Starting Gear
The Way Forward
Getting The Gear The Aircraft The Engine The Radio Starting Gear The Cost True Story
This is all the gear that adds to the cost that you didn't expect! Starting an engine is an expensive business!
Starting with the fuel, most trainer engines will run on 5% nitro and may even run well on "straight" - no nitro. 5% nitro fuel costs aboute £16.00 a gallon with straight coming in at about £14.00. Best bet is to get 5% then try straight by "scrounging" a tankful from someone at the flying field.
Next problem is getting the fuel from its container into the model and for this you'll need a fuel pump. A manual pump costs around £12.00
Next you need the glow plug to glow. Remote glow starters are very common these days and cost about £15.00 if supplied with a suitable charger.
You can get combined glow starters and electric fuel pumps for around £25.00 which require a 12V battery.
Now you need to turn the engine over to get it to start. D.M.A.C. highly recommend the use of an electric starter for turning the engine over. This will cost about £25. to £60 for a starter capable of turning over anything up to a 15cc. (0.90cu" or "ninety") size engine. You will also require a 12V battery to power it - an old one from your car may still have enough life in it, otherwise a £30.00 car battery is perfect as it has enough "grunt" to turn most engines over almost indefinitely and, as a bonus, you probably already have a car battery charger at home. About £90 maximum is not a lot of money to pay to keep your hands away from the prop! Of course there are cheaper ways like "chicken sticks" and finger guards which cost a few pounds but hey!....It's your money and it's your fingers!