The FORA .15 Open A engine test, provided by George
Cleveland of GRS Models
Cleveland of GRS Models
Go to bottom of the page for first test flight on Sunday, February 1st, 2004
| January 28th, 2004... the United States Post Office delivered to my house a FORA .15. Manufactured in Moscow for CL FAI Combat (F2d), the FORA is manufactured to the specifications of George Cleveland of GRS Models who has offered this engine for a test review. Victor Chorny, multiple winner of the World Championship, claims on his web site that FORA engines are used by 51% of the Russian Control Line Combat Competitors. This engine is destined to fly on a 72" GRS Falcon. Engine testing is planned for January 31, and February 1st 2004. Testing will consist of running on PowerMaster 5% Nitro, with 18% oil (1/3 Castor). Test props for rpm measurement will be Master Airscrew 7X4, 8X3, 8X4, and APC Scimitar 8X5 propellers. |
| Left to right: Click on each photo to see a larger image. The Left side of the engine showing the bolt arrangement on the HPDE mount for a Falcon. Right side view showing the right side and needle valve adjustment, notice the intake bypasses, there are three at 90 degrees to each other, front and both sides; a top view of the engine showing the screw on head, and the Nelson (USA) glow plug which George Cleveland has rewound with heavier coil material and finally on the far right the "muffler" removed from engine showing the plastic fitting spacer. Shown below left to right are the special FORA wrench to remove and tighten head, and to tighten prop nut. Very nice and bargain priced. The photo of the engine as George flies it with extension on muffler to clear throttle servo; the CL FAI Combat engines are limited to 4MM venturi as you can see in the third photo. The final photo shows the venture with a tubing sleeve placed over it. George recommends this change to prevent dirt from getting into the engine in a dirt nap. The tubing closes upon impact protecting the engine. |
| Tonight, January 29th the FORA .15 was mounted to the GRS Falcon 72" ARF/RTB. The total weight as shown in the photo of the scale is 2lbs 7 ounces. Open A Legal, with 72" of span and 740 plus square inches of wing area. Testing with different fuels and props will be done this weekend weather permitting. |
| First Test Flight: The winds was howling at 20 mph with gusts up to 30 on the afternoon of the FORA powered Falcon's test flight. The Falcon had been flown with an OS LA and was trimmed out. George Cleveland advised using a 2 volt starter cell on the Nelson plug because he has them rewired with a heavier element. I didn't have time to make one up so I removed the plug, put the McDaniel Glow Driver on it and it lit up cherry red. The bladder was filled with 5% Nitro, 18% oil PowerMaster Fuel. A couple of drops were allowed to enter the venturi then we hit it with the Sullivan starter. The FORA started immediately and howled like a banshee. I should have tached it running the MA 8X3 but it sounded so strong I just wanted to go fly it. The plane literally leapt out of the club member's hands a he let it go. This thing is "stout"! It is faster than a lot of B airplanes, but not as fast as the top ones. It turns much hard and pulls through turns like there is no tomorrow. It went rich about a minute and a half into the flight and I think it either dissloved some jelled fuel crud in the spraybar or the flapper over the venturi (the orange tubing in the above photo) closed up and caused the engine to suck lots of fuel but no air. What's the downside? Well for me at least this thing is almost to fast to keep up with. I'll probably make some of the fastest missed passes at streamers with it in Open A. Also the cost, the mandatory use of bladder, and needing to put a fuel shut off on it are drawbacks for some folks. |