OS Engine 60 FP Glow Engine Rebuild and Test Run

The O.S. Engine FP glow engine series was produced in the 1980's and early 1990's as a line of rc glow engines that were more economical to produce and thus a lower cost to consumers. The engines were also designed to be a little more user friendly in terms of starting, running and maintaining. I purchased this OS 60 FP used but it needed a little refurbishing. I took the engine completely apart and cleaned all the parts. Then I rebuilt it and mounted it on a test stand. Using Morgan glow fuel with 15% nitromethane, a Master Airscrew 12-6 propeller, and an OS No. 8 Glow Plug, the engine started right up with just a little effort. I tracked the RPM using a Hangar 9 tachometer. The engine ran great, very powerful and will be a great engine for RC Plane.
In this video I also discuss briefly the history of the OS MAX FP engines and I also briefly discuss the difference between and air bleed carburetor and a carburetor with low speed needle. All of the OS MAX FP engines came with air bleed carburetors. Hopefully this video will be helpful for those who have older RC plane engines.
I have been building, flying, crashing, modifying, and repairing radio control planes (RC Planes) for many years and enjoy sharing what I do with the radio control plane community, so I started RC Plane Tech channel for fun. I am not an expert, there are many different techniques when building radio control planes. A good way to learn about flying and building rc planes is to see what others are doing, that's what I do and that's why I like to share what I do.
Thanks for watching my channel. Hopefully you will find my videos a little interesting and perhaps fun to watch.
/ @jamesrcplanetech

[@ianb4801]

You are fairly close when you identify the reason why engines "get stuck" like that. The traditional oil used in glo fuels is caster oil, which is also used in the paint industry to make clear varnishes. That crosslinks (polymerises) by itself, with additives, to quickly form a solid film, but will also do that by itself over time. Modern glo fuels tend to use synthetic oils nowadays and that tends to not happen any more. The fix in my days, when puting the engine aside for a while, was to remove the glo plug, put some automotive automatic power steering into the carb and spin the engine over to coat the insides with something that won't polymerise. Of course that means flushing the engine out later on.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Great! Thanks for the insight and tips, helps us all understand more.

[@btilentrails]

Quick tip and saving gaskets on teardowns. Loosen the bolts / screws and do not take them out all of the way. Instead, loosen the bolts one rotation and oil the crack of the seal, using WD40 or the Marvel air oil you are using in the video. Allow the oil to soak in, allowing the gasket a chance to detach from the metal they are sticking onto. Great video and history of the FP OS engines.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks for the tip!

[@davidclark4324]

OS still produces 2 stroke airplane engines as well as 4 stroke and car engines

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Yes, thankfully they are still making really nice engines.

[@stevebarr9604]

I used to have probably a hundred of the rcm magazines and my wife threw them out without me knowing about it lol! Needless to say I wasn't very happy about it! I've got a few extra sets of plans for the Midwest sweet stick if you ever want one cause I went to a print shop and had them to print out some from the original!

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Bummer about the mags. That’s a shame. I look on eBay, sometimes you can come across ones that you are interested in. Thanks gorgeous the plan offer, appreciate it, but I have plans for the big stik 60, and a midwest Aerosport 40. At the rate zim building, not sure Ill get to those. But thanks again for the offer!

[@spitfire051288]

ok so that loud rattle at about 60% or lower throttle is normal? I was so concerned with this fp 40 i'm setting up right now. its hardly used. I think i can hear the same sound in your vid as well as a couple others . I left another comment for you a short about this engine earlier regarding using synthetic over a blended castor mix. I think i'm just having trouble understanding when is way more advised to use one over the other? i know the one burns characteristics a little and VERY familiar with the way castor + time = glue 🥲 Thanks again James🙏

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Hi, ya these fps seem to run that way. It may be that they are just a little lower quality than the other OS lines, but they all have worked for me and fly for a long time, even with the weird noises and vibrations. i would just follow the instruction break in process. And run it with the right size props and fuel mixtures per the instructions. Sorry I don’t have a better answer. They are great engines, even though they may be a little rough around the edges. As for the fuel, I have not noticed any big differences in the synthetic vs castor mixes. The synthetics burn cleaner and leave less oil on plane. I run the Morgans Cool Power total synthetic because thats what my local shop carries. Its the green colored one. I have used the Morgans Omega which is a castor/synthetic blend, its the pink one and is more messy with oil. Castor does get a bad rap, but in my opinion I think people overthink it. There is a worry that castor will gum up and put a residue inside the engine. But if you empty the tank and run the engine dry to burn up the remaining fuel in the hose then I don’t thinks its a big deal. I have had old engines that I get that have been shelved for a very long time, one I had was probably 30 years old sitting, it was gummed up due to castor. I just heated it , and some oil and carefully worked back into motion, it started up and ran fine. I think as long as you run the engine a little rich like the manufacturers say to do, and run them dry after use(empty tank, start engine, burn up whats in the system), the particular fuel mix probably isn’t that important… but this is all just my opinion.

[@sigflyer]

My first engine was a FP-40. Ran great, and easy to adjust. I also had several of the Thunder Tiger plain bushing clones of the FP and they also were good engines.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Nice! They made great engines

[@Riptide-qm7cj]

James I really enjoyed this series. As a former MX rider I have torn down and rebuild a few motors so this was really enjoying to watch. Two questions: Does the piston have rings? I did not see any and don’t remember you doing anything to compress them before putting the piston in the cylinder but then how would it have compression? What do you prefer IC or electric? Note this is Flynntf, I had to establish a new account with a new name (long story).

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Hi, thanks for the comment. You are right, no rings on this, many glow engines don’t have them, they just run in an inner sleeve in the head. They do make glow engines with rings that are more expensive. But the basic engines typically don’t have them. I see the benefits electric, but prefer glow or gas engines. I like the way they run and like to tinker with them. They are messy and can be a pain at times, but I like them.

[@jdsstegman]

I too have been collecting. I have about 100 nitro engines. I do the same thing. Make them run then let them sit on the self. Oiled this time for proper long storage.... lol.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Nice!

[@davidhollfelder9940]

Generally speaking, you don’t have to balance the prop (they come new pretty closely balanced) .. line up the heavier side of the prop with piston top dead center for best results. Single cylinder engines vibrate quite a bit by their design.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Ya, I noticed that they usually don’t need much to balance.

[@mikesingh2341]

I think FP may mean Flight Performance Engines.

[@robertcovell2787]

It's a good thing it's not a K&B you are working on. Great engines, tough work horses but the exhaust port extends out over the mounting lug. Really hard to get at the screws on the exhaust side.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Interesting, I have never had a K&B.

[@ottoolsen9676]

i think the fp series has the sleve bearing and the fsr max series ball bearing r is for piston ring and there was a few with fuelpump, i still got an 28 heli engine fsr max 46 and a 108 bx1

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

I believe so as well, the FP had the sleeve, one reason why it was economical

[@robertcovell2787]

Put it in Sig AstroHog or a Bridi Kaos. You will love it!

[@ToyManFlyer1100]

😊😊😊... My 1st RC plane engine, other than a l'il Cox .049 from K-Mart, was a l'il O. S. .10 FP on a German Cessna 182 from a German Hobby shop...😊😊

[@groovee63]

Man, an awesome video!!!I I started using OS engines in the 80s they are the workhorse for RC stuff far as I'm concerned or were.. if I'm not mistaken I believe my first one was a 35 Max and I don't think they were in production long. I had some 20 or 25 and had some 60s and 40s still have some of those

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Right on! Ya I feel the same, OS are awesome engines and you can get them used and new still on ebay and find really nice ones, high quality.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

And also, thanks!

[@davidhollfelder9940]

Loctite/thread-lock the muffler nut (ask me why).

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

👍🏻

[@kevoyhei]

I would say that the FP series are best engines produced by OS. I love them.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

I agree, they get a bad rap for not being the highest end engine, but they are OS quality and even a lower end OS is as good as the upper end of some other brands.

[@johngeesey4792]

Thanks, very helpful knowledge.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks!

[@stevebarr9604]

I've bought a few nib older engines and the carbs were stuck so I just heated them up with a heat gun and it fixed it! Good video!

[@davidhollfelder9940]

Get an old cooking crock pot from a thrift store (now used for parts cleaning only), cook the dirty/caked/gummed up glow engine in the crock, filled with transmission fluid overnight .. it will come out spotless clean, and all freed up

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Nice tip!

[@nathanlipe9576]

A stik would be great for that engine. The outerzone has multiple stik plans for download.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Yes, a great resource for plans.

[@joepellissier2091]

Good video and love the test stand. I have two old OS motors that are frozen probably the same reason as yours. However watching all the stuff it took to get the motor going on the stand reminds me why it switched to electric.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Funny! Ya, glow engines are messy and finicky. There have been times at the field when my hands are covered with fuel and oil trying to get an engine running and I see the electrics zipping by. Hmmm. I do think that I will get a jet one day and that will be electric. A nice A-10…

[@johnhess351]

good background on FP models. Nice mounting of crashed .25

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks!

[@ralphjohnson4041]

You forgot the prop washer i think.

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

The spinner nut has a wide base the size of a washer and flat up on the prop, I think thats ok because usually the washer is a little convex on the nut side and then there would beca space between the outer washer and prop nut I think

[@anthony3D]

Merci pour cette vidéo instructive 😊

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks!

[@marcobuonavita2757]

Bel video istruttivo e interessante, certo hai trovato i ricambi adatti e questo serve per ottenere un ottimo risultato, saluti

[@JamesRCPlaneTech]

Thanks Marco. Hope you are well, and enjoying flying and building!