There are two schools of thought on engines here, the IMAC 3D crowd and the War Bird crowd. I'm a War Bird guy. For me engine weight is a non factor since I almost always need nose weight. My engines of choice are Zenoah, all the Sachs based engines, (Brisons, Fox, FPE, etc) and if I can find them Quadras (65, 75, 100) Reliability is number one and that is where you get into trouble with a heavily wing loaded War Bird. Weight is almost a religion with the IMAC and 3D guys so they prefer the lighter DA, DLE, ZDZ type engines. As for performance, a well tuned, PROPERLY PROPPED G-62 will haul your planes with plenty of authority. By properly propped I mean not propped for aerobatics but for speed. Example-my 27 pound TF 47 with a stock magneto G-62 needs little to no nose weight. Propped with a Menz 22X8 it flies just fine, put a Zinger (OH MY GOD) 20X8X14 or a Bolly 21X10 prop on it and it turns into a monster.
One of my friends had a TF giant 51 with a stock g-62 and a Carbon fiber 20X10 prop, turned around 7200 on the ground in Denver @ 5200 feet. Unloaded in the air and blew right by the same plane with a ZDZ 80. The pilot would not believe it when he was told it was a G-62. Our War Bird group here in Pueblo, (elevation 5,000') are all former quarter midget and F-1 guys so we understand the value of finding the right prop for an engine. I guess what I am saying is don't overlook so call "old heavy engines" As to the DLE, we've seen lots come and go,
good power, look nice, cheap, horrible metallurgy at times, spotting reliability, wear out much quicker than the DA's they were copied from. You get what you pay for, simple as that.
As to the other "alphabet engines" from China they are much more spotting and the metallurgy and machine work sometimes make you almost cry. But, they are cheap and if that's you're number one criteria go for it.
Here's some pics from one of our recent events. The four 47s were powered by , left to right 3w 75(i think) sachs 4.2, Brison 5.8 and a DA 100.
two are Ziroli, one TF and one Vailly. Pilots left to right, CD Duane Pisciotta, Clark Graves, Doug Knowlton, Brent Cozzolino, Ken Montblat and Zach Cozzolino. The second photo is a TF corsair kit powered by an old (very old ) orange case sachs 4.2 and the third is a Ziroli with a Brison 5.8
Guess which one is fastest? If you said the Corsair your right! Very old Sachs 4.2 cut from a chainsaw in the early 90's, propped with a Menz 22X10 but runs really well with a TF 22X10. Weight is right at 30lbs so it's no feather weight.
Larry
Larry