LS171Malibu

My Feedback: (16)

I have been trying to find the posted rules for power plants, and finally found where it should be... under "THINGS" on the SPA website. (That is way too obscure, and in my opinion something as important as the rules, planes, and sequences should not be hidden under such a vague word) When I selected it, no page loaded. After another hour of searching I have given up. That got me to thinking, is there some changes in the works? I am going to be building another plane for next year and am not sure what is going to power it. Once again with my opinion... the OS engines should be included in the rules. Times change, products change, we change, the planes stay the same.

For what it's worth, I don't much like buying used engines anymore, there are too many junk engines sold over the Internet as "barely run", or "just broken in", etc.... I have a box of em I got suckered in on and wouldn't give the things away. So, I will try to not fall into that mess again and only buy new or local known and verified good engines.

I know there are plenty of engines that are legal available. I prefer to fly when I'm at the field and not "jack" with a bad running engine. It didn't take me long in this hobby to learn what worked for me, and (with exception of a well worn out example last year) OS Engines have been very reliable and plenty powerful.

Let's get the OS 65 and 95 adopted. I don't know what else in this world is available in that displacement that could hinder this request... Dubb Jett 65L maybe... IDK, but it makes since to me to have an option from the undisputed leader in RC engines available for use.

Cheers,

tgwhitley

I agree just bought a NIB surpass 1 .91 they are becoming hard to find. Lets hope that the rules can be changed to allow new engines from OS again.

Tim

Skylane

My Feedback: (3)

Effective today the displacement limits in SPA competition have been raised to .65 cu in for 2 strokes and 0.95 cu in for 4 strokes. See the announcement below.

Jeff Owens
VP SPA L243

OS .95 CID 4 STROKE and .65 2 STROKE now SPA legal
September 12, 2012
Your SPA president has received approval of a majority of the BOD to increase the CID displacement of SPA-legal engines from .91 to .95 and .61 to .65. This will allow use of the reliable OS .95 4-stroke, and up to .65 2-stroke engines.

This action was precipitated by the cessation of the OS 91 Surpass and the .61 2 Stroke engines by OS and the production of the .95 4S and the .65 2S. Other manufacturers may follow their lead.

This decision was made due to concerns about the longevity of our existing .91's and replacement parts. We need a reliable supply of quality engines and parts that are readily available. The decision has nothing to do with seeking additional POWER or performance for our planes.
Another consideration was the nominal cost of the OS .95 compared to the .81 OS. We hope this removes the fear of availability of the OS engines so many of us depend on to propel our SPA pattern planes on the contest trail.

LS171Malibu

My Feedback: (16)

Wow!! Awesome!!!

Dave Harmon

If the new OS 95 has a plated cam which peels the plating off and runs the metal through the rest of the engine....I won't be buying one of them.
I had such a freaking hassle with the plated cam on the 91P that I'll never buy another OS until they recognize and fix that problem.
Which means of course....I'll never buy another OS engine.

I had 3 of them replaced under warrantee before I got smart and found a non-plated cam....of course....then....it ran fine and I flew it a lot.
The 3rd one I ran the same day I received it from Tower and I ran it on a PSP test stand for a a minuite or so before it started binding up.....I had it back in the original box and at FedEx before it cooled off.
Beware anything from OS that has any plated parts.....2 stroke pistons unless it has a ring....and 4 strokes with plated cams.
Buy Rossi and NovaRossi....they have REAL ABC pistons and sleeves and run great....and their real chrome plating never peels off.
Some time back....I posted on RCU a letter that was sent to an owner from OS Engines in Japan regarding this peeling problem.....search for it and read it....then make up your mind before you buy.

eness76-RCU

My Feedback: (13)

Blake, just so you are aware of it, if you go under "Downloads" on the website you can download the complete competitors guide and all the rules and regs you were looking for are contained in that pdf. It's pretty handy to have printed, as it has all the information about the maneuvers in there as well. Phil Spelt does a great job keeping that together for SPA. Thanks,
Eric

LS171Malibu

My Feedback: (16)

Thank you Eric. Fortunately a good friend of mine showed me the way. (how I forgot where to find it is a mystery to me... I guess that comes with age lol) I was originally looking for those rules to see if the YS FZ70-s was legal, seeing as it doesn't have the big air chamber on the back. I was first excited when I found it said nothing about the supercharging... until I later found on the next page under additional IC rules it mentioned no supercharging... Oh well. I think I'm gonna have to get a saito 82 and OS 95 and compare them. I like the idea of a four stroke that weights about the same as my .61. No balance issues.

eness76-RCU

My Feedback: (13)

looks like OS has done a pretty good job of making all of these fit the same size motor mounts and thrust washer distances, at least their 61-5 and 91-5. Sure makes updating an old airframe easy. Looks like the 60s and 90s are close in weight too when you factor in the mufflers. Good luck and have fun flying the Open this weekend.

Eric

LS171Malibu

My Feedback: (16)

Good point, I need to weight my 61 w/muffler. I am looking forward to this week end, thanks again!

stuntflyr

Curious Dave about the oil content you ran in these peeling OS engines?
Chris...

Dave Harmon

Hi Chris....
In this case it was Cool Power Heli which is 21 or 22% oil.
The peeling of the cylinders and cams is nothing really new....it's a known problem that has been going on since at least 88' when I first became aware of the problem.

Right now...I have a letter in my hand that is direct from OS Engines in Osaka, Japan stating that they had never seen or heard of the peeling problem until they received the engine direct from myself.
(they sent a new engine direct which I sold immediately)

In addition....I also have in hand a letter from Clarence Lee answering some questions re this problem and he said he had seen at least three engines with the peeling problem and brought the matter directly to the OS factory "a long time ago".
Today....briefly....if it has a ringed piston.....it's ok..the liner is not plated....I can't imagine why....kaff...
If the cam on their 4 stroke engine is a bright instead of a dull finish....it is plated and should be avoided by trying to find a non-plated cam....these are available for the 91 Surpass if you look around.
The new design engines may or may not have plated cams but OS thinks the plating reduces or eliminates corrosion.....according to statements in the engine manual.
I strongly disagree.