Starting The Engine (Assuming The Engine Is Mounted In An Aircraft) - Saito FG-14C Owner's Operating Instruction Manual

Starting the Engine
The carburetor on the Saito engine comes with the
low-speed needle adjusted to a basic setting. The
high-speed needle will need to be set by the user. The
standard carburetor settings are as follows: The high-
speed needle valve is set open counterclockwise from
the fully closed position.
On the FG-14C, FG-17 and FG-21 the low-speed needle
should be set at 7-5/8 from closed.
1. Disconnect the throttle arm from the throttle pushrod.
2. Manually hold the throttle barrel closed.
3. With a small tip flat screwdriver, screw in the idle
adjustment all the way until you feel the throttle
barrel trying to rotate. The low-speed adjustment
is actually not a needle—it is a sleeve that cover/
uncovers a cat's eye slit in the fuel supply tube.
When you run the low-speed adjustment all the way
in, the sleeve will bottom out against the fixed carb
body and force the barrel to rotate.
4. Now richen the low-speed needle by 7 turns, 35
minutes. In our experience, this will be within an 1/8
of a turn (+/–) from perfect at the low end.
5. Reconnect the throttle pushrod.
6. Once this change is made to the low end, open the
high end by 1/2 turn from where you ran it before,
restart the engine and reset the high-end needle
valve. Please refer to the diagrams.
The minutes listed are in reference to the minute hand
of a clock.
FG-14C
High-speed 1 turn
needle 20 minutes
Low-speed 7 turns
needle 35 minutes
Before you first start the engine, make sure the spark
plug is screwed in and tightened and that the plug
socket cap is fitted in place and fastened down properly.
Fix the ignition sensor in the proper position at the
bottom of the engine crankcase. The throttle servo
should be mounted at a distance of 8 to 12 inches from
the engine. The spark plug cable must not touch any
part of the model structure as vibration may damage
the shielded cable. If this is not practical, it will be
necessary to provide an insulation material for the cable.
The ignition unit itself should be wrapped in foam
10
(assuming the engine is mounted in an aircraft)
FG-17 FG-21
1 turn 1 turn
30 minutes 30 minutes
7 turns 7 turns
35 minutes 35 minutes
rubber to prevent engine vibration from damaging
the electronic components. All components must be
protected from contact with engine fuel. Be sure to use
an on/off (Safety or "kill") switch to allow the ignition to
be turned off and on.
Figure 5—FG-14C/FG-17/FG-21 Carburetor
NOTICE: Never turn the engine over with the ignition
turned on unless the spark plug is inserted in the
plug socket. This could lead to ignition damage.
Saito 4-stroke gasoline engines come with a
pumped carburetor. You do not have to choke the
engine as you normally would a 2-stroke engine.
When you are ready to start the engine, switch the
ignition on and set the throttle to a slightly high idle
speed. We highly recommend the use of an electric
starter.