DarZeelon

Tom,


The likelihood of a newbie coming into the R/C market and buying a glow engine, is about 20%; while 80% would buy 'plug-n-play' electrics.

We're just glow-die-hards here...


New glow engines coming into the market??? Just check how it was several years ago...
It is just a matter of time until OS begins to offer electric motors - and then we'd all be relics.

Webra and MVVS already replaced many glows with electrics. Some others moved to China, or sold out to Randy Linsalato; and it is the requiem of the glow engine.
There's no turning back, it seems.

mike109

G'day Dar

From where I am sitting, electrics are mainly the preserve of the "toy aeroplane market". These are bought from shops like my local hobby shop, taken away and crashed and never seen again. Lots of them are sold but very few ever manage to stay in the air for more than a few seconds. Some do and their owners go on to be park or farm fliers. They don't join clubs and round here they are a pretty rare breed.

We have only one recent member who flies only electric planes and to say he flies is to be kind. Mostly he crashes. We have tried to help but he is not easy to help. All our other new members for several years have flown glow models. A couple have graduated to petrol powered models but not many.

The bulk of models in out club (in rural Australia) are powered by OS 46AX engines. A few AX55 and then an eclectic collection of four strokes and other two strokes. Most of my engines are four strokes because I prefer the purr of a four stroke to the scream of a two stroke though it was not always like this. If there is going to be a big move to glow engines, it is not starting round here anyway. Perhaps we are just backward.

Things are changing. I visited my old club where I learned to fly some 20 years ago last weekend. That club is now 80 years old used to be very traditional. The members used to build some very nice scale models. These days many of the same people that were there when I was are still flying but these days it is mostly ARFs. This would have been unheard of 20 years ago at this club and even 10 years ago. Chinese four strokes were strongly represented but I did not see any electric powered models.

Diesel is still holding on too. I started a Diesel Day at my former club in Cowra a few years back. The first year we had about 10 people come but last year there were over 40 mad ether heads flying everything from small free flight models to screaming combat and racing control line models. It is getting bigger every year. I suspect that this is the future for Glow if electric really gets a hold round here. Old technologies never die, they just find a niche. And my most recent engine purchase is a MPJet .040 diesel.

Cheers

Mike in Oz

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

LOL @ RC's

You never see a ad in Shotgun News,

"Going black powder selling all centerfire rifles".

I like gas, glow, eletric, 1/2A, and gliders!

Guitarman52

My Feedback: (2)

I like all three. I may be wierd , but I really like the glow fuel smell.

ArcticCatRider

My Feedback: (6)

This is akin to saying why would an artist paint a picture instead of just snapping a photo? Or why take a flight of stairs if there's an elevator? Why prepare clams in a white wine and garlic sauce when you can get a McFish sandwich??

Doesn't anyone love satisfaction?

blw

My Feedback: (3)

Not much in the way of going electric around my club. I'm sure there are a lot of park flyer types elsewhere that we will never see. But, we used to get those guys in the club until they ran out of money crashing, or lost interest.

One thing is for certain- you see what is local to your own area. Down here it's a lot of OS, Evolution, and Saito engines. I've only seen one Webra and never a MVVS. A couple of GMS engines. A few Thunder Tigers, and maybe a couple of Super Tigers. A few YS engines, but they generally wear down the owners until they sell them off.

I instruct a class at the university and we have been building glow models, but we are going electric next semester. The main reason for that is to compress the build semester with the flying semester into one class. Weather and daylight savings time is killing the flying time syllabus for outdoor glow. Having the students fly a collection of 3 kinds of indoor and indoor/outdoor electrics is a bridge between other classes they are taking and the Design, Build, and Fly competition. There should be plenty of indoor space on campus. We will still have glow models if we have the time to go out and fly.

GerKonig

I am 60. Started on RC 30 years ago. About 6 years ago got rid of all the nitro stuff and went exclusively gas (for the bigger planes 1/4 scale and 1/3) and electric for the smaller ones.

Never looked back! It is a very easy decission. I have always 8/9 planes ready to fly, and I noticed that onr year I did not use at all the nitro planes.

This is a wonderful hobby and it offers so many choices, why no pick the one you like the most:-) I think nitro will never die, but we will see less and less at our fields.

If you really need the stench of nitro, keep a bit of old fuel in a spray bottle... Said that, who knows, maybe I get a nitro powered plane in 10 years or 20 just for the nostalgia. After all, people still fly "old timers"... and they seem to enjoy them. For those that say "I prefer to die before using gas or electrics": grow up, smell the roses, life is way too short.

Gerry

Nikolas K

Yeap, but you do not have a dual ignition system, do you?[sm=tongue_smile.gif][sm=tongue_smile.gif]

spaceworm

Actually, I do. I have switchable dual magnetos controllable by a servo, with a failsafe switchover in case one fails. I like to do the mag 1, mag 2 thing during runup with the brakes on. An onboard downlinkable engine tach tells me if there is any drop in rpm when switching mags.

But have you EVER known a single magneto equipped RC engine to fail in flight due to the magneto?[8D]

ThumbSkull

My Feedback: (57)

Being a blind pilot, I need the sound of the glow engine to locate where the plane is in the air.
Electrics are much harder to keep track of as they are near silent.

MaGoo

mike early

Interesting! and Impressive!

I am pretty deaf, and I only like glow engines. I started with electric but after a year went exclusively to saitos. Before I knew how to tune them reliably I'd have to ask someone to stand beside me and tell me if the engine quit.

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

I have all three, and a glider as well. I prefer gas power for my bigger planes. Until the battery costs get in line, I'll stick with gas or glow for most of my future planes.
zx32tt

Kmot

My Feedback: (24)

Dar, do you recall that Supertigre has electric motors now? OS may be next!

Yes, you are absolutely correct that hobby shops will push electrics. Easier to sell, less to teach the kids, and they stay in business.

I also see posts frequently from lekky flyers exclaiming they now "want to try glow".

I think for many that going from electric to glow is an evolutionary step for them. Which is good for the glow industry.

I wish to make a comment about the "myth" of silent electric flight. Hogwash! [:@]

EDF's are very common now and they are far, far more annoying and louder in noise level than the great majority of glow engine powered aircraft. And the same for the high speed propeller driven electrics that scream loudly like banshees when they are airborne. The only glow I can compare those things too are Formula 1.

357ross

Broken wings, I can't answer for everyone, but it seems to me that the availability and the COST of the fuel are the biggest factors here. At least it is for me. After being out of the hobby for about 9 years, I was shell-shocked at how expensive, and hard-to-get glow fuel has become. I am seriously considering going to all gas. Even at 5.00 a gallon, it is at least affordable, and available anywhere. Between the ripoff hazmat fees, and general shipping fees, it is not economically feasable to mail order it, and hobby stores are going the way of the dinosaur very rapidly. Where I live, good luck finding fuel at all, and if you do find it, it is only available in quart bottles, and "only" 19.50 per quart. That's almost 80.00 per gallon, and on a good weekend, I will use that much. The hazmat ripoff will likely be the end of glow fuel, in my opinion.

hsukaria

I have 2 electrics left, and several nitro planes. I love the nitro engines. They range from .40 to .74 cu. in. Different brands, 2 and 4 stroke. I admit, I did need help from club members tweaking them when I got started in the hobby. But know I always enjoy "messing" with them. I carry a small spray bottle of cleaner to get the oil off the 2-strokes. The 4-strokes don't mess the plane much, if any. I bet even the electric guys need to clean the dirt/grass off their planes occasionally.

The electrics have an advantage that the airframe can be optimized for lightness since they don't have to endure the vibrations from the engine. Gassers generate quite a bit of vibrations from what I have seen. A club member had his biplane fall apart from his gasser vibes. I always see the gasser guys losing screws or having to re-tighten everything. Gassers also seem to be prone to getting dirt in the fuel lines and carbs. Every now and then a guy at the club with a gasser is grounded because he got dirt in the carb. They have to take the plane back home and disassemble the carb to clean it.

I also get nauseated by the smell of gas at the field. I will never be able to bring a gas plane home due to the smell.

Finally, the biggest cost to the fuel, other than nitro, is the oil. Gasser guys need to factor the cost of oil to the fuel, it is not $3/gal, especiailly if using premium oil. If nitro fuel is too expensive, lower the nitro content and re-adjust you engine settings, no big deal. It's lot cheaper than selling your nitro engines at a loss and spending a load of money getting gas engines or electric powerpacks.

spaceworm

Or a screaming unmuffled Cox .049 or a Dynajet

Glow and gas rule!!!

Sincerely, Richard

pilotpete2

Very true,
There are more than a few electrics at our field that are way more annoying than a sweet running four stroke glow engine.
I fly all three power modes. Electric for sailplanes, EDF (retired, no turbines in my future), and parkflier stuff on my property.
Currently (pun intended) all my glow flying is of the four stroke variety, I can't imagine giving them up.
I also have two gas powered models. My experience so far has been very good, they start easily, sure you gotta warm them up, but that's just another "scale" feature[8D].
Yeah, the cost of glow fuel is a bit steep, but our club buys by the pallet load, so the price we get, plus common carrier shipping is a lot is decent.
There is growing popularity in the 20cc to 30cc calss of gas engines. The little DLE 20cc beam mount engine seems to be a stump puller from some of the feedback I have seen[8D]
Pete

Mr Cox

I'm certainly not seeing any of that around here.

Running cost includes batteries and they are not cheap, unless they are illegally imported from china.
The noise is louder than any of my diesels with mufflers.
What is the problem with wiping off the plane? Sometimes there is even dirt on them from a wet field. It would be like not having a nice meal just because there will eventually be some wiping involved there too.
I have seen several prop strikes, seem less predictable than glow.
No starting procedures and adjustment? Heck, that's all they talk about, which setting to use and are the batteries old or fresh, left charged or are they discharged enough to be stored etc, etc.

I'm certainly not going anywhere.

Broken Wings

My Feedback: (20)

Tower Hobbies has fuel for Less than $6.00 a quart.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXVJS4&P=0

No HazzMat fees, you just missed Free Shipping on orders of $100........

DarZeelon

A sport plane with an OS.46AX, with the original muffler and a 10x6 prop, is much noisier than the same with a brushless electric spinning a typical 13x6 prop...

The electric will also fly better and climb better.

Broken Wings

My Feedback: (20)

When will you be going out of the glow engine sales business?

Are you having any "Going out of Business" sales on glow engines?

hsukaria

While we are on the subject of convenience, I have a flight simulator. I can just stay home and not bother with charging batteries, putting the battery in the plane, removing the battery from the plane...what a hassle!!! I have to see if I can manage to push the power switch on my PC. Man, that's a lot of work!! I actually have to get off the couch!!

ThumbSkull

My Feedback: (57)

I thought everyone would see that typed this tongue in cheek especially by signing it MaGoo.
I just like glow. The sound, smell, look. Hey they are model engines and not a substitute.
To me, model engines are much of the reason I like this hobby.

richie5150

THAT'S A LOT OF SCRATCH FOR A QUART OF FUEL !!! YOUR HOBBY SHOP OWNER MUST LOVE BENDIN PEOPLE OVER. IS HE A DEMOCRAT ????

AmishWarlord

My Feedback: (5)

"Who's Magoo"?

"It's a cartoon called Mr. Magoo about a old blind man and the stupid things he did because he's old and blind".

"That's mean"!

"Dadburn politically correct kids"!