Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I could not find an answer to my question here. How can I contact you and how soon will I get an answer?

All of our product manuals are available on our manuals page, where you can download and print whichever one you need.

Alternately, we can have our office copy photocopied for you at a charge of $2.00 plus $5.50 shipping (US) or $13.50 shipping (international). If you wish to purchase a copy from us, please fax us at 217-398-7721 with a credit card # for payment (Visa/MasterCard), or mail us a check to:

Hobby Services
3002 N. Apollo Drive, Suite #1
Champaign IL 61822

Unfortunately, we are unable to send out via open account (with an invoice) due to our computer system set up.

PLEASE NOTE: We require the following information:

1. The name of the specific kit (ie. Fuji-Imvac 32 cc, FJIG0032) (as much info as you have if you are not sure of the exact name);
2. Your mailing information;
3. Your payment information; and
4. Your return email address and at least one other means of daytime contact (phone, fax, alternative email) to provide you confirmation of your order.

Please note that copied manuals cannot be returned or refunded. If you are unsure the model #, please ask for help from fellow modelers to be sure your purchase is correct.

Please see our warranty center page for instructions.

If a product is not yet listed on our web site, chances are good that we do not yet have information on that newly released product. Please visit your favorite hobby shop and our web site regularly for new technical information as it becomes available.

All Fuji-Imvac Engines products sold in the U.S. are sold exclusively through Great Planes Model Distributors. To locate a dealer/hobby shop/retailer in your area, please use our dealer locator. If you are an international customer, please visit our international contacts list to locate the international distributor/dealer nearest to you.

Unfortunately, we cannot estimate the performance of your model, even in attempting to compare one engine's performance to another. What we CAN recommend is utilizing listed prop RPM for a given prop size turned on both engines to give you a base comparison.

Nearly 100% of our U.S. testing is done by our own very dedicated R&D staff. If you're interested in employment with us and are in the Champaign IL area or willing to relocate, please visit our employment page for more information! Otherwise, however, we are not currently accepting applications for sponsored modelers or off site testing staff.

As with any company's warranty, the warranty period starts from the date of original purchase. Strictly speaking, an item sent for warranty service must include a proof of purchase date. This eliminates any questions about the warranty period and its expiration. Unfortunately, this includes items received as gifts. If an item is purchased by another individual, hopefully you will have no problems in obtaining a receipt to validate a warranty claim, or that individual can send it to us for warranty coverage. Items that are purchased used will have no warranty, neither will an unused item sold to a second owner, unless the original purchase date can be proved. A warranty is only to the original purchaser. A bill of sale between individuals is not considered a valid purchase receipt.

If you believe you have an item which warrants a warranty claim and you are in the U.S. (if you are outside the U.S. please contact the international distributor/dealer in your region), please see our warranty center page for instructions.

If you have any questions regarding warranty coverage, please do not hesitate to contact our warranty center, Hobby Services, at productsupport@hobbyservices.com, or 217-398-0007 (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm Central Time) or fax at 217-398-7721.

If you emailed our support teams, you should receive an automated response immediately or nearly immediately. (This automated response will inform you our normal response time is by the end of the next business day and provide you other important details to assist you.) If you did not receive a computer generated response within 24 hours, then something was wrong and your email was not received properly or there is something wrong with your reply to address set up in your email account. Please resend the email to us with a note that this is a second copy and please be SURE to provide us your full email address as well as at least one other means of daytime contact (phone, message #, fax, alternate email address).

Welcome to the exciting arena of R/C equipment! We will do our best to assist you if your project is similar to the R/C application for which the product is designed. However, for liability reasons as well as the simple fact that we have not attempted to use our product in your specific environment, we cannot provide you any guidance on modification of our product or any recommendations on what products to use or how our products will perform in your application. As such, we cannot provide you information such as amount of load a specific product can sustain, schematics of the workings of any electronic products, or computerized plans for any of our products. Please feel free to email our product support team if your question does not fall within the above parameters and we will do our best to assist you.

We are the exclusive U.S. distributor for Fuji-Imvac Engines and can help you with many of your needs. Please use our Industrial Information Form to give us specific information on your product needs and applications.

Please contact the Fuji-Imvac Engines distributor in your region.

If the product you are seeking is anything other than an accessory or repair parts for another item, then unless a product is brand new, if it is not listed on our web site then the product is no longer produced. Unfortunately, we cannot answer whether or not a product will be reproduced in the future.

This is a hard question to answer, as it is quite subjective. An engine rebuild is always based upon performance. If the engine has been used so much that it's performance is no longer acceptable, it should be rebuilt.

If the bearings have become rough through use or corrosion, you should replace them. If the crankshaft has visible movement inside the connecting rod, and not just oil squeeze, when it is turned, you need some new parts.

Outside of obvious physical damage, a rebuild is always a judgement call by the modeler. Sometimes, it costs less to buy a new engine than to buy the parts to rebuild it.

If you feel your engine has lost performance but don't know what needs service, send the engine to an engine specialist. If you're not familiar with proper disassembly and service, you might do irreparable damage to your engine which originally required only a small amount of parts.

We cannot recommend or support this, as engines for car use and boat use are designed very differently and have very different cooling supplies than an aircraft or heli engine.

In setting up your gasoline engine's installation, there are several important factors to remember:

• ALL ignition equipment, including an electronic kill switch, MUST be mounted at least 12", and preferably 14", away from ALL radio equipment, including throttle servos, etc.
  
  
• The ignition kill switch should always be on the opposite side of the fuselage from the radio kill switch.
  
  
• All pushrods going to anything related to the engine MUST be non-conductive (just non-metal clevises is not sufficient).

Please be aware that 3-bladed props are less efficient than a 2-bladed prop, so you are going to lose some performance. Additionally, 4-bladed are less efficient than 3. If your model is already marginal on power on a 2-blade, we strongly recommend against a 3-blade prop.

If, however, you have plenty of power and are willing to give up some performance for scale look and sound, then a 3-bladed prop is for you. You will want to start with a prop with either 1" less diameter or 1" less pitch than your 2-blade prop as a rule of thumb. For example, if your engine happily turns a 13x6, try a 12x6 or 13x5 to start with. Then adjust from there as needed.

To go to a 4-bladed prop, decrease an additional inch in either dimension. If your normal prop choice is, for example, a 11x6, you would begin with a 10x5 and work from there to find a 4-bladed prop that best fits your circumstances.

Most people make the mistake of thinking more is better when it comes to the air INLET at the front of the cowl. This is a common error and while it seems logical the reverse is actually true.

To properly cool your engine you need more OUTLET not more inlet. You want at least 2:1, preferably 3:1 air out to air in otherwise it makes a 'dam' and the air can't come into the cowl because it has no where to go OUT of the cowl. If your engine is not cooling properly, try blocking off the other air inlet or opening the belly of the cowl further to better cool your engine. See the instruction manual for the Top Flite Corsair (pages 35, 40) for an example of making a baffle to properly cool your engine.

Please use our contact us page to contact our support and service teams. If you email our support teams, you should receive an automated response immediately or nearly immediately. (This automated response will inform you our normal response time is by the end of the next business day and provide you other important details to assist you.) If you did not receive a computer generated response within 24 hours, then something was wrong and your email was not received properly or there is something wrong with your reply to address set up in your email account. Please resend the email to us with a note that this is a second copy and please be SURE to provide us your full email address as well as at least one other means of daytime contact (phone, message #, fax, alternate email address).

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