Red Raider
70cc twin V2
Good point, and one that I, for one, tend to forget. We get hung up on trying to match our numbers with the manufacturer, and don't trust our own judgement. There's a case for on board telemetry.
DLE 85
- Thread starter Red Raider
- Start date
ChickenBalls
"Cool Guy"
Finally fired the 85 up last night to tune, first run on 26x10 CF Falcon 6300 I'm Happy
Red Raider
70cc twin V2
That's great! I'm glad you like it! I'm just about ready to fit mine to the P-51.
Truckracer
50cc
Well after a long delay due to weather and a dozen other life issues, I finally put (3) test flights on my DLE85 today. As a few points of background, I bought the engine for evaluate as a replacement in my old Ziroli Skyraider I’m slowly refurbishing and updating. The Skyraider has always flown with an old Q75 that is extremely reliable but it’s also a shaker as they’re known to be. For testing, the engine is currently mounted in an old and heavy Lanier 33% Staudacher that was always powered by a Zenoah GT-80 twin in the past.
The DLE85 had the carb needle leaking problem that was common out of the box and this was repaired as covered in severel threads I posted in various forums. The fix was easy and required no new parts and less than 15 minutes of work. I mounted the engine in the Staudacher w/o the vibration mount (solid mount) and I’m using a Xoar 26-10 laminated prop and the stock muffler with full length Teflon exhaust stack extension. I found this engine also had the Rcexl “double spark” ignition sensor problem so the sensor was replaced with one of RC Extreme Power’s Rcame sensors with standard timing.
To make a very long story short, this engine is a pussy cat! It started right up and the carb adjusted quite easily and well within normal needle adjustment ranges. Needle settings are not at all critical with a fair amount of range between too lean and too rich. After just a few ounces of fuel through it, it seemed quite reliable so off it went for test flight #1. It ran fine but was quite rich in the air so the plane was landed and the “H” needle tweaked leaner. Still too rich, the process was repeated a couple of times until results were as desired. Engine compression has been good since first start up and it is improving with run time. The ring is stock with the typical DLE fairly wide ring end gap of about ,015” in this case. Hot restarts are one or two flips w/o choke.
The engine is picking up power with every flight and throttle response has been good since the first flight, though it certainly improved as the engine was leaned. This is a heavy old plane and the 26-10 might be just a bit too much prop though it might be OK after break in is complete. Vertical performance is unlimited which is far better than the old Zenoah ever was! The exhaust note from the stock muffler is very pleasant with a bit of a deep note … no bark as is common with some stock mufflers. The sound is very similar to my DLE 61 on stock exhaust.
For me, the most impressive thing about this engine is the vibration level! Quite smooth from a tick over idle on through full throttle. Not as smooth as the Zenoah twin but far smoother than the Q75 the DLE is intended to replace. I’m impressed with the vibration level (yes, I said that before) and remember, this is with a solid mounted engine and no rubber mount. Please understand this is a much stronger firewall and airplane in general than some modern 3D planes so this should be taken into consideration where vibration is concerned.
Overall, this seems like a keeper and maybe it might stay on the old Staudacher as I had a ball flying it again after it being a ceiling queen for 8 years! Time will tell what my opinion of the engine will be down the road but first impressions are very good.
The DLE85 had the carb needle leaking problem that was common out of the box and this was repaired as covered in severel threads I posted in various forums. The fix was easy and required no new parts and less than 15 minutes of work. I mounted the engine in the Staudacher w/o the vibration mount (solid mount) and I’m using a Xoar 26-10 laminated prop and the stock muffler with full length Teflon exhaust stack extension. I found this engine also had the Rcexl “double spark” ignition sensor problem so the sensor was replaced with one of RC Extreme Power’s Rcame sensors with standard timing.
To make a very long story short, this engine is a pussy cat! It started right up and the carb adjusted quite easily and well within normal needle adjustment ranges. Needle settings are not at all critical with a fair amount of range between too lean and too rich. After just a few ounces of fuel through it, it seemed quite reliable so off it went for test flight #1. It ran fine but was quite rich in the air so the plane was landed and the “H” needle tweaked leaner. Still too rich, the process was repeated a couple of times until results were as desired. Engine compression has been good since first start up and it is improving with run time. The ring is stock with the typical DLE fairly wide ring end gap of about ,015” in this case. Hot restarts are one or two flips w/o choke.
The engine is picking up power with every flight and throttle response has been good since the first flight, though it certainly improved as the engine was leaned. This is a heavy old plane and the 26-10 might be just a bit too much prop though it might be OK after break in is complete. Vertical performance is unlimited which is far better than the old Zenoah ever was! The exhaust note from the stock muffler is very pleasant with a bit of a deep note … no bark as is common with some stock mufflers. The sound is very similar to my DLE 61 on stock exhaust.
For me, the most impressive thing about this engine is the vibration level! Quite smooth from a tick over idle on through full throttle. Not as smooth as the Zenoah twin but far smoother than the Q75 the DLE is intended to replace. I’m impressed with the vibration level (yes, I said that before) and remember, this is with a solid mounted engine and no rubber mount. Please understand this is a much stronger firewall and airplane in general than some modern 3D planes so this should be taken into consideration where vibration is concerned.
Overall, this seems like a keeper and maybe it might stay on the old Staudacher as I had a ball flying it again after it being a ceiling queen for 8 years! Time will tell what my opinion of the engine will be down the road but first impressions are very good.
Terryscustom
640cc Uber Pimp
I have not seen any needle leaking issue in mine, purchased within the last two months and probably 35 flights total now. Went from a test plane with stock muffler to a Decathlon with a canister. SUPER smooth running engine so far and also telling it's better with each flight. Loves the Falcon 26x10 carbon.
Truckracer
50cc
I'm sure my engine was an earlier production one that still had the carb issue. I thought they would resolve the problems and from your report, they have. From my early runs, I was thinking the Falcon 26-10 would be the prop of choice. I'm surprised there are so few reports about this engine.