escadrille

I'm planning to return to control line flying after a 37-year hiatus. I'm in the process of building a Top Flite Flite Streak Junior and have a acquired a used K&B Torpedo .15 Greenhead engine to power it. The old engine looks pretty nice and seems to have strong compression but needs a needle valve and possibly other repair or replacement parts. My efforts to find a parts supply source on the internet have thus far been unsuccessful.

I will sincerely appeciate any help or information that will lead me to these parts.

Thank you,
E. R. (Buddy) Johnson
Mountain Home, AR

littlefly

Hello there

You are really looking on the wrong site. Try the StukaStunt controlline forum instead. Lots of info, parts and help there.
RC sites tend to thumb their noses at control line.

Cheers
littlefly

gcb

littlefly,
I disagree.
All RC sites that I know have a section for CL. Stuka Stuntworks is a great site. I'm there every day. They cover all CL disciplines, but mostly Precision Aerobatics (Stunt). I would ask there as well as here, but not instead of.
There are many of us who participate in more than one type of modeling. Many CL flyers also do RC and/or FF.


Buddy,
You might try posting in the wanted/for sale section on some sites also. Some folks keep their old, worn-out engines for parts. If you can't find a replacement needle for your K&B green head you can use a needle assembly for a Fox .15 or whatever is available at your local hobby shop.

George

escadrille

Littlefly, I appreciate your input and will take your advice. --Buddy

escadrille

Thanks George. Although I plan to repeat my inquiry on the Stuka Stunt Works site, I still think this site is very helpful and informative--two replies within 24 hours is pretty darn good! I'm sort of dumb when it comes to engines and didn't know the Fox needle valve would work on the Torpedo. --Buddy

Jim Thomerson

As I recall, the Torp 15 has a press fit spraybar . If you just need the needle, there is a fellow, Burnis Ray, (sorry don't immediately have an email) who might have one. If you use the Fox 15 NVA, you'll need to use the Fox spraybar. It should work fine. Your engine-airplane combination is a good one. Be sure and run fuel with castor oil, at least 20% and more won't hurt.

escadrille

Thanks Jim--If you locate Burnis Ray, please let me know. In the meantime, I'm going to try to locaate the Fox part per your suggestion. Best regards, Buddy

gcb

Buddy,

You did not mention if you needed the needle and spraybar or just the needle. If the spraybar is on the engine and you remove it as Jim said, I believe you need to push it from the thread side. You might want to be careful and protect the threads in case you find a needle later and want to restore it to original condition.

Good luck with it.

George

Edit: Are you returning to CL from RC or from non-modeling? What Jim said about fuels is very important. Modern engines, especially the large BB type can use much less oil that your K&B. Some RC fuels have as low as 14% lube (by volume). If you need to use these, add castor oil to get the content up to 20%-25%. If your engine has seen a lot of use, synthetic oil will remove any varnish seal that exists. I would recommend using an all-castor lubed fuel.

escadrille

George, thanks again for your help. I flew C/L as a teenager and later in Navy model club. In the interval, I've built flying models off and on, all freeflights, scale and sport, 1/2A gas and rubber-powered. I've never flown RC. A buddy of mine here recently started a C/L project, and I caught the bug from him. By the way, what engine do you recommend for a Brodak (ex-Goldberg) Shoestring Stunter? I'm leaning toward a new OS MAX .25 LA-S, but I don't know enough about the newer engines to be sure that's a good choice. Best regards, Buddy

gcb

Buddy,

I do not have an OS .25 LA-S but everything I've read indicates that it is a good engine. I do have a .15 LA-S that runs great.

Two things to watch out for: Don't over tighten the backplate screws on the plastic backplate...it can cause a leak. If you are the type that must torque down screws, slip washers between the backplate and the screws. The other thing is that using the remote needle takes a longer response time than one on the venturi. Some replace the remote needle with the .25 FP-S setup. I left the remote on my .15.

The newer engines do not need quite as much care with the fuel mix as the old iron. I would still use a good fuel with about 20% lube though, preferably half castor.

Speaking of FF, you might get the K&B .15 needle through a FF forum.

George

escadrille

George FYI: I did post this request with the Stuka Stunt Works forum, and within two days, a fellow named Steve Lotz contacted me and said he had a Torp. 15 needle valve he'd send me. If I've learned anything from my recent venture back into control line, it's the value of modelers' forums, this one and others. It's really refreshing and encouraging to find groups of people who are so generous with their time and expertise. This particular site was recommended to me by my son, who is an avid RC Flyer.

Thank you for the info on the OS engines.

E. R. (Buddy) Johnson