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Questions - Newbie, Gasoline Engines
I am an adequate R/C model plane flyer from the 80's. I am making a slow come-back and still interested after all these years. There may be an electric-motor-plane in my future and there may be a gasoline-engine-plane in my future. I currently own 3 glow engines. An Enya 29, Enya 45, and OS 60. I have lots of questions about gas engines. My forte' is sport flying.
1. Putting price aside is there a favorite or most popular brand? Is it Saito? 2. What would you guess is the most popular displacement? 30cc? 3. Do the 10, 15, 20cc engines perform as well as the 30cc and up? At the moment my focus seems to be the 60-90ci glow engine range. So if I am thinking I can also use a gasoline engine in that size range. I tend to select an engine and then look at what plane designs are available in that size. I am sure this is backwards in regards to the way some people think. When I was a kid I use to think it is more likely the engine will stay around while the models will come and go. So, I put more focus on the engine. Quarter scale seems to be a little too big and time consuming for my personal life. I have other expensive hobbies (full size boats) |
Please take this as my personal opinion however opinion based on running gas engines since 1997. Right now IMO the best place to start with a gasoline engine would be with a DLE 20. Not only have DLE made big strides in quality over the past decade or so, the 20cc is a good starting point as the average airplane size will be 68" to 72" wingspan. I do not suggest going smaller then 20cc as I have seen too many reliability issues associated with the smaller displacements. Anything larger then 20cc would have me looking at engines manufactured by DA, ZDZ and 3W with DA being at the top of my list. Currently I own one each of those brands. I would stick with the 2 strokes during the learning curve and have also seen a fair share of failures with the Saito gasoline engines. I would also highly suggest you read the stickys at the top of this forum. The two most common errors associated with new gasoline engine users is damage/improper seating of the plug cap and failing to use a fuel filter on the airplane. They will also tune a bit different. My standard tuning method is to get the engine running reliably on the ground but a bit on the rich side. Then slowly work the needles in based on what is observed in flight. Unlike a glow engine a rich running gasser will not load up and die, it will just transition sluggish and be a little down on top end power. Expect that this could be a hot topic with large variations in opinion. Do your research on who is offering the advise. Feel free to ask any specific questions that may come to mind. |
Thanks the info Speed. I am not on a schedule. I have no clock when it comes to my hobbies. My next engine purchase will likely be a 60 or 90ci glow engine or a 20cc gasoline engine. That purchase could be tomorrow, years from now, or never. Not sure where it is going yet. No burning desire to let go of money. I am re-building a 1000cc four stroke Yamaha Waverunner engine right now and it needs to get finished and get out of my shop to make room for model planes. I may need to acquire more space.
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Nice thing about switching to gas is the run cost is so much cheaper and its getting hard to find glow/nitro fuel.
I have a lot of small gas engines (and a number of larger ones) and really love them over glow power. Saito (including a big gas radial), DA, DLE, GP, Valley View, RCGF |
I visited a Giant Scale Warbirds fly-in here is SC. They advised the same about the fuel. They said glow fuel is just too expensive now days. I guess once you get to a certain size, glow fuel is out of the question. Since I have an enormous amount of time invested running glow engines, dating back to 1968, I don't see gasoline powered engines as presenting a great deal of difficulty for me. Another question just dawned on me. Do gasoline engines come in both 2-stroke and 4-stroke? Now days can you get a 4-stroke glow engine. Sorry about all the ignorance here. My focus has been elsewhere for a very long time
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Wow what a great looking landing strip at JaxRC. Maybe can get over and take a look at it Saturday June 10th. Will be visiting my son in Jaxsonville
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Stop by any time!
Yes, there's 2 stroke and 4 stroke gas engines. |
I would agree the 20cc gassers as the ideal place to get your feet wet with gas. Great trade off when it comes to being user friendly, inexpensive to buy and run, nice size plane to fly, etc. Or go with something bigger. Smaller engines start getting picky due to the tiny amounts of fuel being used. The only smaller engine might be the RCGF 15, but it's about the same weight as the DLE 20, so no real advantage to the smaller displacement.
If buying a new 20, I would suggest you seriously consider the rear exhaust option. If you add the cost of a Pitts type exhaust to a side exhaust engine, you've nearly paid the the difference in price (side vs. rear), and the rear exhaust will have a much smaller footprint when it comes to a tight fitting cowl. Much less hacking involved.... |
This has all been very helpful. If I were to purchase an engine today I think it would be a gasoline 20cc 4-stroke.
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In that case, I would get a Saito, I have one on a small Stick that runs great and sounds awesome
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the only problem I found with buying a 20cc gas engine is that if you want to put it in a Mustang or P-40 you will have a tight fit, for sure as said above, you will need the rear exhaust
Jim |
Originally Posted by the Wasp
(Post 12528689)
the only problem I found with buying a 20cc gas engine is that if you want to put it in a Mustang or P-40 you will have a tight fit, for sure as said above, you will need the rear exhaust
Jim https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...ec0a128574.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...63ef97038b.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...59c8bac513.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...cd0fb1a1a7.jpg |
JaxRC
Originally Posted by BarracudaHockey
(Post 12528489)
Stop by any time!
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That's awesome, we have a great crew. Sorry I wasn't around, I was up in Indiana at the EDF Jet Jam event.
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