starguard

I have a Hangar 9 Corsair that I still haven't bought an engine for and was looking for a good 4-stroke for it. Today I got a flyer in the mail from Hobby People thats advertising a Magnum XL 91 RFS 4-stroke for $149.00 . I was origionally saving up for the Saito FA-100, but that one costs almost $300


Which one would be the better choice for my Hangar 9, the Saito or the less expensive Magnum?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Either engine will fly it fine. Either engine will hold up well.

The 100 has more power.

Enjoy,

Jim

P-40LUVR

I fly a 540 Edge with the Magnum .91 4 stroke and its a GREAT engine for the price..this engine starts EVERYTIME with the bump of the starter.
With that said the Saito will have more power but if you don't need that much engine why spend the extra 150.00?
I will have to purchase a Saito 100 for my next plane ONLY because Magnum doesn't make a 100 and I need just a little more pull for this particular airplane,if Magnum made a 100 I certainly would go with the Magnum.

cruzomatic

My Feedback: (17)

I have 2 of the Magnum 91RFS and like them a lot. I'd go with the Mag, save the money and buy more plane stuff with it. Plus, you can't beat that price hobbypeople.net has them for. I bought my last one from them at that same price. I love a good deal. Good luck.

IronCross

I have three of the Mag .91's... They are great running engines.. My latest is in a Vector Flight Extra 66 inch. This is an 8 pound plane and it pulls it around fine.. Not unlimited vertical but more then enough for airobatics etc... It is on it's 4th tank of fuel and turning a 14X6 APC at 9600 rpm.. Three year warranty, all metal parts, on sale now for 149.00 and if you buy it at Tower you hanve an additional discount to go with.. Love em...

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

That extra $150.00 buys you a whole lot more power with the Saito. I don't care what others say about Magnums they have no power.

udi maman

My Feedback: (18)

you cant say saito and magnum in the same sentece
saito much beter and worth the extra money
we say in israel :chep things is for the rich people

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I have both. There are applications where it is better to have the Saito. But for puttering around the Magnum is great.

Enjoy,

Jim

swooper

I think both engines are quality products, but have differences that would recommend one or the other for a particular application.
While the Saito is more powerful, a perhaps more significant consideration is its low weight. The Magnum weighs quite a bit more.

It would be worth looking into the Corsair's balance needs. It it needs the weight up front there's no good reason to buy the Saito, you'll just be adding lead. OTOH, if it balances with a .60 2-stroke the Magnum would weight down the airplane needlessly.

While the Saito may be a better engine, the Magnum is clearly a better value. So, your personal weight and budget considerations should make the choice.

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

The Magnum .91 will fly the H9 Corsair just fine. In fact, a Magnum .80 can also do the job. That plane is awefully light, and it's not necessary to have a $300 motor up front to fly it. By the way, you will need extra lead up front to bring the CG to between 4.25" and 4.5" anyway.

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

The MAgnums are excellent engines, and coupled with their warranty and Hobby People's great service it's hard to justify the cost of other engines from a monetary standpoint.

If you really want the Saito without the $300 average price, you can often find them used for about the new price of the Magnum in the same (or close) sizes.

Bill.

Flyboy Dave

My Feedback: (21)

For me the Saitos are not worth the extra money. I use the Magnums
espressly for sport....if I want more power I use the YS engines. If I
had it to do over again, I wouldn't have bothered with the OS or Saito.
I have them all except the TT's.

$300.00 for a 1.00 Saito....please, you can buy 3 new lawnmowers for that.

FBD.

mancha

if money is not the objection and You wish for the best, close yourself on a SAITO 90 3-R!!!
otherwise go for a magnum; remember all warbirds are hard on take off if you go full throttle and big torke props.

Besides P-51, I like warbirds to fly scale!

Rayko

As I read through the various postings, I was kind of taken with the generally positive comments regarding Magnum 4-stroke engines. I've never owned one. But, might consider one as a comparison to my Saito's.

I have always bought, and flown Saito's exclusively. I just love high quality 4-stroke engines. The range of displacements offered by Saito, combined with absolute quality engineering makes them a great choice. My oldest Saito is a .56, and it has several thousand flights on it. The thing is bullet proof, as all Saito's are. (I've never had to replace a valve, ring, or bearing in any of them.)

I run everything from a small .56 all the way up to the 180. They all start easily, run strong and powerful, and need very little maintenance (except for the occassional valve adjustment). Once the engine is properly broken in, and adjusted properly, (and as long as you don't change the brand of fuel that your using), you never have to re-adjust the engine again. It runs rock solid. (If a Saito ever starts to run "funny", just change the Glow Plug, DON'T start re-adjusting the carburator. OS Type F plugs work great.)

They are true engineering marvels, with a one-piece pressure cast aluminum cylinder body and head combination unit, (thus, there are no head gasgets). And, there is no steel cylinder sleeve either, but instead, the aluminum cylinder walls are chromed, so heat transfer between the cylinder and the outside cooling fins is instant, and therefore the engine runs a lot cooler.

Horizon warranty repair is excellent, and they offer a full 3 year warranty.

I'm sure you can probably tell, I just really love these engines.

Please keep in mind that these engines do need a proper break-in. If you don't break them in right, you will not get the full performance that they are capable of delivering. My break-in procedure includes test stand mounting the engine, and a total of 2 hours of very rich and oilly running time. The recommended fuel for both break-in and flying is 15% nitro, with 20% oil. It is important to keep the oil content at 20% with high-performance 4-strokes like Saito and YS. (A synthetic castor blend is best.)

I just finished breaking in a new Saito 100. And, as usual, it was a, tough, strong, and powerful engine.

If an opportunity ever presents itself to try a Magnum, I'll give it a go, and compare them side by side. However, it is hard to imagine that the engine would be comparable at almost half the cost. In this life, you really pretty much get what you pay for.

I wish I could be more helpful.

Happy Flying to you. And, good luck with your Corsair.

Rayko

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

I have Saitos and Magnums. I have no complaints with either. Both brand of engines run very well, and are extremely dependable. The Saitos have more power, but sometimes the extra boost is not wanted or needed depending on the Application. The magnums are quieter, and have a real sweet mellow tone, while the Saitos are much louder, and have that bad to the bone Harley Davidson Sound. Basically for me it comes down to whether I want the Plane to Sound and Fly Scale-Like(Magnum), or whether I want it to be a hot rod. and sound like a hot rod(Saito). Right now with the Magnum 91 4 stroke selling for $149.00 at Hobby People the choice would be clear for me. $149.00 is a great price for a high quallity 91 size four stroke engine. If the engines were not any good I wouldn't buy one at any price, but the Magnums are a very good engine from my experiences with them!

autopilot

I totally agree with ckangaroo70. I have several Magnums and they all perform well, but have only had one Saito, and although it ran well, I didn't rush out to buy more of them.

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

I wanted to comeback and ad something while the Magnum 91 4s is on my mind. Right now the Magnum 91 4 stroke is on sale at Hobby People for $149, and also right now the VectorFlight Edge 540, and the VectorFlight Extra 300 are on sale for $149. I have a Saito 100 on my VectorFlight Edge, but if I were doing the buying again right now I would have to go for the value priced Magnum. The VectorFlight Planes are on sale for $149, and a Magnum 91 4 stroke for $149 in my opinion are two of the best deals in Airplanes right now. Having this combo for around $300 is just an incredible bargain. Add a $100 flight pack, and you have a $400 RTF Top of the Line Plane in its respective category that should normally cost you around $550-$700 if you went with any other comparable brand and size Plane, and a Saito 100 4 stroke. Anyway I just wanted to share my rambling thoughts with the folks here in case someone reading this post wants to take advantage of the great deal on the Magnum 91, but doesn't have a Plane to put one in.

IronCross

It gets even better. If you buy your Magnum from Tower for 149 and add 25 worth of props or something you can get another 25 off it.. Now IMHO that is a deal..
I just finished up a Vector Flight 66 inch with a Mag .91 in it... What a nice setup... Seems like a perfect match for me

starguard

A buddy of mines has the Hangar 9 Corsair powered with the Saito FA 100, and had a cop (his uncle) hit his plane with a radar gun. He clocked it 10 ft off the ground moving at 70 mph flying full throttle I also have to admit that the Saito does have that distinct (Harley) sound that not too many other engines have. Although the Magnum is truly a better buy for the buck, after reading all of the responses here and watching my buddies flight, I think I'm gonna keep saving and go with the Saito.


Who knows..If my money is right, I may end up with them both

Thanks guys

RLefebvre

My Feedback: (1)

I have a Satio 56 GK that turns a MA 14x6 K series at over 10,000rpm on 10% fuel. Do I have a ringer or something? If that Magnum would fly the Corsair... so would a Satio 56?

mancha

So far, the count goes as follow:

on MAGNUM favor: 10
on SAITO favor: 4
supporting both: 5

based on UDI MAMAN point of view, I guess most of US are rich guys...!

Flyboy Dave

My Feedback: (21)

RLefebvre....

You might want to have that one gold plated, and send it to the Smithsonian.

Dave.

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

Uh huh. Neither the Saito 72 nor the Saito 91 can accomplish the same feat on 10% fuel. Must be alien technology[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

Are you sure that is a 14X6 or is it a 12X6? I have a 52 Magnum 4 stroke that will turn a 12X5 APC 10,450RPM on 15% Cool Power, but I can't imagine getting anywhere close to that swinging a 14X6. I have a 61 Magnum 4 stroke also that would be lucky to get there with a 14X6. I have a Saito 72 and a Saito 100, and am pretty familiar with Saito Engines and what each of them will do. So it just seems to me that a 56 Saito swinging a 14x6 Prop over 10,000 on 10% fuel is a surprisingly high reading! I am not saying that you are wrong, I am just saying that I am really surprised.

IronCross

I have two of the Saito .56 engines... They are some great running engines but a 14x6 at 10 k !. Got your boots on ?