Riverrat1943

My Feedback: (2)

I FLY THE ST 4500 ON MY TOPFLITE P51D AND THEY WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER. I SUGGEST THAT YOU USE THE PLANE AND ENGINE YOU HAVE. THEY FLY GREAT-- SOUND GREAT-- AND PILOTS GATHER AROUND MY PLANE AND KUDOS ARE COMMON.. WITH SCALE RETRACTS, RETRACT DOORS ETC, U WILL HAVE A GREAT SPORT PLANE. LOOK AT THE G3 SIMULATOR FOR THE P51 IT IS FLYING WITH A G4500.

IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SELL ME THEIR BOAT ANCHORS I BE GLAD TO ENTERTAIN ALL OFFERS.

Julian537

My Feedback: (9)

RVD

Is that a Sig 1/4 scale Sukhoi as your avatar? what motor do you have in it? I
have one and I am going to put an ST 4500 in it.

rmossesq

My Feedback: (295)

You can buy a lot of glow fuel for the difference in price between a gas motor and a new big Supertigre - even more so if you get a used one from someone that is changing to gas. Yeah, the 4500 is a little heavy, but for 90% of the planes out there and the guys flying them, it really doesn't matter. The thing that I really like about the 4500 is that you don't have a huge pump carb sticking out somewhere. It is very compact and makes as much power as a 50 size gas motor (Even more then some). I still build about two planes a year in addition to various arfs that come my way, and I find that I prefer to use the big glow motors in planes that I build myself, and gas motors in the arfs for some reason. I have several of the big Tigres including the 4500 and they run perfectly for years, are easy to start by hand, and never seem to wear out. I don't even bother to use special fuel in them - they just chug along without complaint.

Antique

My Feedback: (4)

A Walbro WT499 from a glow G23 will work very well...Use crank pressure, I don't think the hot exhaust from the muffler will be good for the diaphragm...

cu. in.

For everybody's information, Tower Hobbies discontinued the ST 4500 some time ago.

Bruce

XJet

I think *SuperTigre* discontinued the G4500 some time ago -- leaving Tower with little option but to do the same :-)

Flyer95

My Feedback: (1)

The Super tiger was about to release a new 37,5cc engine 2.25cu.in. to replace the G4500. Would like too see when it will hit the market.

cu. in.

Flyer95,

Tower Hobbies discontinued the ST 3750 about a month ago. The only engines shown above 1.20 cu. in. are the 2300 and 3250. See this link:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...P?&C=GCG&V=SUP

One possible reason is that 37.5 cc engines are in gas/spark ignition territory. Perhaps the 3750 would not compete with the Zenoah G38, ZDZ 40, etc?

Bruce

Flyer95

My Feedback: (1)

cu.in.
Are you sure they have discontinued the ST 3750? There can be many other reasons why it is not shown on the Tower list.

cu. in.

Flyer95,

I was going to order one this spring back when Tower showed an "Order Pending" stock status on the link (above 1.20 cu. in.) I posted before. At that time, there were three engines shown, the 2300, 3250, and the 3750. There was no picture of the 3750 engine on the link. I didn't place an order because I wanted to see what the engine looked like.

It seemed like six months passed by with this "Order Pending" status shown, and then about a month or so ago, the 3750 "Order Pending" image disappeared altogether, leaving us with the current "above 1.20 cu. in." link that offers the 2300 and 3250 engines only. This is all I know for sure.

Bruce

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

The Super Tigre G4500 makes a great doorstop. No, I'm not kidding.

Why anyone would run anything other than a gas/petrol engine in this size is beyond my understanding. Apparently, those that own the design/rights to this engine feel the same way, since they stopped offering it for sale.

Do yourself a favor, put it up for sale and buy something like a DA-50, Cunningham G62 Lite or a Brillelli 46 or 60.

And no, converting the G4500 to gas/petrol is not worth the effort.

Sometimes folks make mistakes. The G4500 is one of them, as are the G2500 on up engines.

I'm just trying to save you heart break, frustration and the spending of lots of needless money and time. Large glow engines are born problematic and inefficient.

This is just my opinion and is not intended to offend.

Ed Cregger

Kweasel

My Feedback: (29)

Well, I can get an ST4500 for a hundred bucks and my Futaba gold box AM radio doesn't like ANY RF interference. I agree, I can't see why anyone spending over $1000 on a fragile toy would buy an ST4500.

XJet

I wouldn't mind a G4500 for $100.

Hell, down here, methanol is not much more expensive (sometimes even cheaper) than gasoline and these big engines don't need as much oil as regular glow engines.

Even though they do drink more than twice as much (per minute) you're saving the weight of a CDI and battery so that extra fuel isn't too much of a payload.

Anyone got a good one they want to sell?

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

-----------------


I used to test pilot giant scale models for some pilots in our club, back in the very early Eighties. All these folks had for radios were AM Futaba radios. When things were hooked up right, the Futaba AM rigs were just fine. The same things that bothered AM radios also bothered FM radios when they came along. Besides, using the term AM and FM to describe a model R/C system is a joke. They are neither. At least, not in the USA.

I'd give someone $100 for a good looking ST G4500. I wouldn't ever think of flying it, but I would buy one.


Ed Cregger

Crusty

If anyone wants a new one just engines has the 4500 in stock

Flyer95

My Feedback: (1)

There is nothing wrong in using this engine. It makes lots of power and have very good fuel economy if you run it on the recommended fuel which is 10% oil and methanol for the balance.
Mine could easily turn a MenzS 24x10 or Forte 22x12 @ 6300rpm.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

---------------


I agree with you. There is nothing wrong with using the G4500. That is what a hobby is all about - doing it your way.

I'm spoiled with the gas/petrol engines using Walbro or Walbro type carbs that do not care about fuel tank placement. I'm spoiled by the extraordinarily low cost of fuel for said engines.

I currently own a couple of glow engines that are over my normal 1.20 size limit for glow. I'll probably use them at some point, just for the heck of it, and then just as quickly replace them with gas burners for lower operating costs. I can afford glow fuel, but it is a quirk about my personality that drives me to use the least expensive fuel available that works well. Still, upon occasion, it is fun to "power up" the small sized gas planes with a brief usage of a strong glow engine.

I'm not against glow engines in the larger sizes. It is just that gas does the job well for me in those sizes. Besides, I hate cleaning the glow goop off of my model. But that's me. You and everyone else may see it differently.

Ed Cregger

Stickbuilder

If you guys don't like the 4500, send me a PM with what you have, and how much you want for it. I'm in the market. I don't need vertical performance, I like to fly within the scale envelope, and the short nose, long tail models that I fly use the ST 4500 very well.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

Twinhydro

My Feedback: (6)

Well , interesting . I'm looking at buying a plane , Midwest 80 " wingspan Extra 300 that has a ST 4500 in her . Price is right and just wondering about opinions on this power .

kmeyers

That big ST is great engine if you process your own corn into fuel. I would think of it as a great project to convert to gasoline.

The problem with big thirsty glow engines is the weight of the fuel. You have to balance a model empty then fill it up. Pumped you could put the tank on the CG. If the tank is near the engine then an in-flight CG change occurs.

So if you don't mind using lots of glow it's good. If you convert to gas also good. I've had 3 big ST in the past and the pumped glows were the best performers out of all the glows I ever ran.

I still have a ST 3200 that I think I might convert to gasoline.

Twinhydro

My Feedback: (6)

I'm not too worried about the fuel consumption as I race Twin engine Nitro hydros that use a gallon of 60 % fuel every 4 heats . I really don't fly every weekend and could always convert

to gas in the future ,

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

While I was a ST guy for years, I never had any love for the 4500. Even as a glo engine it was heavy and not all that powerful by today's standards. Like all the big Tigres, it also vibrated quite a bit. Unless tinkering with and converting old engines is an important part of your hobby, and for many it is, there are simply better alternatives available today.

Twinhydro

My Feedback: (6)

So what size and species of Gas engine would go well in that airframe ? 80 " span , 59 " fuse .

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

There are many "it just depends on" conditions for installing a modern gas engine in an older airframe designed around glo power. First, those Midwest planes tended to get heavy quickly so knowing its current weight would be helpful. Is the plane film covered or does it have fabric and paint. Important to know for balance. Did the plane fly with that 4500 or was it a hanger queen? The 4500 is a long engine so that means there is probably plenty of room in the nose to accommodate a modern engine. That is not usually the case and serious firewall or engine box modifications are often necessary. From there, what are your performance expectations? Any of the newer 35 size engines would fly the plane in a respectful manner but balance and performance might be issues. From there you could step up to one of the many 50 - 55 sized engines that might take you the other direction with more power than needed but the weight might be helpful for balance. Any way you go you have to find a place for the ignition box that might go inside the fuselage nose or maybe you can find room up front in the cowl. Use an ignition battery eliminator such as the Tech Aero and you can power your ignition from the receiver battery supply and get ignition cut off in same package. Your tank size can be much smaller than when using glo. So lots of options ...... Another question / consideration would be what kind of prop clearance does the plane have ... is the LG tall enough? I usually go with DLE engines when I'm looking for reasonable cost along with good quality and parts availability but there are many other choices in all price ranges. All DLE engines perform very well and are reliable. The majority of engines out there being offered by established companies are good these days.

You could also go with one of the older gas engines such as the Zenoah G-38, 45 or even the 62. My choice here would be the 45 as it runs smoothly and has good power output and most have mag ignitions for simplicity. Versions were made with EI and mag versions can be easily converted to EI if desired. These are heavier than the newer gas engines but again, if you need the nose weight they are a good option. Zenoah is always a good option for a quality though now dated engine.

Twinhydro

My Feedback: (6)

Great post , thanks for all the info on the gas engines as well . I have only run the G- 260 Zenoahs in my race boats and they run well . I'll give this some thought but for the money I may just buy this plane . It will be the biggest yet for me .