Petrol engine electronic kill switch

Hi,
Any petrol heads out there that can help????
I've read as many post as I can find on the forums and have come up with two examples which look to be at opposite ends of the complexity/cost range. 'Hanger 9' do a cheap/simple system based on an additional servo opperating a micro switch (can make that myself). 'Smart fly' (USA but available in the UK) do a more costly (£40) set up that uses a transmitter and reciever modul connected by fibre optics that has additional failsafe etc functionality.
Does anybody have any more info/webb sites etc???????????????

You've opened quite a topic here, firstly what are your aims to be able to switch your ignition directly from your transmitter? I would say that most of us who fly petrol in our club have no T/X control over the ignition. I personally have idle down for landing and engine cut (via the throttle) then just a manual R/X type switch to turn off the ignition between the batt and Ign pack. Some of the guys use a choke servo and this can be used as a means of stopping the motor mid-flight should the throttle servo fail. Another thing to be born in mind here is that anything over 7k in weight must have minimum of failsafe throttle to idle in the event of signal loss. So should my throttle fail in the open position I'd have to fly the tank empty and land deadstick

Hi,
Under 7kg. I have a 'JP GeeBee Y' of 2mtr wing span. It is rated as requiring a glow motor of between 1.20 (2st) - 1.80 (4st) or a Zenoah 23 (now 26) but it has a cowl of just over 10" dia. and i.m.h.o. would require a prop in excess of 18". I have a 1.20 4st (not enough go) a ST23 1.40 2st (maybe) and a Moki 2.10 2st (much to much). Its better to have a little to much power and use the throttle than too little. I thought a petrol motor a little larger than the Z23/26 would be suitable and be able to swing a 20"/21" prop. There are three motors I have an interest in, not just for this plane, and I would be interested if any one has owned/run/used one of the following and can let me know of thier experiences:-
1/ CRRC 26i
2/ CRRC 40i (self assembly engine kit) - This one for the GeeBee Y.
3/ DL 50
Gone a bit of subject, may have to start a new thread, so I'll go back to the original question:
I've had throttle problems in the past with glow engined planes, a pain in the a*** flying around for ages or trying to land at high speed. Petrol planes I gather can run for a long time on a tank of fuel. It would be nice to remotely kill the engine in the case of problems as well as the additional convenience and safety features afforded by the more complex units.
So, do I gather that no one has experience of the use of these devises and their pros and cons???

I don't think anyone in our club has gone down that route as yet, if i'm wrong I'm sure they'll jump in and correct me. In all the time I've been flying petrol I've had just one instance of a high idle causing landing problems and that was caused by a silencer coming loose. Most petrol models will fly for 20-30 mins on a tank so a deadstick effort assuming one has sufficient R/X battery for 30 mins should'nt be a problem however as you say more and more units are becoming available for us to use and may become the norm in the future, maybe Allan you'll be the first to plough this particular furrow.

Allan your editing has so changed this thread I wish I had'nt contributed in the first place

Really, really sorry if I've caused offence or upset you in any way - not intentional, just thought I'd give a bit more info on the plane etc but strayed off topic with the engines. SORRY!

I'm not offended, just that your edit in my eyes made a nonsense of the thread

S and M services market a kill switch which operates through a spare channel on your receiver. I was given one by Stuart Mackay when I bought my 30cc Mackay engine and fitted it. It's handy as you don't need to fit a switch on the model but I have never needed to use it in the air. None of my other models have one and I can't say that I miss it on these models. As Brian said an ON/OFF switch on the side of the plane is perfectly adequate. Anyway, I'm lucky to get a full tank of fuel through the engine as it usually cuts half way through!!

Hi Mike nice to hear from you I think a lot of us steered away from Ign kill switches because in the day they were noted for being a bad source of radio interference, I think at one time Zenoah used to actaully advise total removal of the Ign kill wire from the magneto. That said that may all be a thing of the past with the switch to 2.4Ghz radio which is far less prone to interference.

Hi,
Thanks for the info on S.M.Services. Looked them up and their unit appears to be for magneto equiped engines (a grounding switchable cicuit that shorts out the H.T.).
To clarify what I am looking for:-
Only for use on electronic ignition; for use in addition to the switch harness, it goes between the switch harness supply and the electronic ignition. One of the safety features of the units I've found is that even if you switch the ignition on the engine will not fire unless the unit is armed from the Tx (indicated by the 'armed LED' glowing) and the Rx turned on with the radio link funtioning correctly.
The two up market units I have found are at these addresses http://electrodynam.com/rc/EDR-107/index.shtml and http://www.smart-fly.com/Products/Ignition/ignition.htm
The 'smart-fly' unit is available in the UK at http://www.freestyle-rc.co.uk/_shop/store/Aircraft+accessories/Smart+Fly/IGNITION+CUTOFF/IgnitionCutoff.aspx
Hope this helps and maybe provides useful info to others

Sorry Allan I assure you I'm not offended and I hope you won't be either but it appears you started this thread by posing a question which it now turns out you already knew the answer to What a waste of keyboard time you could have gone online to Dan at Freestyle RC and ordered your Smartfly unit

Hi, no I don't know the answers. Some of the info I've found myself since I started this thread. I've found the simple systems and the complex systems but I am aware that there is at least one itermediate (have seen a picture of it) but that is all I can find out about it. I hoped that by initiating this discussion someone would have some more info than I. I've almost run out of leads (just one to go) and then I come to a dead end. No exchange of information is a waste of time, perhaps the time I've spent getting the info I have will lessen the work another interested party will have to do. They may then have better luck than I and find the info on intermediate devices and share it with the rest of us.

Hi,
Well the last lead proved fruitless, BUT, I found some other links that lead me to the manufacturer of the intermediate device in the USA . You can find it here, http://www.42-percent-products.com/gas-accessories.htm priced at $32.95. Problem was, no UK dealers (Australia and Canada YES) and they wanted $20 shipping . So went to Australian dealer (best deal), you can find him here http://www.dlenginesaustralia.com/dlshop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=36 and ordered one which cost me £22.76 total including shipping . It should arrive end of next week . The unit cost £17.54 which brings it under the £18 limit thus no £8 fee and no VAT. Its also well under the import duty limit (£100 ish from 1st December).
Well looks like everthing is sorted, UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE KNOWS MORE!!!
Hope the info I've found is useful to others