ORIGINAL: H5606

To avoid another complaining thread, back out now... Or, is this thread unnecessarily whining about useless gloom and doom?

Short version:

Is the demise of the glow engine close at hand? Are glow plugs and methanol/nitro/castor fuels far behind? What about parts support? Will I be eventually be stuck with useless engines or expensive paperweights? Is anyone else concerned?

Long version:

Within the last ten years, I decided I needed to begin hoarding glow engines. Little by little, I noticed a decline in glow engine availability from usual sources. New .049~.061's., .10's, .15's, .20's from various mfg's had already disappeared when I really started to notice. I started collecting .25's when HP restocked their Magnum line. .40~.46's are what I desire most so I got some of those too. Now, panic is setting in as I peruse the big three vendors in search for possible large glow powerplants for various projects. Small and large two and four stroke engines are beginning to disappear. Electrics were slowly eating away the ground below me and now, gas is beginning to fall off the shelves above me... What's going on here? I remember once reading some modeling publication where the author considered the two stroke glow engine as something like: ''the ultimate in simplicity and an engineering masterpiece''. I have some electrics but find them unsatisfying. I'm about to try gas but I think my principal desire will always be glow. I like the ringing in my ears, the smell of burnt castor and methanol permeating my clothes, and cleaning the ''chicken fat'' off my airplane when I'm done flying. You don't get that pleasure with gas or electric. Would today's version of a Hanno Prettner flying to victory in a world class event with a glow engine bring back a resurgence of glow engine development? I know, I know, - probably not; they'd just do it with electric.