Carroll, guess your flaming will have to wait <G>. My attitude is that you pays your maney, and you takes your choice. Everyone's needs are different, so you buy to satisfy yourself, right? I faced a similar situation with my GP Extra 330. The recommended engine was the MacMinarelli 85cc engine which is a quality engine. However, it weighed over 2 pounds more than a more powerful BME 102cc engine. I got the BME, and moved the rudder servos (2 servos totalling 5.5 ounces) from the tail (per plans) to the fuse and used a pull-pull. Saving the 5.5 ounces in the tail also saved well over a pound of nose weight. Balance ended up perfect with zero weight added. With smoke, the plane weighs 25 pounds. I saw another GP Extra that used the Mac engine, and of course, his plane weighed over 27 pounds set up in a similar fashion, except for the engine. His plane flew very well, as does mine. The difference, though, was that his manuevers needed more airspeed than mine, owing to the fact that he needed more lift to carry the additional weight. The difference was a lot more noticeable on manuevers where the fuselage was the lifting surface. Mine can do a knife edge harrier that just creeps across the sky. My slow rolls (12+ seconds) not only have a slow roll rate, but are enhanced by a slower airspeed as well. That slower airspeed also lets 4, 8, and 16 point rolls be more gracefull. There's a video clip of a 3 turn rolling circle here: www.********.net/pages/tmills that shows how lighter weight can benefit a manuever.

I'm not a weight fanatic, but for me, light does fly better, and ounces do add up. Waiting for engines or parts is a pain, and there ARE many quality engines available. Again, you pays your money, and you takes your choice.