Yea, propane start is dead. If you find a model with it I would not shy away from buying it. It can always be converted, or, stick with it. Its just a little extra work.
Biggest problem I ever had with it is getting all the fittings 100% leak free so each time I took the model out any leftover gas from the time before was gone and wasted

Team Synergy, Team FBL Rotors-------if its not broke...it will be!

Tim W

What is better propane start or Kero start?

I have only ever had kero start, but it is so simple, easy and trouble free, that if they ever took my kero start away and forced me to go to propane start, I would give up turbines.

Steve

Gas is ok, easier and no worries of hot starts when plug fails.. which if u put in a lot of flying hours they do wear out.
Only downer of gas is in cold weather it can be a pain to start.i keep my canister in pocket in cold weather.
But it's kinder on lypos or nimh,doesn't draw as much current on start-up.
They both have pros and cons I prefer gas having had both types.... I love the pop on start-up..

But I agree it has been phased out and the kero is much more popular and is much more reliable than when I used it..

All The Best

Dan Minick pid=6694331 Yea, propane start is dead. If you find a model with it I would not shy away

Well, that’s exactly what I have found. A turbine Starwood Lama that does have propane start. So I haven’t purchased it yet, as I am doing research.

Like Matt, I am still using Gas start on my Wren... I never considered converting to Kero start as the gas is reasonably reliable, and simple to set up..

David.

"Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see." • Benjamin Franklin

Starwood Lama

Enjoy flying that... lovely machine.. from what I've seen..
Good luck and as prev poster said you can always convert to Kero if that becomes your preference.

All The Best

Put the money factor aside, turbine heli operates very much like a electric. Once it is set up properly, turbine starts up are much easier than glow, in my opinion. I just need to flip a switch and wait for the turbine spools up. Once it is in idle rpm then lift it into hover. That looks cool as we heli guys always stand way behind the heli to enjoy the sound and smell(because of the spinning rotor) while I start my plane, I was told to test the throttle with ear plugs on.

For gas or kero start, I just need to fill in gas(regular cigarette lighter gas is sufficient), not much extra to do. It really depends on what turbine you get. My old Jakadofsky RS was re-furbished in the factory last year and they converted it to kero start, as they don't sell gas start turbine anymore. Both start methods are quite reliable.

One thing you will want to consider is radio telemetry. I have all the radio flavors, Spectrum, JR, Futaba, etc. and was never a big believer in telemetry. Just go fly! When I got into turbines I went to a Jeti radio for the telemetry and radio connectivity. It saves you having to work with the GSU (ground station unit) all the time and because the Jeti is European made it works really well with the JetCat and Jakadorsky turbines. I have both turbine types and it is super simple. Plus, Jeti radios have twin 2.4 with 900mh back up. So, if I ever lost the 2.4 connection the 900 seamlessly kicks in. I was concerned about the C thing but not now with redundant connectivity.

Yes, I have also came to the realization that my current radio will not be good for the turbine helis. And I’ve heard that Jeti is the way to go.

I can assure you that gas start is not dead !
It has many advantages over Kero start.
Kero start systems can also have their own issues.
Don't be put off by either system, just learn how to use them properly.

modtron
Oxford UK

Yes, I am really happy with mine for both the turbines and regular equipment. To that end I have a lot of Futaba receivers, some new in the box, a long with Spectrum and JR for sale if interested. Just PM me.

Thanks....

I find my Futaba TX, coupled with the V-Speak telemetry module (Sbus2), provides me with seamless and complete turbine telemetry data.

The JETI stuff is really top notch though, you cant go wrong with it.

Steve

What are you guys monitoring with telemetry?

Team Synergy, Team FBL Rotors-------if its not broke...it will be!

What are you guys monitoring with telemetry?

glad you asked that, I was gonna ask the same, I can understand wanting to know engine rpm, voltage of power supplies etc, but I can plug in the GSU or data download which to me is a safer way rather than staring at my TX whilst trying to fly a large turbine model, but hey ho companys have to market their products somehow, I like simplicity.

All The Best

Dan Minick

What are you guys monitoring with telemetry?

I monitor everything available (FP voltage, turbine battery voltage, turbine RPM), so I can record min and max values for my flight log book.

The only thing I have an alarm set for is a max EGT threshold. I dont actually look at any telemetry data nor do I have it call any data out while flying. Other than the EGT, it is more for logging than anything.

Steve

so you look at your TX taking in all that data whilst flying your lovely Airwolf ?

All The Best

MattJen

so you look at your TX taking in all that data whilst flying your lovely Airwolf ?

No. I edited my post before I saw your reply.

Steve

Ah that explains, I thought I was going crazy LOL...
I get the logging, nice feature... maybe easier than trying to read data download info from a fadec on an excel spreadsheet or wordpad...
I haven't seen the Jeti but I had a conversation with Lou who used to be on this forum who said it had a lot of capability..

All The Best

Talking about telemetry, do you guys have simple solution to have turbine ready signal audiable or can be seen in my Tx? I presently use Futaba and Vcontrol Tx.

What I mean is after the turbine spools up to idle speed and steady, the LED from the ECU will go out, as of a Jakadofsky turbine. At that time I can add pitch. Sometimes it is very difficult to see that LED under bright sun light.

When I was running a wren turbine with my Vcontrol I simply bumped the throttle stick up slightly. The ecu would not allow any control until it was ready, so when I heard the engine start to speed up on its own I knew it was ready. Not sure how Jakadofsky works and cant remember if Jetcat was the same

Team Synergy, Team FBL Rotors-------if its not broke...it will be!