Twin Tuning - 2007/08
Tuning a twin-engine
airplane: twice the
trouble or twice the fun?
Above: The engine is
inverted and the fuel-tank
position replicates the
tank location of the
intended twin.
Left: Side-mounting an
engine in a test rig
replicates the twin
installation for testing
and breaking in.
TwTwini n TTuunni nigng
BY ERIC
HENDERSON
If programmed correctly, twin engines could make this airplane handle on the ground
and fly as if they were one power plant.
THERE IS NOTHING like the sound of
two engines beating out a synchronous sound
as you hold your model’s line in a
scintillating low pass down the center of the
runway. On the other hand, it does not sound
right or handle very well if one of a twin
aircraft’s engines is not set up to run as well
as the other.
The Engine Shop - 2012/10
Tune your engine exhaust like a pro
This month, I will explore engine exhaust tuning. One
of the most interesting aspects of being involved most
of my life with internal-combustion engines is sound.
There is something hardwired in us that causes us to react
differently to different sounds, and differently to the same
sound. A jet passing overhead is so commonplace today that
most never look up unless it is low or unusually loud.
Aerobatics 2003/12
THE 2003 AMA Radio Control Aerobatics
Nationals open contest held July 13-18 was
my ninth consecutive Nationals attendance,
the eighth at the AMA Headquarters site in
Muncie, Indiana, and my 11th total in 21
years. This was to be my second one as the
Model Aviation columnist covering the
event. A new transmission, two oil leaks, a
leaking power-steering box, and one bent
16-inch rim later, we were on our way.
Radio Control Aerobatics - 2007/11
IN A PREVIOUS
column I wrote
about airplanes you
could use as
precision
Aerobatics
(Pattern) primers or
as good vehicles
with which to learn aerobatics. Now some ARFs are specifically
called “Pattern” airplanes. Their names often include the label
“F3A,” which is synonymous with Pattern.
Radio Control Aerobatics - 2004/06
THIS MONTH I’LL begin on a more
technical note. Included are a series of
excerpts from Dave Lockhart, who wrote an
interesting note about two-stroke and fourstroke
engines. Dave is a top-of-the-line FAI
pilot who has been flying competitively for
at least 15 years. His observations are
informative, and he presents several less
obvious angles that might not crop up unless
you are a serious competitor.
