Inverted Bees

pkrankow wrote:The baby bee is a trainer engine, largely due to the short run time.  That it cannot do inverted or outsides is usually not an issue...for most of us.  Inside loops and wing overs are fine.  

http://coxengines.ca/aluminum-fuel-tank-for-cox-049-engine-stunt-version-silver-5cc.html

The pic is the 8cc, but it is the smaller, 5cc baby tank.

Last year Bernie started making these on request.  Unless you want it colored he makes them up as they sell in "silver" (bare aluminum) (color has to wait till an order is sent for color anodizing) The tubes are glued in with a special adhesive that is nitro proof (unlike JBweld and other epoxies, which are merely resistant, but eventually dissolve.)

Phil

PS Drill the air passage out to 5/64 or 2mm, put a BW back on it and it will be as powerful as a black widow.  Truly a fun arrangement.

thanks Phil. so the 8cc is a 5cc ?don't quite get that?? Thanks and that is very helpful/ and is .084 be the drill for the air intake on the back plate? And is that nitro glue your speeking of   o sorry I see now the tank I did not look at the info close enough   

I think the idea of connecting the two vents on a tanked Bee is a better idea for the vented 8cc tanks. With the Babe Bee vented backplates, where the vents are both next to the needle, I plug one of the. That keeps the fuel from pouring out inverted. Then to add fuel, I have to use a syringe with a needle small enough to insert into the remaining open vent. That lets air out around the needle so you can fill the tank.
Rusty

getback wrote:
thanks Phil. so the 8cc is a 5cc ?don't quite get that?? Thanks and that is very helpful/ and is .084 be the drill for the air intake on the back plate? And is that nitro glue your speeking of   o sorry I see now the tank I did not look at the info close enough   

Read the link description carefully about the pic and tank size.

I don't drill out back plates since the operation becomes much more difficult in my experience (they are already larger than 5/64 or .078 inch). Boring the tank out to 5/64 or 2mm is still "far" from the limit that is acceptable for easy operation, but a letter/number drill is needed to get to the limit. The correct size is mentioned in Paul Gibeault's guide (.082 inch)
http://coxengines.ca/engine-and-fuel-guides.html


I want extra power, and will work some for it, but I do not like sacrificing ease of operation in the quest. I am sure in a contest that .004 diameter difference may be the difference between winning and loosing, but I'm not racing.

Apparently the glue Bernie uses is special and quite expensive, specifically formulated for aluminum and nitromethane.

Test out a sample, high nitro glow fuel softens JBweld and other epoxies. For an intake where it will dry out right quick this is fine, but for immersion, and a closed container...I don't know. I know enough people who have repaired low nitro (5%-10%) plastic glow tanks with JB weld just fine, but the repairs are from the outside in all cases, and cover many many times the area of the injury.

Phil

Maybe we just need one of these!



June 1950 MAN

will a product eng run ok when it is mounted inverted?... thanks in advance

pkrankow wrote:...Drill the air passage out to 5/64 or 2mm, put a BW back on it and it will be as powerful as a black widow.  Truly a fun arrangement.

A BW  #1 cylinder might help with that. Its dual ports are cut deeper than a Super Bee's dualies.
Rusty

akjgardner wrote:will a product eng run ok when it is mounted inverted?... thanks in advance

Yes. You may have to start it upright if you find it floods easily. Once started it will perform like an upright mounted Bee

Does nobody use a "klunk" in their external tanks these days?  I only use external tanks and I've always used klunks in them, and I've never had a problem.  I run a couple of Bees upside down and have never had a reason to even wonder about this question.  In other words, they've always worked - just as I expected.

Clunks in small tanks can be a problem. Bladder is easier for small tanks.

Phil

On a baby bee, is there any reason you can't invert the backplate so the proper nipples/vents are in the right orientation, while the piston is downward? I know this isn't the same as a stunt tank, but at least your fuel won't go draining out (unless you do most of your flying inverted!).

VUgearhead wrote:On a baby bee, is there any reason you can't invert the backplate so the proper nipples/vents are in the right orientation, while the piston is downward? I know this isn't the same as a stunt tank, but at least your fuel won't go draining out (unless you do most of your flying inverted!).

Works just fine, exactly the way one would expect it to.
Phil