cumn thru,


"Pete, that TT pro .46 is a pig at 17.01 oz. 1.43 BHP @ 16000. If you insist on a large .46 the OS AX at the same weight is 1.65 BHP @ 16000 Again the OS.46 LA is 1.2 BHP @ 15000 and weighs 9.6 oz. Now, that TT.46 is a whopping 7.41 oz. more weight and is only .23 BHP more. Dosn't make sense does it...."

I agree with your theory about a lighter Avistar flying better with less weight however, you're comparing apples to oranges when you're comparing the engine weights. The TT Pro .46 and OS AX both weigh over 17oz compared to the LA .40's 9.6 oz, but that includes the mufflers. And as you know, the muffler on a 2-stroke is rather on the porky side unless you're talking about a superlight tuned pipe. Speaking of porky, I swapped my original crusty old Royal .40 FSR ABC BB (try and find one of those dinosaurs now which by the way ran great) with a porky Magnum .52 4-stroke. The Magnum engine weighed sustantially more than the Royal 2-stroke but the muffler weighed practically nothing so the total difference in weight (including the 1/4 oz added to the tail) was under 2 ounces which equates to almost non-existant on a plane of that size. That's less than the weight of 2 AA batteries. The Avistar flew great with the Royal .40 but the Magnum .52 made it much quieter, gave it a slower but slightly steeper climb but most of all, gave it 30 minutes easily on the same amount of gas. As for the flying characterstics, no noticable changes in manuvering or low speed handling. My friend has the same plane with the LA .40 and he can't pull any tighter manuvers than me when we fly combat. So I really don't think that the .46's will hinder the performance all that much but I do believe with what you said about lighter is better. I'm always trying to lighten up my planes.