Rudolph Hart

Oh for sure that's bad jim,you should never break the law.
ps rowdog stop takin off centre pics as good as gary does when you ask for a straight down the intake tube of an fa182td look

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Hey there Pete, do my home made velocity stacks make the Saito 90-T look 182ish?

Great Shirt.

the Wasp

My Feedback: (1)

hey Dave, your 100T is prettier than mine LOL

Jim

the Wasp

My Feedback: (1)

hey guys, I am going to tell you all a life teaching story that I have not thought about in some 4 or 5 years,

well I saw a full size plane crash once.. I saw a model on the Net last night of the same plane so I thought I would tell you what I saw, the story is not funny, but how I came around to seeing this crash was bewildering to me, I mean why was it that all those things came together for me to be in the spot I was in to see what happen,, back then I didn't think why I was there, but today I see it as a "life's teaching event".

so guys this happen in 92, and my first born was just 2. I worked for a gas station, the station had Herts rental cars. well I had nothing to do with the rentals, but something went wrong that day but I can't remember what it was, so I had to deliver a car to the airport, you see if you delivered a car to the airport you got paid $30. $30 to drive a car 10 miles and wait 10 minutes for a ride back to the gas station>> "Hey Now that's a good deal".. now you got to know on that day that I had not been to the airport in some 10 years or longer. and in that time they had lengthen the runway.

well as I got closer I could see the runway had been lengthen and I look and I see this plane coming in to land so I'm all hopped up on seeing it land so I slow down considerably, well the plane get's down to about 10, 15 feet off the ground and it just "drops out of the sky" slamming it's belly into the runway.

now think about it, I was on a two lane road parallel to the runway, I was only doing about 30 MPH, maybe 35 at the most "before" I slowed down, I know that high wing planes can land at those speeds, but this was not a high wing plane, it was not going fast, so how fast was this plane flying, I can't say ! but for a guess, I would say around 40 MPH.

well,, here I am, I'm all "WOW'ed" out on seeing a plane crash,, it was my first time at the airport in some 10, 12 years and I see a plane crash, I see it skid off the runway, but it didn't skid much, I would say less than 100ft,, WOW, so I stepped on the throttle a bit,

I get to the airport, go into the Herts rental counter and say I saw the crash, I knew the girl there and she said the tower saw it, I set down "wow I actually saw a plane crash, I can't believe it"..

well. some 5 minutes later as I was setting there waiting for my ride back to the gas station this women comes in the door from the runway with her hand curled up in front of her chest, and she was shaking like a leaf, I mean boy was she shaking hard, I walked up to her and I asked her if she was OK and she went on to say>> "yes, it was our first flight, it flies wonderful, it just doesn't land, he is OK, he built it in our garage, it just doesn't land"..

wow, still today I don't know what in life put me in that spot that day, I guess it was for the fact that I was there to learn a lessen. but I can tell you I know other people that needed to learn a lesson much more than I did,, and I tell you I regret that I did not put my arms around that women and hug her, I should have..

the plane was a Quicky, they don't land slow !!

Jim

acdii

I saw flight 191 go in. That was one massive fireball.

the Wasp

My Feedback: (1)

wow,that was a terrible crash

Jim

Rudolph Hart

Your engine is a lot cleaner than mine
A little bit.I like the beautifully spun intakes on my fa182td and i wish saito had made them in the brass/copper you use.Can't remember if i asked you are they clipped .22 cases or something a bit bigger.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

You can buy bulk K&S tubing bits and pieces, they are two of those pieces, the ID is exactly the same as the carb intake passages, When I drilled the carb for a tight push when I inserted them I nearly siamezed them. I doubt that they can do much good, the air has to make a hard, square 90 degree turn at the back of the carb.

Jesse Open

Gotta have the bell, not just for looks,

function too.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Jim, have you tried the aluminum back plate on the 82, I'd like to hear how that went, Thanks, Dave

the Wasp

My Feedback: (1)

Dave, no I have not, I will tonight for you

Jim

the Wasp

My Feedback: (1)

the 82 aluminum back plate:
hey Dave, I got right on that and tried it, it did not fit, there is a step on the back plate so it will only go into the case about half way, there are no burrs on ether the case or the back plate, I don't think there is anything I can do to fit it, it could be turned down but I don't think I can hold it square in the lathe, give me a reply, I will send it back if you want it

Jim

Jesse Open

the Wasp

My Feedback: (1)

hey guys, see this video

Jim

Rudolph Hart

Gary do you think the ally backplate for small block saito's is more nice to look at rather than essential? apart from barry saying the fa72 had some problems that's it.My main fa82 has huge flying hours on it no dramas.

Well boys it's that time of the year again eh? i've just finished work and changed in to my billy bob aka bad santa suit (remember the movie?) so i can get ready to celebrate with all those rellies you never normally see all year,for good reasons.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

I've been pondering that back plate issue, Jim, was that back plate still in it's package, I was sure I had put it in my 82 to make sure it would fit. But some times the brain remembers things different than they actually were.

Pete, ain't you too skinny to be Mr. Claus?

Jesse Open

Looks have no bearing on my preference, I think the black plastic plates look fine.
The fact that the cases that have been run with plastic backplates often distort is reason enough for me to prefer the aluminum. More stuff, the retaining screws can bear down firmly on the aluminum and clamp well, while the plastic can and will compress and extrude itself out and away. While you have that plate off, take a look at how thin the case is right at the mounting lugs. The aluminum backplate helps to stabilize that part of the case. As you may have seen, I often place an aluminum channel bridge across the bottom . This greatly reinforces that area, cuts .down on engine shake at idle. I have run a plastic back plated .82 from new, hard and long with the channel and the case opening never distorted. The cast aluminum Saito mounts do a great job too. Still, the twin "T" mounts remain the most popular mounting system, probably because they are inexpensive and very easy to set up. The twin T beams can however place a bit more strain on those mouting lugs.

Not like a must do, impending doom issue The Alloy plates overall do function better.


Gotta grab some gasoline and head off to work..
Merry Christmas to one and all!

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Sheet metal screws work quite well for Saito up to,and including the Saito 62. Never tried it on larger than that.

I just put a set of Tee mounts to work on a Eureka 25 sized Cessna 150, I placed the firewall to suit the Saito 30, I chose the thrust center line myself and used 2 degrees down and 1 degree right thrust. I also installed dual aileron servos and opted for a bolt on wing. All so easy to accomplish.

Jesse Open

Was that originally a rubber banded wing?

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Yes sir, I've done two LT 25's that way and it works out fine. I haven't actually done the front dowel pin or the rear bolt holes yet. Do the 2.25 inch wheels look correct size wise? 3" looked too big and I only have two 2.5" wheels. An 8 oz Sullivan Slant tank is on it's way.

the Wasp

My Feedback: (1)

Dave, no, the back plate was not in it's original package, but the gaskets were.

Edited: Gary, can you tell me how you fit the metal back plate, I may be able to do it here, I was wondering if I could do it with valve seating compound, but I don't know how much I have to take off, I mean it may need to much to take off to use the compound, and it may not come out too straight. BTW, "dang" I dropped my caliper last week, and broke it, I got to get a new one, errr.

the Indian:
no one made a comment on Burt's Indian engine.. my god, it's compression ratio must be up around 15 to 1, I have seen Chevy SB up to 14 to 1.. and at the time that move was made NO one had broken his record for the fastest motorcycle under 1000cc.. in another video they said he made cylinder liners out of cast iron pipes, and piston rods out of airplane props, and some pistons were sand cast. you would think he needed forged pistons for that kind of run..
that engine had to have a better cam than stock to run like it did, so my question is >> who made his cams, did he make the cams too, or did some one make them for him..

Jim

acdii

Fixed

the Wasp

My Feedback: (1)

LOL
sorry Pete, but it was funny LOL


Jim
a thing to say about Saito engines> "He-y Now"

Rudolph Hart

Jim,bert monroe worked as a motorcycle mechanic and salesman but he was a carpenter by trade which is why my dad worked with him on a school hall building job way back.Modern road bikes like ducati's new 1100cc v4 road registered superbike commonly run 14:1 compression ratio's on pump gas,make well over 200hp,and if you still have your licence at the end of the day you've done well.

Dave yes i was too skinny,fixed that by shoving a full wine cask bladder down the front of the suit with a glow fuel line back up to the collar.Bruce,i like your sense of humour.

Ok gary i understand your thoughts/reasons for running the ally backplates,i use nylon t mounts and machine grade cap head stainless self tappers on small block saito's.I see the man on the powered skates is still using leaded fuel...ah the good old days and watch out for the speed humps eh?

Jesse Open

Side by side, twin engined Triumph drag bike. Baby GMC blower with Hilborn fuel injection. Twin , forged Moldex cranks, Carillo rods. Heavily modded Alf Hagon frame.
Dave, Okay on the bolt on wing. I built an LT-25 with a OS .26 Surpass. My mistake, I wanted a Saito .30 but they were on back order and Rider's Hobby where I worked part time (for the discount) had the OS 26 on the shelf. Wish I had waited. My buddy still has and flies that plane.
The wheels look fine to me. I fly off grass that isn't always short and have taken up the habit of oversize donuts. Make a lot of touch and goes and the big wheels make up for a lot of sin!

Jim, Yep I did notice the Burt bike. My good buddy, Indian Wally was a huge fan of his. Always boasted of Burt's record runs. Cast pistons, done right can hold up well indeed. BTW , we often made cylinder sleeves from cast iron drain pipe, more common than you may think!
There was a fellow in Great Britain back in the 1960s drag racing a Vincent 500 single who welded up his cams and hand ground the lobes on a bench grinder in his garden shed. The bike ran strong too.

When my buddy, Bill W and I undertook building the side by side supercharged Triumph twin drag bike, we ground our own cams too. Wound up a bit of a side business. The local BSA dealer, Earl Buck had a fellow named Dick Gower working for him. Dick came from Canada and we had seen ads in the Canadian magazines where he and his brother regroung cams. I asked him about it one day in 1974 and he said he had the grinder now in his garage in Warren MI. We struck up a deal for $100 .

Bill and I were now in the cam business out of his mom's very small barn where we were also building the bike. The "Cam grinder" was a converted 1940s OD grinder with a 10:1 surplus store hydraulic tracer fitted. We plotted the cam timing at 10 times size and cut the master out of 1/4" aluminum. I would TIG weld up the cam faces with hard alloy rod and we would then grind them on the machine. We got a lot of side work doing "custom cams" for the locals. That in turn bought more machinery. First a "Kwik Way" boring machine, then a Black and Decker valve seat grinder and a Souix wet grinder valve refacer.

Much more followed over the years and we had our hands full doing engine machining on the side. My brother in law joined in and finally he took over the operation full time as I moved away from that work.
A lot of good memories and we had a lot of fun doing a huge variety of work but I stayed with my day job only helping out a bit in my spare time.

Any how, just a bit of back ground. My brother in law has since retired and sold off the machine shop. For many years that shop made them a good living. It all started with a drag bike!
Bill moved to Maryland where he went to work for Sonny Routt, the well known Triumph mounted drag racer. He took the bike with him in 1979 or 1980. The last time I saw that bike was when it was featured (with a totally wrong story) in "Iron Horse Magazine" , November 1988 issue. Billed as "The World's Rudest Triumph" I had no idea when I picked up the magazine in the drugstore, but as soon as I got to the page, that bike was all too familiar.
Forgive the story if you will, those days were pure magic for all of us. Garages full of motorcycle parts and running bikes. Imaginations running wild and plenty of opportunity for cheap thrills.