RE: Are the new Thunder Tiger 40s actually 46s?
Another unsuspecting victim here and I can tell you this, it is painful in more ways than one. My engine was purchased from Tower Hobbies late last year and placed in a brand new airframe for the upcoming 2012 season. At the 9th round (of 10) yesterday waiting for the morning fog to break there was discussion on the possibility of a .46 in the .40 case straight from the factory and as you guessed it, my engine has the larger head to cylinder gap. We could not confirm at the field whether or not it was indeed a .46 but I withdrew myself from the days event anyway. This morning I was able to measure the engine and it does have both the bore and stroke dimensions of the .46
This creates a few serious issues for me. First off, I have competed all year with this plane and with 2 rounds left in the season I hold second in overall points. Yesterday's withdrawl from competition will probably put me farther down the list but as it stands now ALL my points will most likely be removed (and in all fairness should) as I have competed with a illegal engine for the entire season. Secondly and by far the most serious, my character has been called into question. This is something I hold very dear to myself and pride myself on is my values. For some that do not know me well enough I'm sure I will be labeled a "cheater".
It had been mentioned earlier in this thread that it is the responsibility of the competitor to verify that the engine they use is correct and legal. To this I say B.S.!!!!!! If I cannot have faith in a OEM supplied engine from a reputable dealer then why even bother, had I been aware the possibility of this scenario then indeed I would have checked my engine (as many of you did) but that was not the case. I know you can swap components but did not know these were being passed on from the factory untill yesterday.
I will make the appropriate contacts this coming week if only to bring more awareness to the manufacturer as I'm not very concerned with a replacement at this time.
Thanks for hearing me out.
Chris Kortessis #82, Fl Club40 Pylon