Originally Posted by
init4fun
Hi Hobbsy ,
If your looking for a great (inexpensive) way to get your 56FSA into the air , you may want to look into the GP "Escapade" (smaller of the two versions , the larger is more suited to a 90 four stroke I believe) . This ARF cost around $100 when I bought it some years back , Hell the on board glow driver I put in it cost almost as much ! The model truly flies like it was made for this engine and is one of my favorite small planes . I did customize mine somewhat with the on board glow (only cause I hate fiddling with glow sticks) , lost model locator , real aluminum spinner with a wooden prop , removed all the "nascar looking" stickers from it , better wheels , and of course removed the pilot figure cause I tell everyone when asked why no pilot ; "Thats MY seat" to which they think I've really gone over the edge ...
I have had my Escapade 40 for 7 years now. I fly it frequently and have tried 5 different 2-stroke engines on it. Very flexible platform. I also use it to test out radio receivers. I just recovered it because the covering was peeling off due to fuel soaking. The newer Escapade MX also seems like a fun plane, with the benefits of mid-wing configuration.
I presently have an OS 70 FS Surpass II and it also knocks like a jackhammer if running rich. But it has excellent performance and has never failed me in the past 6 years. I crashed the plane it was in a couple of years ago and damaged the carb. I replaced it with the newer Alpha series car with the same part number but with a letter "A" appended to the part number (for Alpha series). The only difference between the 70 Surpass II and 72 Alpha carb parts is the Alpha has an extension at the inlet and $5 extra. I like the carb extension since it reduces fuel spilling out and it seems to provide more power, but I have not measured the difference to verify.
I also recently purchased a used Ulra Sport 40 that has an OS 46 SF, ringed. I plan on flying it this weekend. Bench testing it with a 10x8 APC prop and 15% nitro achieved around 11,700 rpm's.
I previously owned an OS 55AX that ran great until the piston liner peeled on me last year. From now on I will stick to ringed OS engines ONLY.