Hann__

What rpms are you seeing in these level flight conditions, Simon?

What motor is this on?

Aye, i managed two, hour and a quarter flights (all i could manage before the cold hands thing set in) and i dont think i`ve ever flown in such smooth air - not one bump or jolt was to be felt at all. Must have been partly due to such high pressure? - XCW said 1045mb - never seen the graph go yellow before! And Friday`s looking flyable,too!

What lever height are you using - is it 1.45mm? What pop-off pressure did you settle on? I`ve never been able to find a definative answer either, and am thinking about 10 - 12 psi? How are you measureing your pop-off - with one of the dedicated pop-off pumps/gauges - does it work OK? Do you take the mixing chamber cover off that side of the carb when checking pop-off? I`ve never been entirely satisfied with my measurements as i think either i`m doing it wrong or the extra tubes to/from the primer bulb is affecting my measurement... Like you my high speed adjustment has been done over time to get a nice `rich tea biscuit` colour on the plug and by throttle response and `feel` when on the ground. My low speed i do mostly by ear/feel: starting with the factory 0.25 turns out it`s easy to tell when it`s rich because it `four strokes` and jumps around a lot on the rubber mountings. Too lean and the idle races and the engine exhaust sounds `weak` - also it may even stop as the fuel is used up in the mixing chamber. At this point it`ll probably hesitate when blipping the throttle,too. I go mid way just before the engine start to bog/hesitate when the throttle is snapped open, or get to that point then open up a tad. I think i`m just under one-quarter turn out on the low and just over one turn out on the high. The Vitorazzi factory settings made my Mosters` plug BLACK and i was getting 6L/h, it`s now down to under 4... This is not advice for carb adjustment for any other motor - always set your own carb to your particular engine!!

It is indeed to get the correct compression ratio (squish clearance). You assemble the motor `dry` (cylinder and head fitted but without a base gasket), torque the head bolts to the correct spec and then set the `squish clearance` by placing a length of plumbers solder (minimum diameter 2mm, or use smaller diameter twisted together) down the spark plug hole placing the end so that it is at the edge of the cylinder (where the squish band is) and pull the engine over a few times. This will squash the solder. Measure it. Work out which of the base gaskets in the kit will provide a squish clearance of 1.3 to 1.5mm. Take cylinder off fit that bas e gasket, torque head and check again.

Yeah I spoke too soon and just noticed the xcw forecast. lets hope it doesn't change...

I enjoyed the write-up, thanks. I bet you can`t wait to get back to the UK - we`ve got wall-to-wall drizzle, low cloud and the next flying window opportunity is March 12th!!

How do `planes fly upside down, then?

Hi Steve, Nice review, thanks for taking the time. I know you say that you don`t actually notice any heat as such - your hands just stay `comfortable` which is fair enough - but how would these gloves perform in a less arduous, non-flying environment such as just (walking) outside in sub-zero temps - would you feel warmth then? I have heated gear on my motorcycle (home-made vest and insoles) and i know just how much power is required to actually feel any heat in gloves - about 25W, and that power is backed up by a 14Ah lead-acid topped up by a 250W alternator! I`m the first to admit i don`t know anything about these new-fangled LiPo`s but i`m just struggling to see how those tiny batteries can provide enough juice, unless they are the rechargeable battery equivalent of a nuclear reactor! At the end of the day though, if the Blazewears stop hands getting cold enough to be a painful distraction then all is good - flying is to be enjoyed, not endured!! Cheers, Hann.

Hi GR, my tuning has been nothing more than setting up the carb `properly` and fitting a 130 prop. The prop made a slight difference over the 125 but the factory recommended carburetor low and high needle settings made my engine run way too rich - the plug was BLACK! (and jump around a lot on the rubber mountings which the Moster was noted for when it first came out) I`m going to experiment with an adjustable pitch prop to knock a few hundred rpm off my engine speeds (hopefully) - all my flying is 2 - 3 hour XC`s and if i can get my rpm`s down to about 5500 (currently 6200) it`ll make flights much more relaxing and quieter! I think having to use over 2/3 engine speed for level flight is too much, and i`d rather trade some of the Mosters outright power (which i don`t really need) for lower fuel consumption.....maybe.. I`m probably flying the wrong engine, but i`m not changing motors now!

I`m now getting sub-4 L/hr now on the Moster after 3 years of fine tuning! My first flights were 6l/hr.... There are plans afoot to get it down even more. On the subject of a fuel gauge, honestly - a mirror is all you need. Keep it simple.

How often do you think they send their wings for inspection?

Well, what a waste of a long high pressure spell down here in the south. It`s been very mild, and very light winds (it was eerily quiet just now while out with the dogs), but the low cloud has remained and is being very stubborn to clear. I was promised wall to wall sun and 3 - 5 mph by XCW for Saturday but that now has changed to `overcast`. I like to see a bit of blue sky while i`m flying, and i don`t like flying at under 1000`. My last flight was at the beginning of this month (a three-hour epic jobbie) and i won`t be able to fly for the next two weeks. At least you never get bored with this hobby - you don`t get a chance to!

Some stills taken from the chasecam. ..let the Autumn flying begin!

Yep, i would say it`s the noise duration. Folk can probably tolerate noise for a short spell such as that from a helicopter which passes very quickly but an irritating, buzzing high-pitch whine that`s not pleasant to the ears that persists for a few minutes while the PPG crosses a village or house is what people remember.

My old Synth used to do this and it was very noticeable - even on the first flight with it, it used to turn right so much that when looking at my GPS logs after a flight a `straight` track was a continuous series of arcs to the right with corrections to the left couteract them. The only time it flew straight was down-wind. It was bloody annoying and got to be something of a preoccupation while flying. The TEA line didn`t really help much. Didn`t try the different hook-in points as slight trimmer adjustments would have the same effect which is something i tried as well. Since changing my wing one of the very first things i noticed was it flew dead straight which is much more condusive to a satisfying flight!

They are seriously impressive ecomomy figures Morgy, and not with kit that i would of first thought of being capable of such frugal flying - a large motor and `tiny` wing.. How do you get such economy, do you spend 90% of the time engine-off in thermals, LOL? What sort of engine speeds are you seeing in level flight? Have you experimented with the adjustable-pitch prop on the Macfly? Do you think one of the reasons they can be so economical is their use of a slide carb which permits a greater degree of fuelling control over the rather crude Walbro diaphragm jobbies?

Airspace around here is already congested due to Soton, B`mouth and all the stuff around Salisbury. This airspace trial area more or less covers all the space i fly in (including the take-off sites), if this trial leads to airspace amendments or further mandatory requirements our local flying is going to be well and truly stuffed. At the moment though us PPG`ers need to take no action other than stay clear of controlled airspace as normal: "Non-radio/Non-transponder Equipped Aircraft. Pilots of these aircraft should operate as normal and planning to remain clear of controlled airspace unless previously negotiated with ATC." It`s a bit worrying though....

D&T Propellers are very good, i have bought from them a couple of times, once after a break and one a `special`. Despite coming from Belarus delivery has been very reliable. I payed about £115 for a Moster prop.. Quality/finish is very good, but they have less wooden layers (lamination) than a genuine Vittorazi.

You know you`re in deep when you have to make a tool, for use on another tool, to make a part for the thing you`re making......... Your patience is impressive, to go with your engineering skillz. Are you making to plans, or ad-hoc? How on earth for instance did you work out the cam timing on that beast? What`s your (top-end) lubrication set up going to be? Good work, i guess we`ll all have to be patient to see the start-up video...

Are spectators permitted at Popham?

For someone who has only been flying 6 weeks those are sage words indeed, especially the bit about not flying if the weather or your physical condition (mental attitude included) is not optimal. Took me a lot longer than 6 weeks to finally realise that.. It`s when you`re not fully `into it` that it can easily turn into `one of those days`... I`d like to add: don`t fly just because you feel you ought to - such as another flyable day soon after you`re last flight - if you`re not 100% comitted. There`ll always be a chance to fly another day........

Yes, i know what you mean and that`s a possibility if you go too far, as i alluded to above sometmes altering things doesn`t get the results you want and can go the other way.. The trouble is, as a tinkerer, footerer, and manic mechanic i`ve always got the `what if` question floating around in my head, and am never satisfied until i try things myself. Maybe this time i should just forget about it and enjoy the flying. Rob, what sort of engine speeds do you see with your Moster?

Hi Pete, I have thought of this too. I expect the large pulley is bespoke and made by/for Vittorazi, but if the small pulley is an `off the shelf` item there is a chance that there are alternatve sizes... The Moster seems to have two reduction ratios, i already have the larger small pulley and the smaller large pulley. Rob, My fuel consumpton is the same as you - i average about 4.5l/hr give or take flying at 25/26 mph neutral trim. I fly an Apco Lift EZ medum 27.5M (100 - 165kg) and am right in the middle at my weight. I deffo don`t want to fly slower.. As i mentioned above, if i could get the engine speed down to 5500`ish the flights would be a lot quieter, calmer and more relaxed, the engine tends to `shout` at 6000+. This is only fine-tuning my flying, if nothing can be done then so be it, i`m happy with my set-up overall.

I fly a Moster-engined machine, in level flight i`m doing about ~6000rpm - sometimes slightly more, sometimes slightly less, i think that`s too high. I`m sure that a relatively large PPG motor like the Moster doesn`t need to spin at over two-thirds engine speed to maintain level flight - surely there`s not that much power required to spin the prop at the speed needed for just cruising, i would think that the prop doesn`t provide a massive load to the engine? I only do gentle XC flying of about two - 2 1/2 hours, not much full throttle after take-offs (except when going for mile-high altitudes). A bit less fuel burn would be nice, too. My flying would be much more relaxed if i could reduce revs nearer the 5000rpm mark - there`s a huge difference to the feel even when i fly at 5500rpm, i`d also like to have plenty of fuel in reserve in case of a slow slog back to the field such as if the wind changes direction - or if i get carried away and venture too far on the outward leg! I know from motorcycle experience that messing around with sprocket sizes/drive ratios does not necessarily give the results you are hoping for, the manufacturers tend to get it right, and the gearing they choose is the best allround combination for power delivery, flexibility and economy. I get the impression that PPG makers tend to go for the most power they can from any particular motor/prop combination ( so choose props with smaller AOA and faster engine speeds), i would like to trade some of my excess power for reduced engine speed. Being able to alter the AOA of the prop blades would give me infinite possibilities for making changes. Do you think an adjustable pitch prop would be a worthwhile investment, anyone ever used one? Don`t tell me to buy a V5, i`d love one, but i`m not changing motors just yet!