Stutz Aircrate

No I told him that if I could not find the balance of the system I would just give it to him.  

I'm leaning toward moding it for a C/L if that's even possible, or more probably just transferring the radio system from one of my Airfield foamies into it.  These systems are so light and micro they can adapt to most anything along this line.  

The write up indicates that the wing length is 39 inches.  I will take the plans to Staples and have them blow it up and print to that length and everything else should fall into place.  

I'm looking forward to pulling and rebuilding that early Enya .09.  It sure is a mess right now.



Got a good bit of "down" dialed in too.



I love the wheels and tires on it too. One time they held air.





Bob

Cleaned up that early .09 today.



I still have to straighten up that needle.





Major difference between the early .09 and the later versions is the exhaust is on opposite sides.

You guys never cease to amaze me with the projects you are inspired to take on.

An awful thought occurred to me... some day, all of our planes are likely to look like that.
Picture Wesley Crusher flying a fixed up old Baby Flite Streak he found with a Tee Dee .051, flying it on a holodeck grass circle with replicated glow fuel.
Rusty

Those are the old Trexler wheels, love it.

http://www.trexlerballoonwheel.com

rsv1cox wrote:

Major difference between the early .09 and the later versions is the exhaust is on opposite sides.

I believe the most prolific Enya .09 is the 09-III with the exhaust to the left as pictured. These are good for inverted mounting as it places the exhaust at the outside of the circle. This was followed by the 09-IV which was effectively identical apart from the exhaust being to the right. The crankcase appears to be the only part # which differs. Front housing, piston, liner, head all seem to be the same. Early .09-IVs had the same design of exhaust but the later ones, as pictured, had bolt holes incorporated in a wider exhaust.

Rod.

The Enya .09-III is a very powerful engine, very competent and holding well with plain bearing sport Schneurle .09's. I find the 7x6 wood props providing very good thrust. Since they put out maximum power at lower RPM's compared with Schneurles around 12,000 RPM, trick is to match the horsepower curve going with larger diameter or steeper pitched props.

Even Peter Chinn aluded to that stating there was no advantage to running smaller props than 7x4. I flew a half-A RC aircraft using a 7x3 prop, it flew very .049 like. With a 7x6 Top Flite wood prop, it became a different beast, flew with speed and authority. That's how much a diiference running the right prop makes.

I haven't tried an 8x4 or 8x3 prop yet, but this engine ought to handle that just fine. And mind you, this was with an aftermarket Tatone .09-.19 Peace Pipe muffler. I found that the engine is easier to hand start if one uses a lower inertia wood prop. It seems very happy with them.

I think the Enya .09's are probably the world's best kept secret around, definitely worth their weight in gold.

I shouldn't make a blanket statement like "The major difference between early .09's and later versions is that the exhaust is on opposite sides".  I don't know that for sure.   

I only have six .09's, five of which are just .09's without the Romans, the sixth being the IV. None have a model designator like 4003 etc..  There seems to be no difference outside of the obvious between the throttle valves and the control lines.  The only one with the right exhaust is the IV.  

Funny thing, the .09 that came on the Stutz (pictured) had an idle bar glow plug installed, but when I tried to use it after cleaning, the piston would hit it and go no further.  After installing a new Enya #3 without the idle bar it turned over just fine.  I could not check it prior to cleaning as the motor was frozen solid.  

I see no problem dunking the complete engine in the AF boil.  Sure it's going to remove the varnish on the piston/cylinder wall but a few runs using my higher volume castor should replace that shortly.  After all they came new from the factory sans castor.  All the engines that I have cleaned run perfectly.  I would like to tach them before and after though.

Bob

O boy O boy !! now I get to learn something at someone else's expensive    Heck I still have to find mine if it were a Cox I would know were it is , you got them looking GOOD my friend I like my .09 ? And I think you may be right on the cleaning BUT >> if there is wear and the castor shellac ? is gone then you may wear the engine out before it can revive on the rerun . Get Me   Eric

getback wrote:...And I think you may be right on the cleaning BUT >> if there is wear and the castor shellac ? is gone then you may wear the engine out before it can revive on the rerun .  Get Me   Eric

Eric, I didn't have time to review this thread, but if it's a Cox or steel engine, then, if you do scrub it clean of varnish and it seems down on power, I would use some pure or even 90% castor fuel, and give it a bunch of sloppy runs with a few peaks mixed in. A pint or so of fuel. Finish it off with some screaming lean runs to cook it good. Hopefully that would restore the varnish with a nice clean beneficial coat in the cylinder and ball socket. Then switch to a more modern blend to keep it that way. Just seems like the thing to do. I could be wrong.
Rusty

rsv1cox wrote:I shouldn't make a blanket statement like "The major difference between early .09's and later versions is that the exhaust is on opposite sides". I don't know that for sure. I only have six .09's, five of which are just .09's without the Romans, the sixth being the IV. None have a model designator like 4003 etc.  There seems to be no difference outside of the obvious between the throttlehttps://2img.net/u/3015/29/34/60/smiles/1702820958.gif valves and the control lines.  The only one with the right exhaust is the IV.

Bob, AFAIK, there isn't much difference from what others have said about the III versus IV. I don't know, because I don't own an IV. It is exclaimed to have a touch more power, but it must be very minor indeed. Enya was always making improvements to their engines. The III does not have any engine markings indicating it as the 3rd series like the II and IV. All it has is the "09".

Funny thing, the .09 that came on the Stutz (pictured) had an idle bar glow plug installed, but when I tried to use it after cleaning, the piston would hit it and go no further.  After installing a new Enya #3 without the idle bar it turned over just fine.  I could not check it prior to cleaning as the motor was frozen solid.

The Enya runs fine without an idle bar. I've never had to resort to an idle bar for small engines. Since the amount of fuel is small due to its small displacement, I doubt that fuel droplets would form in sufficient quantity to snuff out the glow plug element flame during idle. 1966 OS Max .10R/C ran better with a standard plug than an idle bar plug. It would idle at long lengths with a standard hot short Swanson's red hot plug, then easily and quickly ramp up to full power without any problems.

I see no problem dunking the complete engine in the AF boil.  Sure it's going to remove the varnish on the piston/cylinder wall but a few runs using my higher volume castor should replace that shortly.  After all they came new from the factory sans castor.  All the engines that I have cleaned run perfectly.  I would like to tach them before and after though. Bob

It would be good to get some comparative numbers. Sceptre Flight has the .09-II and .09-III engine tests, but not the .09-IV. These Enyas are very long lasting and it is possible that it may still have good compression. Another saving grace with the Enyas is that I had one, a .15-III with very low compression. Once it lit off, it didn't seem to make any difference in its run once it fired up, had good power. Your all Castor fuel would be able to build up a varnish seal if you removed it and it needed it.

That tarnished aluminum will clean up very nicely with some elbow grease, steel wool, Scotchbrite pad, very fine sanding paper if needed and Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish.

Thanks for your recall and observations.  I'm sure that you have already seen this video posted over on RCGroups, but it's worth a look for others that have not.  Makes me want to restore the system in the Stutz.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2495055

That .09 IV is badly corroded, more so than is apparent in the pictures.  When I disassembled it I discovered that the baffle on the piston had disintegrated probably expelling the debris out the exhaust port into the muffler.

A new piston/cylinder is on it's way, but removing the existing cylinder is proving a problem.  They usually pop right out when the piston reaches TDC and hits the ridge normally found there on used engines.  Not happening on this one.  I got the piston out but the cylinder is probably corroded in place in the housing.

I could not get the stains out of the muffler so I had to media blast it, then worked it down smooth with oil and fine steel wool. After picture is before I smoothed the surface. I will have to do the same to the case after I get that stuck cylinder liner out.





Thanks again for your comments.

Bob

rsv1cox wrote:Thanks for your recall and observations.  I'm sure that you have already seen this video posted over on RCGroups, but it's worth a look for others that have not.  Makes me want to restore the system in the Stutz. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2495055

No, I hadn't seen that, Bob, thanks for the link. I never flew full GG, but came close with an Ace pulse and quick blip sequential throttle. My favorite was a Top Flite Schoolmaster with the OS Max .10R/C. Also flew just pure rudder only. Without throttle, that was a blast to fly and control. I have 2 systems, the one on 72 MHz wide band would require a change in frequency. I think narrow banding was an AMA requirement, not an FCC one. But since few fly now on 72 MHz, interference wouldn't be a problem. The other I bought on E-Bay 4 years ago is 27 MHz. The bang-bang from the Adams actuator was always a novelty.

That .09 IV is badly corroded, more so than is apparent in the pictures.  When I disassembled it I discovered that the baffle on the piston had disintegrated probably expelling the debris out the exhaust port into the muffler.  A new piston/cylinder is on it's way, but removing the existing cylinder is proving a problem.  They usually pop right out when the piston reaches TDC and hits the ridge normally found there on used engines.  Not happening on this one.  I got the piston out but the cylinder is probably corroded in place in the housing.

It may be locked in by congealed Castor oil. I've managed to free mine by soaking for 5-10 minutes in boiling water or heated antifreeze. The heat loosens the congealed Castor, usually just pulls right out with help from needle nose pliers.

could not get the stains out of the muffler so I had to media blast it, then worked it down smooth with oil and fine steel wool. After picture is before I smoothed the surface. I will have to do the same to the case after I get that stuck cylinder liner out.

You did better than I. I had a similar dingy earlier Enya .35-III muffler. I used Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish to remove the stains. It of course removed some of the bead blast finish, making it look better than OEM. But your work restored the looks to new.

Thanks again for your comments. Bob

You're welcome. It will be neat to get that old .09 back into running status again. I find doing such very rewarding, taking an old engine and bringing it back to life, especially these classics. Have an old .19-VI TV and Testors McCoy .35 Red Head both with excellent compression but a bent crankshafts, with some tapping persuasion straightened both cranks restoring them to good runners.

The saving grace of these old Enya .09's is that they can be bought for under $30 from E-Bay, if for some unknown reason the salvage and restoration operation can't be successfully completed. This size of engine is my favorite as they have a touch more power than the half-A's: 2 Enya .09-III CL's, 2 .09-III TV's, 2 Fuji .099S-II ABC's (last of the cross scavenged in ABC no less!), 2 A.C. Gilbert .11 Thunderheads, 3 OS Max .10R/C's (2 with exhaust restrictor baffle, 1 with muffler).

JPvelo wrote:Those are the old Trexler wheels, love it.

http://www.trexlerballoonwheel.com

Thanks for that link JP, I printed it out.  A few other old timer parts were found on the Stutz too:









I have no idea what that tube coming out of the back of the fuselage is for......

Staples finally got their large format copier repaired and I was able to get the Strutz Aircrate project going again.

The problem is they could only blow it up to a top wing spread of 36" rather than the 39" of the original.  So, rather than going into a lot of math scaling things up and losing the plans to go by, I'm building the wings to the plans.







It was designed to fly with the heavy R/C systems and batteries of the times, so if I build it as a control line or a simple two channel system using the new ultra light radios the lighter weight should compensate for the smaller wing area.  

I have thought of sacrificing some of the parts from one of my unbuilt  Neiuport 28 kits but will probably just use existing balsa that I have on hand.  I will probably used silk span for the wings, but have thought about sheeting them.  

I should have had Staples make me two copies of the plans as I will have to cut out the five different ribs, and I like to keep at least one copy of unmolested plans.  

I will trace the ribs on to some luan and use them for templates unless someone has a better idea.  Some modification will have to be made to the top wing cradles and the fuselage relief for the lower wing, but these are easily handled.

I am really, really eager to start this project, but will probably put it off for colder days.  I just enjoy to much being out in the West Virginia woods this time of year.  

Pictures of a finished model from R/C Groups

Thats a cool project!! Love bi-planes! Good luck!!

Excellent Bob, that's ideal to pass the short winter days and long winter evenings. I hope you will do a restoration thread on this!

Glad you found the plans and are ready to restore one fine ole bird should be a lot of fun and look good too > Eric

Thanks for the comments guys.

The actual fuselage is about 1 1/2" longer than the one on the plans. A friend suggested than maybe Staples could rotate the original 90 degrees and print it on 48" paper allowing a one to one ratio for the rebuild. Checking into that.

The short lower wing doesn't lend itself to C/L, I'm not sure if I could get the wing guide out far enough for secure control. I may be forced into a three channel R/C control system.

Onward and upward.... Bob