Quick Tips

 I stopped flying years ago and want to start again. Now my engine is frozen. How do you unfreeze a frozen engine?

The most common cause of a frozen engine is the deterioration of oil residues left after an engine is run. The castor oil that some fuels use as the lubricant will deteriorate over time causing the piston and sleeve to lock-up. Some synthetic lubricants are hydroscopic and will draw moisture causing rusting, particularly if it has an iron sleeve. The only safe way we've tried is to soak the engine in WD40 and wait. And wait. And wait. Before storing an engine, put an oil like Marvel Mystery oil in the air intake and hand-prop it to get the oil into the cylinder.

How do I install hinges on my radio control airplane without gluing them so they don't move?

The hinges have a metal pin joining the two halves of the hinge so that the hinge flexes, enabling the control surface (such as the elevator or rudder) to move. Before gluing the hinge in place, smear some Vaseline along the section housing the metal pin. This will prevent glue from immobilizing the hinge.

I'm having problems with my 40 size engine. It runs fine when it's on the test bench, but when I put it into my plane I'm having the following problems:

1: Fuel coming out at the seam where the cone baffle meets the rear part of the silencer.

2: When radio and receiver are turned on...engine cuts out...no matter what setting the radio is at e.g.: full mid or idle it dies

3: No matter how tight I get the prop nut it seems to pop off after about the 3rd start

We checked with the engine manufacturer's technical department and here's some thoughts on solutions:

1: Fuel coming out at the seam where the cone baffle meets the rear part of the silencer.

The technician said that some leakage is OK. But if it's a lot:

• Check to see if the gasket in the silencer is cracked or broken.

• Check to see if the fuel and vent lines are reversed coming from the fuel tank to the engine and muffler.

• Check to see that the vent tube in the fuel tank is pointing up.

2: When radio and receiver are turned on...engine cuts out...no matter what setting the radio is at e.g.: full mid or idle it dies

The radio shouldn't have any effect on whether the engine runs. If after checking to make sure the items in #1 above are OK, put in a new glow plug.

3: No matter how tight I get the prop nut it seems to pop off after about the 3rd start

Make sure that you're using the serrated prop washer

 How can I keep small screws from falling all over the place before I can even get them started with the screwdriver?

For those screws that are recessed and hard to put in, use a drop of super glue and affix it to the screw driver. Glue will hold long enough to set the screws.

 How do you repair holes in Monokote?

If these holes were caused by a crash, I'd put the plane out of sight and out of mind for a couple of days. This will let you look at the damage in a calmer mood and you'll be better able to evaluate the extent of the damage with a cooler head.

If it's a large hole, I generally cut back the damaged Monokote to the point where the patch would have wood framework on all four sides.

Clean the area with an alcohol based cleaner to get rid of any oily residue

Cut the patch slightly large than the hole and apply as normal. Air bubbles at the overlap can be removed by pricking it with a pin.