
That slowed heat loss from the
combustion chamber, thus it helped
keep the glow element hot and the
engine firing. That enabled reliable
idling at exceptionally low rpm.
A good example of that benefit is the
performance of my 1975 Lee Custom
.19RC. It could run for minutes at a time
at less than 2,000 rpm, yet respond to a
full-throttle command almost instantly.
I’m sure that was because of the rapid
release of exhaust back pressure at the
same time the carburetor barrel opened.
The newly unrestricted exhaust outflow
prevented “choking up” of the
combustion chamber as the intake
throttle went wide open.
But as I told David, there may be an
easier way to obtain the benefits of a
variable exhaust baffle than to work out
a rotary baffle within the engine’s
muffler passage and an operating
linkage for it coupled to the carburetor
control arm. I haven’t tried it yet, but it
wouldn’t be hard to make a pivoting
“butterfly valve” that would attach to
the muffler’s outlet.
Such a valve wouldn’t need to be
connected to the carburetor’s operating
arm. It could have a separate pushrod of
its own to the engine’s throttle servo.
That brings up an afterthought about
the Brodak .40. Since it’s a CL engine,
it lacks a carburetor. Yet if someone
wanted a variable-speed control for a
Brodak engine, say, for use with a threeline
control system in a CL Scale
airplane, I think a butterfly valve in the
muffler outlet would do a respectable
job of controlling the rpm.
The Brodak .40’s intake passage area
is rather small, so the lack of a variable
carburetor there shouldn’t cause
problems. The next time I run my
Brodak .40, I’ll try restricting its muffler
outlet by sliding a flat plate of some sort
across it in stages—and see how much
speed variation I can manage.
A couple of commercial products I’ve
been using for sometime deserve
mention. One is the Valvespout squeeze
bottle for model-engine fuel that Eric
Clutton sells (at 913 Cedar Ln.,
Tullahoma TN 37388; Tel.: [931] 455-
2256; Web site: www.cafes.net/
doctordiesel). These work equally well
with any type of model fuel, and they
come in several sizes.
For years my favorite has been the 6-
ounce bottle, and now Eric has
Valvespouts in a 10-ounce size too. The
major feature of the Valvespout’s design
is the one-quarter-turn on-off valve in its
brass output nozzle. That makes it
convenient for fueling engine-powered
RC, CL, and Free Flight park flyers. You
can carry the bottle in your pocket as you
move around the field. The closed valve
doesn’t leak, yet it can be instantly
opened whenever you need to refuel your
airplane.
Another useful item I’ve happily
employed for a while is Hobbico’s
(distributed by Great Planes) After Run
Oil. Model fliers have been using many
different fluids to protect the insides of
their engines between flying sessions—
gun oil, Marvel Mystery Oil, sewingmachine
oil, auto-transmission fluid—but
all of those have many vociferous
adherents.
(There are two products that should
not be used inside model engines: WD-
40 and 3-in-1 Oil. Both suffer evil effects
from the evaporation of their “volatile
components.” They leave a gummy,
hard-to-rinse-out residue behind that
nobody wants inside his or her model
engines.)
Hobbico’s After Run Oil could just be
a repackaged commercially available
lubricant such as auto-transmission fluid,
but whatever it is, I appreciate the
convenient size and thin nozzle of the
Hobbico product’s “package.” That fits
so nicely in my mini field box! MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/07
Page Numbers: 73,74,75
July 2003 73
BRODAK’S NEW .40 engine is the first truly innovative
concept in Control Line (CL) Stunt power plants to come along
in decades. (I put that “.40” in quotation marks because the
engine’s actual displacement is .426 cubic inches.)
The Brodak .40 truly astonished me; it’s almost exactly the
kind of CL Stunt engine that I’d have designed had I been on
John Brodak’s engineering staff. Its long, tapered intake passage
is a feature that I’ve added to many CL engines I’ve customized.
And the Brodak .40’s collet-type long-taper needle valve
provides dead-reliable “fine-tuning” adjustment. It also
eliminates an annoying and too-often obscure source of air
leakage: down the almost negligible gap between the threads of
the needle and those of the spraybar. That tiny air leak has upset
the steady running of quite a few CL engines!
More innovations in the Brodak .40 are that its short stroke
(87% of the bore) and its light aluminum piston result in
extremely smooth running. (The engine is an AAC [aluminumaluminum
chrome] design with a chrome-plated aluminum
sleeve.) These are the sort of features you’d expect to find in a
high-rpm engine, yet the Brodak .40 performs best at 10,000-
11,000 rpm, using 10- or 11-inch-diameter, 4- or 5-inch-pitch
wood propellers. (Brodak can supply those too.)
The Brodak .40’s low design rpm provides two benefits for
CL fliers: long lap times—51⁄2-6 seconds in level flight on 70-
foot lines (no reason for anyone to get dizzy while flying!)—and
a nonscreeching exhaust tone that won’t make enemies of
residents living near your CL flying site.
Yes, the Brodak .40 comes with a muffler. That includes a
pressure fitting, but the engine is also designed to run on
suction-fed fuel. That’s to help the Brodak .40 perform as it was
designed to do: in a rich, “4-cycling” mode in level flight; with a
power-boosting instant change to “2-cycling” in tight-radius
Stunt maneuvering such as Square Loops and the entry to (and
exit from) Wingovers.
Something else I admire about the Brodak .40 is its superb
instruction sheet. Written in plain, nonboring language, it tells
everything one needs to know about proper break-in procedure
(and the reasons behind that), propeller selection, and fuel
requirements (including the reasons for those).
Joe Wagner
T h e E n g i n e S h o p
212 S. Pine Ave., Ozark AL 36360
The Brodak .40 on a “typical test mount.” Notice the ample
clearance between the muffler and the clamp-down wing nut.
Brodak’s new .40 was created especially for CL Stunt flying.
That’s probably no surprise—but its design features are!
On test mount, hex clamping nuts save height, pivoted lever
simplifies throttle operation, wood tank mount can be repositioned.
Pre-muffler-rule RC engine; O.S. .15 has coupled intake throttle,
exhaust baffle combination, giving reliable speed control.
Brodak’s muffler is the only one I’ve
seen in years that permits easy
installation on the “average” modelengine
test mount. Access to the typical
1⁄4-20 wing nut—used in these mounts for
clamping down the engine—isn’t
obstructed by the muffler in any way.
Good things can come in small, plastic
packages: Hobbico’s After Run Oil and
unique Valvespout for model fueling.
I appreciate that feature greatly. That’s
because in early January I helped some
local modelers learn how to operate their
Christmas-gift Radio Control (RC)
engines. They were .10, .25, and .45
displacement, and each one required timeconsuming
modifications to one of my test
mounts.
There is one test-mount change that
takes little time but saves valuable
“installation height”: replacing the stock
wing nuts with steel hex nuts. An openend
wrench provides nut-tightening access
under a low-height muffler so that
removing and reinstalling the muffler is
unnecessary for the break-in.
The main problems I’ve found in
setting up RC engines on “commercial test
mounts” are in the throttle actuation and
the fuel-tank positioning. Making a
custom wooden holder for a plastic tank
isn’t hard. But properly locating and
securing that takes some forethought,
especially since the dimensions of model
engines—and their mufflers—can vary so
widely.
Now for throttle-actuation methods.
The control arm is located on the same
side of most RC engines, so I’ve learned
that a pivoted sheet-aluminum actuating
lever usually works well for throttle
control. I cut and bend the pushrod from a
bicycle spoke, as required to fit the
particular engine.
Two of my own test-mount “throttle
levers” are pivoted with sheet-metal
screws onto small hardwood blocks. These
blocks can then be screwed down in any
required position on the 2 x 12-inch pine
top of my portable test stand—whatever’s
needed for each different-size engine.
My all-metal Tatone Mount (long out
of production now, I believe) allowed a
more direct throttle-adjusting
arrangement. I constructed that with an
extruded aluminum bracket pop-riveted to
the nonsliding mount block. A flat sheetaluminum
throttle-actuating lever with
three pushrod holes in it is bolted to the
bracket—with a washer between the two
to prevent binding, of course.
David G. Hoffman of Melba, Idaho, a
longtime reader of this column, wrote:
“What ever happened to the pivoting
exhaust baffle that used to be so common
on RC engines?”
“I realize that the more common flat,
‘rocking’ design won’t work with a
muffler. But how about the semicylindrical
kind that rotated on a fore-andaft
axis, such as the famous Veco .45 RC
used? It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out
a way of adapting that to a motor with a
muffler.”
David has a good idea. A major benefit
of the movable exhaust baffle (coupled to
the barrel carburetor on RC engines of the
1960s) came from its variable heat
July 2003 75
retaining properties. As the baffle
closed when the engine speed dropped,
it obstructed the exhaust-gas outflow.
That slowed heat loss from the
combustion chamber, thus it helped
keep the glow element hot and the
engine firing. That enabled reliable
idling at exceptionally low rpm.
A good example of that benefit is the
performance of my 1975 Lee Custom
.19RC. It could run for minutes at a time
at less than 2,000 rpm, yet respond to a
full-throttle command almost instantly.
I’m sure that was because of the rapid
release of exhaust back pressure at the
same time the carburetor barrel opened.
The newly unrestricted exhaust outflow
prevented “choking up” of the
combustion chamber as the intake
throttle went wide open.
But as I told David, there may be an
easier way to obtain the benefits of a
variable exhaust baffle than to work out
a rotary baffle within the engine’s
muffler passage and an operating
linkage for it coupled to the carburetor
control arm. I haven’t tried it yet, but it
wouldn’t be hard to make a pivoting
“butterfly valve” that would attach to
the muffler’s outlet.
Such a valve wouldn’t need to be
connected to the carburetor’s operating
arm. It could have a separate pushrod of
its own to the engine’s throttle servo.
That brings up an afterthought about
the Brodak .40. Since it’s a CL engine,
it lacks a carburetor. Yet if someone
wanted a variable-speed control for a
Brodak engine, say, for use with a threeline
control system in a CL Scale
airplane, I think a butterfly valve in the
muffler outlet would do a respectable
job of controlling the rpm.
The Brodak .40’s intake passage area
is rather small, so the lack of a variable
carburetor there shouldn’t cause
problems. The next time I run my
Brodak .40, I’ll try restricting its muffler
outlet by sliding a flat plate of some sort
across it in stages—and see how much
speed variation I can manage.
A couple of commercial products I’ve
been using for sometime deserve
mention. One is the Valvespout squeeze
bottle for model-engine fuel that Eric
Clutton sells (at 913 Cedar Ln.,
Tullahoma TN 37388; Tel.: [931] 455-
2256; Web site: www.cafes.net/
doctordiesel). These work equally well
with any type of model fuel, and they
come in several sizes.
For years my favorite has been the 6-
ounce bottle, and now Eric has
Valvespouts in a 10-ounce size too. The
major feature of the Valvespout’s design
is the one-quarter-turn on-off valve in its
brass output nozzle. That makes it
convenient for fueling engine-powered
RC, CL, and Free Flight park flyers. You
can carry the bottle in your pocket as you
move around the field. The closed valve
doesn’t leak, yet it can be instantly
opened whenever you need to refuel your
airplane.
Another useful item I’ve happily
employed for a while is Hobbico’s
(distributed by Great Planes) After Run
Oil. Model fliers have been using many
different fluids to protect the insides of
their engines between flying sessions—
gun oil, Marvel Mystery Oil, sewingmachine
oil, auto-transmission fluid—but
all of those have many vociferous
adherents.
(There are two products that should
not be used inside model engines: WD-
40 and 3-in-1 Oil. Both suffer evil effects
from the evaporation of their “volatile
components.” They leave a gummy,
hard-to-rinse-out residue behind that
nobody wants inside his or her model
engines.)
Hobbico’s After Run Oil could just be
a repackaged commercially available
lubricant such as auto-transmission fluid,
but whatever it is, I appreciate the
convenient size and thin nozzle of the
Hobbico product’s “package.” That fits
so nicely in my mini field box! MA
