Questions about assembly of old Top-Flite p-40 kit.

On 11/8/2004 11:55 AM Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not so great) words of knowledge:

You will need to install a muffler. Every club and flying field I am aware of has a noise level (usually ABOUT 96 db) limit.

I would STRONGLY suggest routing the pressure line from the tank to the nipple on the muffler. FWIW - The pressure line goes to the tube that is bent INSIDE the tank and the end inside the tank goes up into the little "bubble" or bulge/bump at the top of the tank.

You will have 2 or 3 lines coming from the tank. If you have 2 lines, the one with the clunk (the clunk is the weight on the end of one fuel line) goes to the engine. The other goes to the muffler for pressure (see above for description). The engine is fueled by removing the line from the engine (or the muffler if that is more accesable).

With 3 lines from the tank, the first 2 lines are connected the same as a 2 line system. The 3rd line is for fueling/defueling. The line in the tank will have a clunk on it (you now have 2 lines with clunks in the tank) and USUALLY goes to a fuel dot or something similar (DuBro Fuel It).

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re 2 lines If you fuel from muffer presure line you wont be able to fill the tank because the clunk is at bottom of tank the fuel will be forced out the carb at a slow rate and all you end up doing is presurizing the tank not allowing fuel to enter the tank must be vented to fill

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I built a couple of those. The plans showed the engine without the muffler. You will still have to add one because of noise restrictions, and because most all modern engines are designed to run with one.

I would use a .91 four stroke as this plane tends to be a little heavy and the extra power will come in handy. When landing, fly it in rather than trying to do much flaring. I had a Fox Eagle IV .74 on mine and it was a real tiger!

That was my thought when I saw that the *entire* plane was balsa.

I believe it! Was performance really that much better? My pocketbook is telling me that a .91 is out of reach.... :(

Will do!

Glad to hear that! Now I'm all excited....

Also, if you use retracts, use GOOD ones. The Robarts I used were crap. I had to just about stall the plane to get the air pressure on them low enough for them to come down and lock.

Wow, that IS an old kit! In the early days of R/C (ok, 1968, when I got my first exposure, is early to me), many engines did not have mufflers, and many planes were designed around that criteria. Now-a-days, most clubs require mufflers on anything larger than .09.

Use the muffler that came with the engine, or an aftermarket one that will fit the engine/plane combo. Cut the cowl and/or rotate the engine accordingly.

If you don't use a muffler, yes, it's correct, but your engine may run lean and be difficult to adjust. Use a muffler. Also, a gasoline engine does not require the pressure tap that a glow engine does.

Bottom line: Use a muffler and alter the plans accordingly. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"