3M 170 Flight report

Tue Apr 1 12:33:22 AKST 2003

Hey Lance..I heard that you (AeroSlave) were the distributor of this engine 
and if so how much? With the pipe and header too? Thanks, Dave Sweatt

>From: s.vannostrand at kodak.com
>Reply-To: discussion at nsrca.org
>To: discussion at nsrca.org
>Subject: RE: 3M 170 Flight report
>Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 15:09:08 -0600
>
>The two I have are both using the recommended A5 plug in both positions.
>This saves a few bucks over the OSFs.  With about 2 gallons through each,
>3 of the 4 plugs are still working (one had an early life failure after
>only a short time).  The engine with only one plug working is still
>running fine.  I never replaced the plug, because I'm still being Mr.
>conservative and running the engine in.  On the ground the only difference
>I can see between the 2 vs. 1 plug is the achievable low end idle.  I
>agree with Jim's observations about the carb.  It does not have the same
>midrange sensitivity that other engines have.  I've run a Bolly 120N,
>AeroSlave, Macs quiet pipe and Mintor pipe and found it tolerated pipe
>changes easily without affecting midrange.
>    Testing with other plugs seems unecessary since the A5s produce the
>power and idling.  However, long term life of the plug and cost are also
>important factors.  The Bully 145 two plug head works great with KB1L
>plugs.  One set lasts me several months.  This is an inexpensive package,
>but don't try in on the Webra 145.  It seems to benefit from the OSF, but
>it is a single plug head.
>    The only problem with the 170 so far is that at this kind of power, the
>exhaust seems to be much hotter.  I've blown 2 couplers when a gap exists
>between the header and pipe.  But I guess the 4c engines are probably
>still hotter.
>
>I'll bring one to the Waco contest in 3 weeks for all you D6 boys to oogle
>over.  I'm painting my Aries#2 now so if it's done I'll have another 170
>mounted in there too.
>
>--Lance
>
>
>
>
>
>"Woodward James R Civ 412 TW/DRP (Test Ops)"
><James.Woodward2 at edwards.af.mil>
>Sent by: discussion-request at nsrca.org
>04/01/2003 12:01 PM
>Please respond to discussion
>
>
>         To:     discussion at nsrca.org
>         cc:
>         Subject:        RE: 3M 170 Flight report
>
>
>I need to check Eric.  There were some I had handy.  I was certain that
>two OSFs were overkill, so in went the A3.  The instructions recommend the
>"OSA5".  I'm going to try a number of different plug combinations and
>check rpms and make other observasions.  I have some A5s on order now.
>Jim
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Henderson,Eric [mailto:Eric.Henderson at gartner.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 9:41 AM
>To: discussion at nsrca.org
>Subject: RE: 3M 170 Flight report
>
>How were the plugs after the break-in? My 1.60 with two plugs started to
>kill the OS F's
>
>E.
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: discussion-request at nsrca.org [mailto:discussion-request at nsrca.org]On 
>Behalf Of Woodward James R Civ 412 TW/DRP (Test Ops)
>Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 11:37 AM
>To: discussion at nsrca.org
>Subject: 3M 170 Flight report
>Hi All,
>
>This last weekend I installed a 3M 170 in my Alliance.  The header
>attached to the engine with a dual o-ring system that allows for some
>adjustment.  I did not have to bend the header to make it fit correctly. I
>also used the 3M carbon pipe with header at stock length and ¼" gap
>between the pipe and header.  Saturday afternoon I was ready to break it
>in:  25% Cool Power Pro-Pattern, OSF in rear, OSA3 in middle, APC 17x10. I
>primed the engine with 3 flips of my finger over the carb at full throttle
>and reduced the throttle back to idle.  I attached my glow driver to one
>of the plugs and hit it with the starter.  The engine started IMMEDIATELY.
>  I raised the throttle to about ¼ and let it warm up some.  I ran it 3
>times, 5 minutes each, alternating between low, mid, and full throttle.
>During the first 5 minute session, the engine seemed to run just fine.  It
>would idle well, has as perfect of a mid-range as you could ever expect
>from a new engine, and accepted full throttle just fine.  The second
>session performed a little better.  At the end of the third 5 minute
>session, I decided that any more ground running was nonsense, and that
>this setup was ready to fly.
>
>Sunday morning I flew 5 flights.  Flight one could have been a contest
>round.  The engine flew very nicely and was producing a thick smoke trail.
>  Flight two I leaned the high speed needle a couple of clicks (still
>producing a thick smoke trail).  I tached the engine before flight three,
>it was turning 8500 rpm (17 x 10) the flight still had a thick smoke
>trail.  Flights 4 and 5 were a pure joy and if it wasn't for having to
>pack for a move to a new house, I would have stayed at the field.
>
>In between flight 4 and 5 I forgot to fuel the plane as I was talking
>about the engine to other folks and such.  It took me a second to figure
>out why the engine stopped.  I figured out that the plane was out of fuel
>pretty quickly, and refueled and resumed flights 4 and 5 without problem.
>
>I chose the 17 x 10 propeller because I did not want to load the engine
>too heavily during initial runs (my preference).  The plane had unlimited
>vertical - continuous rolls and snaps on uplines were easily done.  Thus
>far, the most remarkable/impressive thing to me is that the low-end has
>needed NO adjustment from break-in to flight.  Besides running out of
>fuel, the engine has NEVER quit from break-in to flight unless commanded
>to by the pilot.  First flight was the masters pattern - then some
>vertical stuff.  All positive or negative G, power-on or power-off,
>inverted or upright, maneuvers, I never heard the engine pop, hesitate, or
>puff-smoke.  The engine was "on" the whole time.  For instance, bottom of
>the center humpty, or bottom of the reverse Cuban 8 with 2/4, bottom of
>the 3 turn spin - all had smooth throttle when you were ready to advance.
>The pipe seems to perform very well without obvious jumps onto power or
>such.  I have not checked it with a sound meter, but it seems similar to
>the ES carbon pipe sound level, but with sort of  cross between carbon and
>AL  note to it.
>
>Everyone that has seen these engines remarks at how beautiful they are, or
>that "they are a work of art" and this may be an initial selling point.
>However, I think that as more flight reports emerge, we will see that
>their performance is what gets them moving.
>
>Jim W.
>

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