652 Miles Per Gallon!
IN THE AUTUMN of 1973 I decided to go after FAI distance and duration records. I had completed a satisfying summer of pylon racing, but there were not enough Quarter Midget races in my area. World records offered a new challenge. The first order of business was to find an engine that would run economically, so engine tests were initiated. From the outset I intended to use a diesel engine because it runs longer than glow, without the complication and interference of ignition. However, most of the engines tested were glow, since they were available. An engine that runs economically on glow fuel should be even better as a diesel. Articles were found on records set by Bertrand, Giertz, Hill, Hirota, Kaiser, Reed and later Giertz. The engines they used ranged from .15 to .49 cu. in. displacement. After many hours of running about 20 different engines, I chose a Supertigre 29 RV. One of the reasons for this choice was that since the same basic crankcase is used up to a .46, it seemed that it should be strong enough to convert to a diesel.
Tortoise Recaptures a World Record from the Russians
IN EARLY 1975 the FAI world record for RC closed-course distance was 210 miles, set in 1968 by B. Kunce of California. Then in June 1975, on the second attempt my airplane Tortoise set a new record of 225 miles, as reported in the November 1975 Model Aviation. Since the previous record had stood for seven years, it seemed that the new one was safe for a while. Not so! Before my 225-mile record had even been officially homologated by the FAI, notice came of a claim of 241 miles flown on October 1, 1975 by the Russian team of Aldochine and Miakinine.
The Shark Attacks a Record
THERE ARE six FAI world records for radio-controlled models which emphasize fuel economy. In the spring of 1977 five of these records resided in the USA. Giertz of Texas held landplane duration (14:29:51), having taken the record from Japan. I held landplane straight-line distance (266 mi.) taken from Italy, and closed-course distance (424 mi.) taken from the USSR. Bowles of California held seaplane straight-line distance (135 mi.), previously also held by the USA. Petersen of West Virginia held seaplane closed-course distance (153 mi.), taken from Germany. The remaining economy record was seaplane duration (6:18:17), held by Kaiser of Germany.
Test Your Muffler Pressure
MANY PEOPLE are using muffler pressure with their fuel tanks. This provides a simple way to assist carburetor fuel draw. It reduces the percentage variation in fuel pressure at the carburetor which arises from climbing and diving, thereby maintaining a more constant fuel-air mixture. For muffler pressure to work properly it must be higher than atmospheric pressure. This may not be the case for muffler at all rpm. I have seen several instances of mufflers which produce suction at the pressure tap for certain rpm. Their owners were quite perplexed about why the engines would die lean after one or two minutes in the air. One flier had set the mixture rich enough to keep running, but got very short runs; evidently part of the fuel was being sucked directly from the fuel tank to the muffler, perhaps by temporarily collapsing the fuel tank.
FastestMod
IN 1976 THE aeromodeling world was surprised by the report of a sailplane speed record of 188.28 mph, submitted to the FAI by Werner Sitar and Fridolin Fritz of Austria. A number of attempts, in the USA and elsewhere, had failed to surpass the 1971 Russian record of 113 mph, so the claim of 188 mph was met with some skepticism. I was among those who questioned the 188-mph record, because computer analysis showed that the Austrian model could not reach that speed from the starting altitudes reported in the record dossier. However, the FAI apparently accepted the record before receiving two American studies. Just like our football referees, the FAI does not reverse its decisions once they are made.
