Roadrunner 38cc Gas Airplane

by FliteTest | May 27, 2013 | (36) Posted in Projects

The Roadrunner is a classic R/C kit plane that Josh picked up at the 2013 Toledo Show. Chad sent out David and Josh to pick up "something interesting" and The Roadrunner was what Josh brought back.

The previous owner installed a 38cc gas engine on this kit plane.
The large scale plane obviously had some giant servos in it as well and everything seemed to still work.The airframe was in good condition, for how old it was, and the engine also seemed to be in great condition.Surprisingly, after just a few tries Josh was able to get the gas engine running!With just a few small adjustments to the throttle, the engine was running great! With a 38cc engine installed, the airframe was a little nose heavy and we had to add some weight to the tail.With a c-clamp and some duct tape, we were able to get some extra weight in the tail. It's been years since Josh had flown a large scale gas plane so he was excited to get it in the air.The Roadrunner took off and was in the air in no time!Josh Scott, David and Chad all got a chance to fly the gasser, which was a first for all of them!Flying this large scale plane and hearing the sound of the gas engine were both a really fun experience!Thanks to everyone on the team, the maiden was a success.This turned out to be a great project and we've got more photos in the forum post check them out HERE!  

COMMENTS

Bjarkix2 on May 27, 2013
225$ We can get that down to 200$, "What if we buy both?" "150$" 0_0 TAKE MY MONEY!!!
Best quote ever! Great episode guys, loved the behind the scenes video, setting up the airplane.
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AccidentalStuntPilot on May 27, 2013
Awesome video! What's that plane's wingspan?
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FlyingMonkey on May 27, 2013
I'm with Bjarkix2. I thought the first part of the show was great. It felt like a documentary. The behind the scenes shooting made me almost feel like I was there in the room. All that was missing was the smell of fuel being mixed. Great show!
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OutcastZeroOne on May 27, 2013
NICE! love the sound of that thing! wish electrics had a good sound like that.
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casehatter on May 27, 2013
Good to see some of you guys out of your element and having fun and it looks as if thats a older Zehnoe ( can't spell ) even the newer Zehnoe's have pick ups and electronic ignition. Looks like money well spent and ya'll can have a ball. Time out the fuel and go FPV with it I would love to see a long range flight in a unpopulated area with this one all in favor give me a thumbs up..!!
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hart on May 27, 2013
+1 FlyingMonkey - loved the format of this episode, very natural, unscripted, just plain fun!
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Excogitate on May 27, 2013
First I want to say "Thank You" to Chad and his family for making all of us feel so welcome in his home every video! This video was like the polar opposite of the other new video format and I for one just wanted to say I loved it!!! I love your "regular" format as I have nearly watched all the videos now (still getting the old ones caught up) But I must say I really liked the feel of this video... I really did feel as though I was there just hanging out with the guys for a day of RC Fun!
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RCbacon on May 28, 2013
AWESOME! Can you guys do a "Gas airplanes for dummies"? Gas airplanes seems very interesting but i don´t know anything about gas airplanes.
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IvanBucker on May 28, 2013
I think if you are having good gasser ratings, it would be awesome for you to make a few episodes explaining main features, basic engine setup and help for gasser dummies, like Victor L proposed.

Awesome to see gas on Flitetest, ive been waiting for the moment a long time :D
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Dingo on May 28, 2013
cant wait to see the glider being towed up by roadrunner
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Silver Fox on May 28, 2013
Awesome video!!!!
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BenB on May 28, 2013
Aren't you running that engine backwards? The prop looks set up for counter clock-wise rotation as per IC standard yet you're running it clockwise. Or do my eyes deceive me? Love the episode BTW- proper flying field banter / camaraderie.
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AndrewHayes on May 7, 2015
I was wondering the same thing! I keep looking and it looks backwards to me!
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Origamipilot on September 15, 2015
it has a spring. when you pull it clockwise it shoots back counter clocwise.
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kenton on May 28, 2013
Loved seeing some of the behind the scenes footage...great video.
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Woodcote Flying Club on May 28, 2013
I love videos like this
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liveyourdreamsRC on May 28, 2013
What gas plane are you thinking of reviewing next?
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jaBdr on May 28, 2013
+1 on lovin' the format and the gasser! Also, nice land camera Chad!
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ddrueding on May 28, 2013
I think the next challenge would be a gas quadcopter. ;) Tuning the computer to handle the slower throttle response would be difficult I think.
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liveyourdreamsRC on May 30, 2013
I like this episodes format, it shows what you go through to get the plane started and ready. Then again all the formats are great and work the best with different episodes. Keep it up FT!
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Car6on14 on May 31, 2013
nice review, S148 servos were standard back in the day... came w/ most of my radios...good to see I can use them on that size aircraft, what is the wingspan?
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steve s on June 5, 2013
Nice gasser!!! I've run those type engines before in model planes and one thing I found is that you need to add a air scoop to the carb to keep the prop wind from drawing the fuel out of the carb and it will run better. Steve.s
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bltsmm on March 5, 2014
I really enjoyed this episode because of the informal approach. It is nice to see the behind the scenes and how you guys interact with one another "outside the camera." I would like to see more episodes where you guys do your day to day activities and having a good time.
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Roadrunner 38cc Gas Airplane