ORIGINAL: bjr_93tz
Gee, and here I was thinking all these years that Canadians were a polite group of people after watching "Due South" back in the 90's
Seriously, it's not all about the bling. There's only ever been a handful of IC engines offered for sale over the counter by the various manufacturers that ran good enough to fly pattern without requiring too much experimentation from the end user. So a fancy pattern engines is/was a must have unless you wanted to muck around and try and get something else going properly. Although some have good sucess with the OS 1.60's when pumped. Electrics have been a bit of a game changer in this regard.
I agree though, bang for your buck isn't what pattern's about, but is a $100 dollar bottle of wine really that much better than the $2 bottle of leg opener from the bottle shop? It all depends on how you intend to use it I suppose
The OS GT 33 gasoline engine is neither expensive (compared to other engines for pattern) nor difficult to own and operate. It should be piped for best power and low end torque, but Pattern people do that regardless. The best pipe is the ESComposites 40G. All components are off the shelf, about as simple as it gets
For a nominal lay out of dollars, this is a top end powerplant for anything we fly in pattern. Powerwise, on par if not slightly better than YS175, with terrific low end grunt. So far, after some 13 gallons of gas through mine, maintenance has been zilch (BUT to be fair, I had an early factory flaw in mine that was repaired under warranty when the engine was just out of the box).
And BTW 13 gallons equates to around 160x15 minflights, or around 40 hours of trouble free operation. I have started the second season with it and just love how this powerplant just keeps on working with no hassles....
As far as wine, I've had great 100$ bottles worth the moneyand average to mediocre that took your money for a ride. I've also had great 10$ bottles but most in the 10$ range sucked. Wine is a matter of taste and understanding what you seek in that taste, savoring every afternote.....if you're a wine guzzler best to stay with the turpentine