Airplane engine swap

Skyliner70cc
Most likely I'll use a Lifan 50cc 4 stroke engine.
I believe they a are Honda clone.
 
Mud,
Actually Zenoah are considered cheap and weak engines in the RC community. They are underpowered and overweight compared to other offerings and I wouldn't use a zenoah on any airplane unless it was a slow flyer and I was tail heavy and needed nose weight.

ill be dammed yer the first person ive ever heard say bad things about them

im a supertiger fan but most of mine are .40-.60's

but ive never seen a zenoah give any trouble and they seem well made

ah well not everyone likes supertiger either

thanks for the reply

mike
 
Zenoah's are well made and VERY reliable. However, they aren't industry leaders in power output per cc or weight. Power and weight are important to us model airplane folks.

Supertiger is a great brand but I fell out of love with them when manufacturing was switiched from Italy to China. I have a ST engine that is over 20 years old and runs like new.
 
I hope improvising is not a sin around here.

In principle, can a HT be converted to run like a deisel if some work was done on the head and whatever else might be required to modify ?

There is nothing to say it can't, in theory. Then if it can be done, the HT or the motoredbike in general running on deisel with variable compression adjustments like these model airplane engines would be some show to see.

This would then free up the magneto from the CDI and power lights instead !
 

Attachments

  • taipan_09br_68.jpg
    taipan_09br_68.jpg
    13.2 KB · Views: 146
I hope improvising is not a sin around here.

In principle, can a HT be converted to run like a deisel if some work was done on the head and whatever else might be required to modify ?

There is nothing to say it can't, in theory. Then if it can be done, the HT or the motoredbike in general running on deisel with variable compression adjustments like these model airplane engines would be some show to see.

This would then free up the magneto from the CDI and power lights instead !
LOOK here
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_87/tt.htm
The contra piston ( the thing that makes a diesel possible might work on a new engine.)
If you send them your head and some money they maybe able to make you one.

Look for Andrew Coholic ( on rc universe not here! )his email adress is at yahoo He might make you a diesel head.
 
Last edited:
Diesel's typically run at VERY high compression ratios. I would think the entire engine would have to be engineered to be a diesel engine right from the start. But if you manage to convert one, that would be an accomplishment for sure!

Warner
 
Hate to break it to you, but model airplane diesels aren't true diesels. 1/3 of the fuel is ether. Here is a common recipe for model airplane fuel **Kerosene 36% Ethyl Ether 36% Castor Oil 25% IPN 3%** Unless motorized bike fuel tanks were completely sealed, the ether would evaporate quickly out of solution.

I would love to see a 70cc diesel engine. I think it would be so cool and it would serve me perfectly because I love torque! Another engine I'd love to see in motorized bikes is a nice little 25-30cc rotary engine. Rotaries are super engines as long as you don't overheat them or run 'em without oil.

An average compression ratio needed for diesel (non turbo) is about 20-23:1. The use of ether is helps lower the compression ratio a bit, make starting easier, and improves "throttle" response. One of my diesels (car) has a 19.1:1 compression ratio but it occasionally sees bost spikes of 25psi and 21psi continuous from the turbo.



******************************************************************
Spad,
Do you fly SPADS? If so, that's awesome. I'm a die hard spadder but got very little acceptance at my last flying club where I was basically an outcast for not flying airplanes costing in thousands of dollars.
 
Last edited:
What I'm trying to get at is to find a way to be totaly independent from this need to rely on components of an engine, if these components break down it renders the engine useless. For example, if you have no spark the ya stuck.
The deisel concept, it seems can be made from metals, lathe and bio-fuels.
Therefore it's do-able if push comes to shove to not have to rely on manufacturers of engine's components not DIY fixable, such as a CDI unit.

It ( deisel) can be a total DIY package at the extreme end of the scale.
So ya take a HT and modify to suit.
I would not pay to have someone do this, just be part of the project as a team effort, to "think-tank", develop, test etc.

A bit like climbing Everest, why do they clinb Everest ? Because it's there to be climbed. Same goes with this improvised HT deisel conversion, it's there to try and give it a go.
 
The HT engine block and components won't be able to withstand the increased compression ratio needed of a diesel engine. General Motors virtually destroyed the US Auto (not truck) diesel market by selling vehicles with gas engines that were converted to diesel. The jury rigged engines were horrendous and causes american's to swear off diesel cars while Europe was promoting small clean burning diesels that get 50+ mpg.

Unforunately, china is in the copy mode (making clones of other successful producdts) and haven't figured out new product development on their own yet.
 
Welcome to MBc, Beam. I use a Lifan on my trike. Probably more power than I need, but she's hauled me over 2,000 miles so far. I did change from the stock carb to a little Mikuni, but I'm very happy with it.
 
Back
Top