Skycopter .020

I recently acquired about 20-30cox engines and parts. I have six .020 Skycopter engines with yellow backing and tank. I would like to put them on Guillows planes. What do I have to do to turn them into freeflight engines?

scigs30 wrote:I recently acquired about 20-30cox engines and parts. I have six .020 Skycopter engines with yellow backing and tank. I would like to put them on Guillows planes. What do I have to do to turn them into freeflight  engines?

Which Guillows planes are you considering powering with the Pee Wee .020? I'm assuming when you say "free-flight".. that you mean "no radio". Most Guillows models are designed primarily for rubber-band ("free-flight") power.. but some can be converted for engines/elec. motors. See Guillows link below for the 300 series models. If you select one and move your cursor over the box artwork.. most will state "instructions" for gas/electric power. This series is relatively inexpensive and includes several 24" wingspan "high-wing" models.. which is probably your best bet. The instructions should tell you how to achieve the proper balance.. which will be CRITICAL! You will need to reinforce certain areas for the added torque and weight of a glow engine... as well as painting/sealing the model with a fuel-proof finish to protect it. Again; the instructions should mention these things.  

http://www.guillow.com/300Series.aspx

The Cox Pee Wee .020's off the skycopter models that you have, should work fine if you can connect a very small external fuel tank.. for example; a vertically mounted eye-dropper tube with a very small amount of fuel in it... with a fuel line attached to it's bottom leading to the engine with a gravity-flow. Test-run the engine to see how long it runs on the amount of fuel in your tank before you fly it. Even 10 seconds can seem like an eternity after it becomes airborne and you no longer have control over it. You can always hold onto it and wait to release it when there's just a few seconds of fuel left in the tank.

You'll want the model to climb in a circle when you release it.. and have a VERY LARGE obstruction-free area to fly it... on a calm day. It's better to have a few short (low-fuel) uneventful flights at first... until you get used to the models flying habits.

Here's a photo I found that shows a skycopter engine mounted to a block of wood for a test stand.