My brother who has been wanting to try a simple gas engine (mostly from the concern about access to nitro fuel in Kerala, when he goes home on vacation), got an RCG 26cc gas engine from HobbyCity.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9615

In order to avoid crash issues, the engine was mounted upright (instead of inverted, which many people do), so the muffler is somewhat close to the prop, but there is enough clearance.  Ran two tanks on the ground, and each tank took more than 30 minutes    

Then made one take-off and dead-stick landing, as the needles are still being worked on.  Fuel was regular 90 octane petrol with 2T oil in  30:1 ratio to start with.

The plane it was mounted on is a "Stick", and the nose wheel is an added concern.  My brother says he will convert to tail-dragger before the next flying session.

It will be interesting to see how this performs long term.

PS: Sorry about the mobile phone pics (with the props spinning).

Can you give a detailed review on this engine? Even I have plans of getting one.

Where were the shots taken - on the beach ?

I will continue to post detailed reviews as we test more.  Typically my brother comes to fly only on Friday mornings though.


It is a make-shift field we fly here in Qatar, because the real field is too far  And yes, we are only about a kilometer away from the beach.

http://www.rcindia.org/gas-glow-nitro-planes/another-scratch-built-bipe-labor-of-love/msg7772/#msg7772

Just realized that this is the same engine that is also referred to as the RCGF brand also (in addition to RCG). 

Making it clear on this thread so that people searching for RCGF will also find this thread

The high winds and rain died down, so went to the field.  Continued tweaking and testing the RCGF 26cc engine.  Running it rich, until about 10 tanks (been through about 4 so far, as each tank runs for a long time).  Very sensitive to needle setup, and we don't think we have it fine tuned yet (but it seems characteristic of gas engines).  The transition from low to high needle response still has issues.  As it got dark quickly, we decided to call it a day.

During the first start of the day, we had to choke it until it started popping, then remove the choke.  Now it starts on a single flick with the hands.  Overall, so far it looks like a nice cost effective engine.  Of course a lot more flying is needed before solid conclusions can be drawn.

The plane the engine was mounted is also a bit inadequate for it. Had to add a significant amount of weight to the tail (which can be seen in the pictures with a black velcro strap). My brother converted it to a tail dragger, but left the nose wheel still on, and it looks like a 4 legged wierdo

In addition, my brother already got the younger brother of this engine, which is the RCGF 15cc engine !  It will be mounted on a 60 size plane, and should be more fun as it is a right size plane for that engine.

Some one just pointed out that this thread already has quite a bit of praise for RCGF engines for the VFM ("value for money") aspect !

http://www.rcindia.org/gas-glow-nitro-planes/getting-into-gassers/

The RCGF 15cc one is being mounted on a Tiger 60 (http://www.carlgoldbergproducts.com/airplanes/gpma1968.html). 

One good thing about this engine is that it takes normal props (does not need the wooden ones with 4 screws).

Looks like a great way for people to move from glow to gas.  Time will tell about performance, durability and other aspects.

Mr Anwar what is the weight of the 15 CC gas engine along with muffler and electronic ignition?

Where can we get this engine from?

Are Gas engines available smaller than even 15cc ?

Strange enough, can't find it in HobbyCity anymore   

It was here, previously : 

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?catname=Gas+Engines&idCategory=80&ParentCat=55

I hope they put it back in stock soon.

I am not aware of anything smaller being widely used, even 15cc is kind of pushing it.

This is the manufacturers page, and distributors are listed there :

http://www.zjrcgf.com/productdetail.asp?id=103

Break-in over. 

The starting procedure was something like this :

With ignition off, choke closed (ie enabled) and throttle open, flip the props a few times.  This will draw fuel into the engine ("priming"). Then turn the power to ignition, with the choke still one and throttle set a bit above ignition, flick the prop until the engine sputters. Once the engine hits and sputters, open the choke (i.e, disable it), and flick a few more times and that should start it.

Maiden tomorrow ! 

The 15cc maiden flight went well. 

But after the first tank, the engine refused to start, even with a starter. So we opened the plug up, and noticed that it had significant amount of black oil residue on it, and the engine chamber was also in a similar state.  Cleaned both up with petrol itself, and then the engine started.

This was traced down to two things. One is that the can where the mixed fuel was kept has a leak, so pertol had evaporated out, and that make the fuel too oil-rich (it was already rich, 1:25, as recommended in the engine manual  for break-in). Secondly, the 2 stroke oil we used was full synthetic (that was what was available), and the manufacturer recommends a petroleum based oil.

Our co-flyer and forum member Murali also got the same engine with my brother, and it is mounted on a full 3D plane.  Was being broken-in at the field today, would be fun to see the performance on that bird.

My brother has some video, will see if he posts it on Youtube.

We will get some NGK plugs too.

Couple of pics of Murali bhai tweaking his 15cc engine.

wow nice engine....price please !

Around $120 from Hobbycity, plus shipping.

Video... courtesy of my brother

thanks, will wait an see if HK guys start selling again.

RCGF 26cc engine is available @ hobbycity

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9615&Product_Name=RCG_26cc_Gas_engine_w/_CD-Ignition_2.6HP/1.95kw

RCGF 15cc First Flight (same video as above with sound)

hi jamal

i was referring to the 15cc gas engine !

No, HobbyCity do not have 15cc yet.  I bought them directly from manufacturer in China.  www.zjrcgf.com

They were willing to ship even 1 pc, I bought 2 pcs.   Shipping is expensive as they ship only EMS/TNT, no air parcel.

oh okay, so what was the total amount u payed and transit time ?

thanks

sahil

The cost of a engine will come to about $180-$200 including shipping.  I got the engine in 3 days.

I was under the impression that it was from Hobbycity based on our discussions, and was surprised to see it was not listed there anymore.  Now I know why !

BTW, more and more people are expressing interest in these now, as glow fuel with nitro content is expensive.  And the whole "weight issue" also seems to be less of a factor with these. You do run into the need for reinforcing the fuse with epoxy and CA though, as the vibrations caused by these engines are really significant.

My brother moved the 26cc engine to a "plan built" 2.5m Piper Cub, which he got second hand from someone. As the engine is still undergoing break-in, the rpm we obtained was lower than what is expected of the engine, guess it will get there after a few more tanks.

So far, only good things to say about these engines.

You love taking swipes Anwar dont you?
BTW the cub is not a cub, just look at the tail shape and the windows, may be cub look alike
It looks like more of other L series from US used during WW II

Thanks for the review of RCGF,
I have a 17 cc RCSC, I guees they are all mfg at the same factory. You review gives me confidence to search for bird for the engine

Captain - It is a fairly recently acquired skill, and I had couple of true masters as teachers

Joking aside, I would rather have you look at this as me (a relative newcomer) having learned something from someone who knows what he is talking about... yet proves every once in a while that he is also only human (like the rest of us) by the way the information is delivered

Regarding the engine, there is a lot of interest on our field towards these, especially the 15cc one. Some people seemed to be astonished by the availability and performance at this size. I will keep on adding anything of significance here. 

Interesting page on tuning Walbro carbs.

http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/glowpower/gas_engine_tune_1.htm

What caught my attention is that the "low needle has no effect on idle", it is done by a separate idle screw.  It looks like we need to look at the "low" needle as more like the "middle" needle.

Wow... now they have the regular mount versions also !  Pretty much a drop-in replacement now !

http://www.zjrcgf.com/productdetail.asp?id=115

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=15381