Hydro-bat by Vic Smeed: engine probs

It’s a really “Smoking Hot” model!! To quote the late John Lennon “Sir Walter Rahlgh was such a stupid get”. Although it needs an obscene amount of gold pinstripes to keep up with the rest of the paddock.
Super job on the build and covering!

Thanks guys. Plans were to put the gold lettering on the black background. I found out how to create the gold colour in WORD. I also downloaded the letter type proper to "John Player Special" tu use in Word. But once printed on transparent vinyl and stuck on the black background, the gold colour is not "dense" enough to remain gold. The results are better when stuck on white.

I started to finish the pylon. After glueing the tank and the hidden nuts to hold the engine, it was all covered with balsa. Then I shaped it with a plane and sand paper.

The finished boat weights 360g with radio gear. Add the pilot and it will be 370g.

WOW!!! That is really sharp Lieven! It sits nice in the water too. Another Masterpiece!!

VERY NICE! I like how the red colour of canopy bracket-thing "resonates" with the backplate of the engine Engine fairing/nacelle is also cool, with the "kamm-tail" style. And as usual in your project, superb workmanship

Sits nice in the water too as Roddie said, although the owner of the test pool (seen in the background) doesn't look too pleased

The pilot is in!! I painted him yesterday evening as he looked a bit pale in white plastic.





The centre of gravity is right on the central fin which corresponds with the engine's crankcase. If necessary, I can move the battery. Now, the battery lays flat against the rear bulkhead of the radio compartment.

We have 2 pigmy goats. The one on the picture is the biggest one. They're both boys and they are good fun. The Kamm tail was not made on purpose and I didn't realise it until you mentioned it Kari.

Thanks for your comments.

I have bad luck. I checked the Black Lynx engine and discovered a lot of play of the crankshaft in the crankcase bore. In fact, It's like waving a pencil in the Albert Hall. I tried to get some life out of it but after squirting a little fuel in the cylinder which would make it rev instantly resulted only in a rocking piston slamming the crank up and down. I don't know how the Black Lynx engine is assembled but this was a really bad match.

Post a vid when you get this one running at the local pond!

OVERLORD wrote:I have bad luck. I checked the Black Lynx engine and discovered a lot of play of the crankshaft in the crankcase bore. In fact, It's like waving a pencil in the Albert Hall. I tried to get some life out of it but after squirting a little fuel in the cylinder which would make it rev instantly resulted only in a rocking piston slamming the crank up and down. I don't know how the Black Lynx engine is assembled but this was a really bad match.

Geez.. that's a shame Lieven. I wonder if the crankshaft was machined incorrectly? Do you have a micrometer to check its' dimensions against a known/good crankshaft? Alternately; a spare crankcase to check whether the Lynx-crank fits with less slop? Had you run this engine at all before discovering this? Maybe Matt will help you out with a replacement bottom-end. I don't know if the Black Lynx comes with a H/D crankshaft.. but it seems I remember there were some defective H/D cranks sourced a while back. I don't know if it was Matt, Bernie or "both" that had them.

Matt will definitely clear matters up. Sometimes these things happen, I imagine all “new” engines are assembled with a mismatch of NOS and re-manufactured parts. Sometimes it works out and sometimes not. Anyway, a quick phone call or email will remedy the problem.

Ron