RC Airplane Engines. The Support Equipment Required.

The Accessories needed to fuel, start and field maintain RC airplane engines. 

Photo shows the Hobbico Field Pack Deluxe.

For the Beginner using a Glow Engine.

When you are starting out in this hobby, then keep things simple and inexpensive. The above "Field Pack" from Hobbico is an excellent starter kit (like the pun?) and it's price is very good. Hobbico states that it is intended for a .40 size RC airplane engine but I believe the only thing that applies to the size of the engine is the propeller and maybe the propeller nut wrench.

The manual fuel pump included should be mounted to your fuel bottle and the fuel tubing hooked up and you are ready to go!

The actual box is cardboard but it should last long enough until it can be replaced by a more substantial wooden or plastic field box.

This kit will enable you to fill the tank, ignite the glow plug, and start your rc airplane engines by using the "chicken stick". You can also change the plug and the propeller.

This is all you need to get going- as you will see below, things can get a lot more complicated!

As I mentioned above the price is certainly right at less than $48.00. If you would like more details and the possibility of purchasing this item from an excellent on-line hobby shop, then click on the RED ROCKET HOBBY SHOP icons.

Red Rocket offer the best in customer service and there is no sales tax!

The Next Stage.

As you progress in this hobby the above simple initial approach will need a few additions. Maybe the first addition should be a 12 volt battery. This will enable you to start your RC airplane engines with an electric starter rather than using the "chicken stick". As well as giving much more starting power, the electric starter is step safer than the "chicken stick". The battery can also be used to power an electric fuel pump and via some form of voltage dropper, can light the glow plug as well. I prefer not to do this and use separate glow igniters. I find this more reliable. A 12 volt battery charger will also be required, but usually a charge will last a long time (Obviously depending on usage)

Electric Starters are available in many shapes and sizes. The Hanger 9 model shown is a good general purpose, heavy duty type that should last  a lifetime and start anything but the largest of RC airplane engines.

The alligator clips that are usually supplied can be replaced by phono-plugs to allow the unit to be plugged in. It all depends on the set-up you use.

Once you have acquired this number of RC accessories, I think the cardboard box, shown above, will be inadequate to carry the weight!

The Flight Box.

The  Hanger 9 box shown here is available as a build- it yourself kit or completely finished and painted as shown. As usual "you pays your money and takes your choice" Personally I would seriously consider the finished version and spend more of my time building models! The fuel bottle is strapped to one end and the 12 volt battery is placed at the other end to balance things out.

There is a compartment for the transmitter and the opening above the battery box (at the right hand end) is to accommodate a power panel. (See below)

The centre area is where your tools can be stored and various small parts and RC accessories can be stored in the drawer. A word of warning! If too many tools and stuff are stored in the Flight Box, it can get very heavy! I always take a separate tool box that contains the heavy tools and leave it in my car. The only tools in the Flight Box are for simple field maintenance, such as changing plugs etc.

In my experience the above listed equipment will last a lifetime and service and start all RC airplane engines up to 1.6 (27cc) capacity. For the larger engines we require more power!

 The Great  Planes Field Box.

An alternative to the above, is the field box shown here.The Great Planes Master Caddy Field Box Assembled By clicking on the link above ,you will be taken to the correct page of our new Merchant Partner, Hobby People.

Here you can find full information on this pre-built flight box, as well as have the ability to buy.

The price is listed at $49.99 with 100% satisfaction guaranteed!

 Flight Box Electronics.

A Power Panel, similar to the one shown here, should bolt in to your field box and clean up the wiring. As you can see it has provision to plug-in -

1. The Starter

2. Fuel Pump (6 or 12 volt)

3. The glow plug ( by using a glow pug clip)

Click here for information on the Flight Leader Power Panel

The fuel pump can be reversed for emptying the tank and the voltage for the glow plug can be adjusted.

This last feature can be very useful when starting a flooded engine by slightly increasing the voltage to the plug. Please be very careful when in this kind of situation. Remember the starter is powerful and if the flooded RC  engine is turned over in this condition (known as hydraulic lock) then a severely damaged engine will be the result!

Always check by turning the engine over a few times, by hand (with the glow plug disconnected!) If it will not turn over, then the engine must be relieved, by removing the plug and turning by hand again, until all that fuel is removed from the engine's cylinder!

As you may realize, I am not a great enthusiast of plugging the glow into a panel! It is good to have it as a back-up, but I much prefer to use a separate, battery powered glow igniter similar to the one shown here.

I can list three more reasons why it is not a good idea, when starting RC airplane engines-

1. A long electrical cord from the panel to the glow plug is required. This must be kept out of the propeller and is an obvious safety hazard.
2. It is possible to plug into the 12 or 6 volt supplies with the glow plug lead! This will burn out the glow plug immediately! ( Do not ask how I know this!)
3. If the 12 volt battery is low, then running the starter and the glow circuits at the same time will really lower the power and probably result in a no-start.

The next items to consider are a tachometer and a battery checker. The tachometer is used to check engine RPM of RC airplane engines and is a good indicator that all is good in the engine department. Once you have established a good RPM that results in a successful flight then this RPM should always be the same.

It is also a good idea to check the low speed RPM. This should give you a safe, reliable idle speed for landing. I prefer to set-up the throttle with the throttle trim lever fully forward. When the landing is complete and the taxi back to the pits is complete, the throttle can be closed completely by using the throttle trim lever. Note that a safe idle speed should be at 2000 RPM or even a little lower.

In the world of RC airplane engines, the battery checker is an essential tool. It is used to check the onboard battery voltage. It is a great idea to check this before every flight. The checker is an expanded scale voltmeter (ESV) that measures battery voltage very accurately and is clearly marked with a green "OK" zone. DO NOT FLY if the battery voltage does not reach the green zone, when under load.

The photo at left shows the Hanger 9 DVT Digital Voltmeter/ Tachometer (HAN 111). This new unit combines a tachometer with a battery checker.

This unit can check the receiver and transmitter batteries, under load and can be used with either JR or Futaba transmitters.

Check this unit out at your local hobby shop.

The final item to consider, for your flight box, is  a 12 volt  fast battery charger. The 12 volt applies to the input voltage of the charger. The unit can be plugged into your car's 12 volt outlet and receiver and transmitter batteries can be charged. Please make sure that the charger is compatible with your batteries!

If you are using Gas powered RC airplane engines, then you must ensure that the complete fuelling system is gas compatible. Some Glow components will actually melt when exposed to gasoline!

If you fly both Gas and Glow, then you must have two separate fuel systems.

Gasoline flyers should also carry a fire extinguisher. Remember that gasoline is extremely flammable and I have seen fires on the flight line!

As always practice safety first! Some of today's RC airplane engines are NOT TOYS! Serious injuries and even death can result from miss-use of these units and models!

To return from this page "RC Airplane Engines. The Support Equipment Required" to the page "Model Airplane Engines" please click here.

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For your information, I have added a "hyperlink" to some of the above photo's that will take you direct to the appropriate page on  the RED ROCKET HOBBY SHOP website, or to our new Merchant Partner Hobby People. Once there you have access to further information and you can purchase the various RC accessories from a very dependable, safe and useful on-line hobby shop.