Thanks Av8tor.

As I ventured into porting and asking other people about its effects, I started wondering exactly how airplane engine demands differ from chainsaw engines. My understanding is that as an airplane we want it to run peak power at a lower rpm than a chainsaw (around 7,000 yeah?). I am still not quite clear on why exactly this is. I've seen "tip prop speed considerations" cited as the reason but I assume this means more than safety considerations? Is there simply an optimal rpm that a propeller will generate the most thrust?

I am also wondering if enlarging ports helps with the desired lowering of the power curve. Depends on the engine I'm sure. The Poulan does have a little crickety exhaust port so i figure smoothing it out some outta increase horsepower, but am I going to be pushing its peak rpm power outside of some ideal range?

If this info is sitting somewhere else on this forum, as i'm sure it is, feel free to just put up a 'this way dummy' sign.