New Fox engines?
#1
Thread Starter
New Fox engines?
On the Fox website Charlie Thacker has indicated that there will be a few new R/C and C/L engine releases. I contacted Sharon and she is lookin' into it....Weeeeeee!
#3
Thread Starter
RE: New Fox engines?
I am wondering, I asked Charlie a while ago about Fox .049 FAI engines. After all 1/2A engines are still popular. The .049 FAI was almost as good as the Tee Dee .049 but without any plastic.
#5
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RE: New Fox engines?
I would love to see new models in the marketplace but frankly I would just be even happier if they could improve their delivery times on the models they already produce. I ordered a .40 RC bushing about three months ago and am still waiting. I love to support an American manufacturer but they are not making it easy...
#6
RE: New Fox engines?
Well, they are selling out everything in stock. There is a fair amount of demand for the engines. So basically they have trouble making enough to sell. So then they have the problem of trying to make new engines to sell, and that takes time, unfortunately. One cannot make all of the engines at the same time, they make each engine type in batches of a certain number. The problem is determining how many of each type to make so you don't wind up with a big inventory left over on hand then. it isn't as easy as one might think.
#11
RE: New Fox engines?
You must take into account Fox has other industrial product contracts that support the model engine making, they could not survive just on engines so may take a little time
well worth the wait martin
well worth the wait martin
#12
RE: New Fox engines?
ORIGINAL: em14
earlwb
I have been waiting for an RC .45 since last Sept!
Leo
earlwb
I have been waiting for an RC .45 since last Sept!
Leo
The nice Fox lady called me up as my credit card information had expired by then. I gave her the new info and the engines arrived soon afterwards.
So that might be a worst case scenario, but you are coming close to beating me though.
I do remember years ago, wanting to get a Nelson engine for racing, and there was like a two to three year waiting list on them at the time.
#14
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RE: New Fox engines?
It seems to me that producing a new Fox engine would be cost prohibitive. They would have to sell many thousands of them just to pay off the design and tooling costs.
I suspect they are able to sell their existing engines for the low prices they do only because they have crates full of castings and other parts from years ago.
If Fox would produce a 4-stroke (just about any size) at a price competitive with Saito and OS I would be in line to buy one. But with many modelers moving to gasoline, now is probably not the time to invest in the production of another glow engine.
I suspect they are able to sell their existing engines for the low prices they do only because they have crates full of castings and other parts from years ago.
If Fox would produce a 4-stroke (just about any size) at a price competitive with Saito and OS I would be in line to buy one. But with many modelers moving to gasoline, now is probably not the time to invest in the production of another glow engine.
#15
RE: New Fox engines?
Actually they do make new engines and parts castings. The Fox Eagle IV has a new mold for it that came out a little while back. I think they do most of the casting in the Winter as it saves on heating costs at their building of course. So they make lots of castings then. Molds do wear out over time, so they do have to make new ones now and then.
Now they do have some interest and help from the Russians for some things such as the ceramic cylinder sleeves and that special Fox .60 control line engine they have. So they could be expanding on that then too. That special CL Fox .60 engine is something of a retro design compared to the modern engines, but for control line it is perfect. They did have some unknown people design and develop their latest .40, .45, .60 and .74 RC carburetor, and that carb is really superb too.
Yes Fox is/was primarily a control line engine company. The engines all have a short front end on them because of their control line heritage. But Fox tends to make engines for function not form, so the engines are functional not made to be pretty, so to speak. The appearance seemed to affect them in the marketing as compared to some other brands that put styling into their engines, so much so that styling tended to outweigh the functioning.
Fox does sell some licensed versions of the Sachs gasoline engines too. Those engines are really superb as well. But I don't know what the technical difficulties were with their little .50 gas engine though. I was really wanting to get a couple of those .50 gas engines too.
But with the wars winding down, Fox may not be so overwelmed with other contracts to make things. So they might be able to spend more time making model engines. Hard to say though. The money is in the contracts versus model engines.
Now then some model engine companies have pretty much abandoned the modellers as they concentrated on government or military contracts instead. SoFox has been great in still supporting the modellers even with all those contracts.
Now they do have some interest and help from the Russians for some things such as the ceramic cylinder sleeves and that special Fox .60 control line engine they have. So they could be expanding on that then too. That special CL Fox .60 engine is something of a retro design compared to the modern engines, but for control line it is perfect. They did have some unknown people design and develop their latest .40, .45, .60 and .74 RC carburetor, and that carb is really superb too.
Yes Fox is/was primarily a control line engine company. The engines all have a short front end on them because of their control line heritage. But Fox tends to make engines for function not form, so the engines are functional not made to be pretty, so to speak. The appearance seemed to affect them in the marketing as compared to some other brands that put styling into their engines, so much so that styling tended to outweigh the functioning.
Fox does sell some licensed versions of the Sachs gasoline engines too. Those engines are really superb as well. But I don't know what the technical difficulties were with their little .50 gas engine though. I was really wanting to get a couple of those .50 gas engines too.
But with the wars winding down, Fox may not be so overwelmed with other contracts to make things. So they might be able to spend more time making model engines. Hard to say though. The money is in the contracts versus model engines.
Now then some model engine companies have pretty much abandoned the modellers as they concentrated on government or military contracts instead. SoFox has been great in still supporting the modellers even with all those contracts.
#19
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RE: New Fox engines?
ORIGINAL: iskandar taib
Mark VIII Combat Special?
Problem is - it'd be a few years too late.
Iskandar
Mark VIII Combat Special?
Problem is - it'd be a few years too late.
Iskandar
Also as much as I hate to say it, I think Combat is withering on the vine period.
#20
RE: New Fox engines?
That note was from 2009! Sad to say but they seem only interested in upgrading existing models. They need some larger sized engines. I doubt they would put in the design effort on a four stroke. But maybe someone could talk them in a larger two stroke. Maybe a glow and gas version of the same larger engine?
#21
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RE: New Fox engines?
Your biggest problem has been said a few posts up. Lack of demand. I haven't seen a Fox glow engine at an R/C flying field in years. Control line is different as there are some rabid Foxaholics who will defend the Fox 35 to their deaths. It's kind of fun to rattle their cage and let them rant for awhile but it's strictly in a perverted sense of fun.
I've used Fox engines over the past 60 years and once you sort them out they work fine. The problem is that they seem to have so many problems. Especially with heads and carbs. Not to mention the Fox 74 when introduced years ago I carefully broke mine in and was pleased with it until I flew it about a dozen times and the piston holed itself on a less than full power run. Fox explaining cavalierly that they had somehow cast the pistons with too thin a crown and they had a problem. Sure they fixed it for free but it has sat in my drawer going on 20 years with no thought of running it as I moved on to other engines. I can certainly relate other problems over the years but most manufacturers have also had their share of duds. To Fox mfg. credit though they do stand 100% behind their product.
I've used Fox engines over the past 60 years and once you sort them out they work fine. The problem is that they seem to have so many problems. Especially with heads and carbs. Not to mention the Fox 74 when introduced years ago I carefully broke mine in and was pleased with it until I flew it about a dozen times and the piston holed itself on a less than full power run. Fox explaining cavalierly that they had somehow cast the pistons with too thin a crown and they had a problem. Sure they fixed it for free but it has sat in my drawer going on 20 years with no thought of running it as I moved on to other engines. I can certainly relate other problems over the years but most manufacturers have also had their share of duds. To Fox mfg. credit though they do stand 100% behind their product.
#22
RE: New Fox engines?
ORIGINAL: dennis
The problem is that they seem to have so many problems. Especially with heads and carbs. Not to mention the Fox 74 when introduced years ago I carefully broke mine in and was pleased with it until I flew it about a dozen times and the piston holed itself on a less than full power run. Fox explaining cavalierly that they had somehow cast the pistons with too thin a crown and they had a problem. Sure they fixed it for free but it has sat in my drawer going on 20 years with no thought of running it as I moved on to other engines. I can certainly relate other problems over the years but most manufacturers have also had their share of duds. To Fox mfg. credit though they do stand 100% behind their product.
The problem is that they seem to have so many problems. Especially with heads and carbs. Not to mention the Fox 74 when introduced years ago I carefully broke mine in and was pleased with it until I flew it about a dozen times and the piston holed itself on a less than full power run. Fox explaining cavalierly that they had somehow cast the pistons with too thin a crown and they had a problem. Sure they fixed it for free but it has sat in my drawer going on 20 years with no thought of running it as I moved on to other engines. I can certainly relate other problems over the years but most manufacturers have also had their share of duds. To Fox mfg. credit though they do stand 100% behind their product.
There have been many improvementin the last couple of decades. Especially with the carb and heads. OS never really owned up to the many bearing issues they have, at least Fox admits when they have a problem and fix it for free. Lifetime warranty in fact. I have a Fox .50 made in the 80's, original bearings, no problems as long as you keep the nitro low. One of my fav engines, despite the crude needles.
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RE: New Fox engines?
I have a couple of Fox .50s that I've been flying since the 1980s too. I agree that the QC on the lo-spd needles left something to be desired. I used to buy several lo-spd needles from Fox and switch them into the carb until I found one that didn't let the engine load up in the mid-range. Another trick was to put a piece of fuel tubing on the needles, overlapping the spray bar, so that air didn't get sucked in while running.
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