The Brodak engine is a poor choice in my opinion. It is heavy for it’s weight and power, just not worth the effort. It’s the venerable Cox Surestart or Black Widow that you should be looking for in my opinion.
You would do well to ask fellow modeling friends in your area for Cox engines and parts. Many longtime modelers have a shoebox full of 1/2A stuff laying around and they are often eager to give it to someone that will use it.
Once word got out that I like 1/2A stuff, folks gave me all the Cox engines and parts I could ever use. I have dozens of Cox engines of all different sizes, most in very good condition and most were given to me because I enjoy flying them.
Newer modelers often don’t realize just how popular 1/2A was “back in the day”, millions of the little jewels were made by a whole slew of different companies with Cox the most prolific. I read somewhere that Cox alone made over 25,000 engines a week for many years.
Rest assured that the engines and parts are out there and all you need to do is ask around a bit. They are dead simple to repair and run, with plenty of help available here and elsewhere online. Some of my best runners were the worst looking when they were given to me, just a little time and care they run perfectly. It’s rare to find one that is worn out, most were run for only a few flights and then stored away. In fact I have one that I ran almost weekly for two years and it still runs very well. Properly set up and cared for they are incredibly reliable, inexpensive and fun to fly with awesome performance.
Last edited by 049flyer; 06-22-2021 at 08:04 PM.