Sport_Pilot

Did he write TT or Tower Hobbies or Hobbico? Because Hobbico is no longer the distributor and no longer sells them.

Indy Park Flyer

He emailed and received a response from TT directly. I've seen the email and if I remember correctly, it mentioned the new distributor, but said they were no longer manufacturing glow or nitro engines.

lonestoner

To all thunder tiger peeps,I just scored a new unused thunder tiger 120 from the classifieds

Telemaster Sales UK

Laser will make you a brand new engine with your own initials stamped onto the mounting lugs!

1QwkSport2.5r

Just a teeny itsy bitsy difference comparing a TT 120 to a handmade Laser 4-stroke. While we're at it, Dub Jett autographs and numbers every engine me makes (the BSE variety anyway). . Kidding aside, TT makes a good engine. I'd have no qualms buying more of them if I didn't have a stockpile of a bunch of other engines.

Telemaster Sales UK

I own thee Thunder Tigers, two 91s and a 54. The 54 powers my winter hack, a Mark 3 WOT 4, and one of the 91s powers the Senior Telemaster which you may see in my avatar. The only problem I've ever had with any of them has been due to wearing out the bearings in the 91s because I did not use any after-run oil! So that's my fault, there's nothing wrong with the engineering.

I used to have a GP42, a cheap plain bearing two stroke. Despite its unremarkable specifications it was one of the best engines I've ever owned. Smooth, reliable, easy to start, powerful enough for most airframes specifying a 40, I wish now that I had not given it away to the club for use in the trainer which nobody uses.

I also own four Lasers, none of which are in any airframes at the moment.

GallopingGhostler

I own 3 TT's, Magnum 25GP, 15GP, and GP-07.

Given that ASP/AP engines too seem to be on their way out, given the amount of long term "out of stock" statuses on HobbyKing and HobbyPartz, Super Tigre on Tower Hobbies, Fox out of the engine business, I think nitro engines are on their way out, the smallest to larger, overtaken by outrunner electric motors and LiPo battieries. Even the CL folks are slowly migrating to electrics.

With once dominant Thunder Tiger (and Magnums manufactured by TT) completely out of the business, I think I'm seeing another bygone era.

Telemaster Sales UK

Let's hope not, besides if you can build a model aeroplane you can dismantle an engine and replace the rings and bearings when they wear out. The bearings are mostly standard and may be purchased at any general engineering suppliers and there is a guy who trades as "gaviscool" on the British eBay site who makes piston rings for a wide variety of engines. I'm sure that there must be many similar suppliers in the USA so we should be able to keep our engines going for some time.

Having said all of that, the electric side of aeromodelling is certainly dominant and has probably saved a number of flying fields. We haven't had a noise complaint in years at our field, and "my" French club held a round of their national aerobatic championship last year, all of the competitors, including the former World Champion, Christian Paysant Le Roux, flew electric powered models. Who would have thought that even five years ago?

Let's hope some enterprising type sets up a business making replacement spray-bars and needle valves. These are the parts which are most likely to get broken in a crash and if they're no longer available, our lovely old glow motors will be rather expensive paper weights.

GallopingGhostler

You are correct, Telemaster. There is someone in US who sells piston rings for various engines, I am told they are better quality than OEM. This is at least for the Testors Series 21 engines, I'm sure for others too.

Some modelers have found that one can swap some parts like carbs, piston and cylinder liner sets, and NVA's between engines. Oddly enough, I've found that an Evolution 46 remote NVA fits a venerable Testors McCoy 35 Red Head perfectly, even down to the backplate bolt spacing. 1.75 turns sets up this control line engine for a nice rich 4 cycle run barely breaking into 2 cycle, preferable for CL stunt flying. I just ordered another for my other 35 RH.

There is cottage industry support for the older engines. Glow isn't completely dead. Ignition engines of the 1940's have pretty much so subsided except for an occasional run by some enthusiasts. Ignition has made a slight comeback as petrol is cheaper than glow fuel for larger engines.

Glow isn't completely dead, but as the electrics are further refined, they have interestingly revived half-A flying in the form of school yard electrics. Many of the vintage and nostalgia half-A's now can live on as electrics. I've been thinking of making a 1953 DeBolt 34 inch (864 mm) span Livewire Kitten as a 2 channel electric (motor and rudder). Electric has better throttling characteristics and the advantage of completely cutting power for thermaling. We get hat sucking thermals during the summer here in Clovis, New Mexico.

Inasmuch as I love glow, I'm seeing things changing, so will continue enjoying it as much as I can.

fizzwater2

My Feedback: (61)

tis a sad day, for sure.

Electrics have no soul.. yes, I have some. No, I don't prefer them.

wcmorrison

My Feedback: (2)

I have heard nothing about ASP going out of business. And ASP is not made by Thunder Tiger. ASP is a Magnum engine. I believe they are all made in mainland China by Sanye engines who still makes them and several other brands. I have heard that Thunder Tiger is quitting and it is a great loss as they make a good engine. But ASP/Magnum are definitely still going strong.

GallopingGhostler

The current lot of Magnum engines may come out of mainland China, but the earlier ones were in fact made by Thunder Tiger of Taiwan. Instructions to my Magnum .15GP states on the back made by Thunder Tiger. My statement regarding ASP is more by observation that many glow models are always "out of stock", and for a long time, not just a few months. Are they out of business? I think not, but there are less and less being made available for sale.

slapshot1997

I have 3 or 4 Thunder Tiger 46 PRO engines (1 new / 3 used). They are great running engines that make plenty of power. I won't part with any of them either - next to OS I think the Thunder Tigers are my favorite engines. If anyone is looking for these engines they turn up on Ebay, RC Groups and here on RCU fairly regularly. I hope they continue to make engines and a prominent company does a good job distributing them. Some of the parts from the Thunder Tiger 2 strokes can be interchanged from Magnum or comparable OS 2 strokes as well.

aspeed

Yes, I think we need a good prominent distributor. I would bet anything but money, that Thundertiger, Supertiger and Magnum could keep going with the right distributor. I am not in the know, but believe that the companies would like to continue. I can see it would be hard to keep stock with everyone in every club saying OS everything though. ASP/Magnum are a good motor for the $ but I only know of two distributors and they are never stocked up, and don't deliver to regular hobby shops where we shop. Really I can't think of a nearby hobby shop that stock OS. Even a 3 hour drive? I have a few Thunder Tigers, but am not really pleased with any of them except the .40 size and larger. Even the Magnum .28 that I have would not run right (it was made by TT at the time, and I figured out the problem. It works great now)

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

So I guess the 424 pylon class is dead now?

earlwb

Unfortunately, it is all about money and whether one can make a decent profit selling the engines or not. With electrics encroaching ever more and more into the glow engine market, it does not bode well for the internal combustion engine market. I do love the engine sounds, the smells, being able to tune and adjust the engines to run well and fly planes well. But electrics are basically no fuss and no mess. So as electrics are able to advance up into the larger displacement engine sizes, we will see fewer engines being made. Eventually none except by specialist companies.

GallopingGhostler

True, Fox and Thunder Tiger are no more. Super Tigre appears to be in the same bout. Enya has scaled back to cottage status. OS is now producing a line of electrics. I'd say they saw the light that they are a model powerplant company moreso than an engine company. We saw steam engine trains morph to diesel electrics. Electrics are capable of handling great power and newer technology batteries have overcome the weight limitations making them practical. All in all the positive is we are still flying.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

It is not so much that the engine is dead, but possibly the glow engine. Gas powerplants have never been more popular. There are still many downsides to electrics. It would seem though, that now may be the time to start grabbing up any engine we want as who knows how long they will be available. Another consideration will be the fuel. It may not be too long before we are forced to mix our own.

dennis

My Feedback: (90)

I currently have a NIB TT61 on the RCU for sale in the 2 cycle section.

Dennis

f16man

I remember years ago a friend had a tower hobbies engine and was so much like a thunder tiger , I was thinking it probably was just a little different cylinder head fins and of course the logo on the block...........

GallopingGhostler

True, for the larger engines, gas is a convenient and cost effective solution. Large electric batteries are very expensive. I noticed that more and more used engines are being unloaded on E-Bay, and the costs for some are reasonable. Availability of glow fuel and that at a reasonable cost will affect glow use. Smaller engines .25 and smaller won't quite feel the crunch as much as the larger. There are alternatives in gas to the .52 engines and larger. Cost of entry is a touch more but gas is quite a bit cheaper. It's why I haven't acquired many larger engines, as I intend to go gas with the larger planes.

Sport_Pilot

The only thing that is killing glow engines is that the fuel manufactures overpriced their fuel when production went down. Perhaps if the engine manufactures would make 0% nitro engines that use 5% oil and instructions on how to mix fuel, there would be a resurgence.

Sport_Pilot

Glow fuel is and will always be in nearly every city. You just need to know where to find the alcohol. Nitro not so easy to find but also unnecessary.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

It is a shame they overprice the fuel. The Europeans have used no nitro (FAI) forever. Look at Rossi engines. Highly compressed just for this reason. Nitro is not needed. Unless maybe you are running a 1/2 A. They really do suffer from low nitro fuel.

H5606

Yeah, what's going to happen here? I just can't see a gasoline engine, it's ignition system and additional battery used in Q-500s and turning a 9x6 at 15-16 grand. Likewise for electrics, what fun is there in moving the throttle switch to the "on" position to start your motor.