In 40 years of operating glow engines, I have never had a "bad" engine. Oh I see that a lot of you have nothing but engine problems, but that is not the fault of the engine.

1.) Too many airplanes are designed with the fuel tank in the wrong position. This is the cause of a lot of problems. Most trainers have this design flaw.

2.) Cheap fuel, fuel not taken care of properly, and the wrong fuel for the engine type. Buy the good stuff, and keep it clean and closed so you don't suck up the moisture in the air. Some engine need nitro, others don't. Some need lots of oil, others won't hardly run on it.

3.) Get the right prop. Too often the engine manufactor suggest too big of prop for the engine. Hey an engine that turns a 11-7 sounds more powerful than another of the same size that turns a 10-6. Marketing!

4.) Learn the proper method of breaking in the engine. Ok, a lapped or ringed engine is not the same as that ABC, AAC, ABN. Each has different needs.

5.) Most critical of all, learn how to set a needle. I'd say that 80-90% of RC fliers set the needle way too lean. Reading thru this thread was interesting because of the number of people that kept claiming that they know what they are doing, but engine X is a piece of crap.

There are a number of ways these little engines can have problems, and I have just touched upon a few main points. Next time you see a years worth of RCM, buy it, steal it, or borrow it and then cut out all 12 columns of Engine Clinic by Clarene Lee. It takes about that long for him to recycle through all the little things about engines you need to know.

If that don't work, have heart. Lipo's and brushless motors are almost foolproof.