ORIGINAL: Mr Akimoto

I suppose your talking from your immense knowledge of OS engines?

Here are a few things about the LA 40. First it gets a lot of bad and unfair press from people, usually novice pilots and old field geezers, who know nothing about model airplane engines. Beginning modelers want to quickly move up to more powerful engines and exotic planes way too soon. They disparage the LA 40 for two reasons:

1. Not enough power (It has 1 HP).
2. It's a bushing engine as opposed to a ball bearing engine.

Both of these items are factual and meaningless. First one HP is more than sufficient to fly about any 40 sized model. Next an OS bushing engine will run just as well and last just as long as any BB engine.

The LA series was developed by OS for good reasons. First it's an extremely reliable power plant that is simple to tune and relatively inexpensive. You'll notice that many RTFs come with an LA 40 which makes them more affordable. Next the engine is very quiet and gets excellent fuel economy. I was able to get 18 minutes of flying time out of an 8 oz tank with plenty of fuel left over. Finally one last fact is the LA 40 is a quarter of a pound lighter than its nearest competitor, the FX 40 or AX 46!

I have a long history with OS engines. I already have too many OS engines (inherited from my father) and some of them are antiques!

Ciao,

Mr Akimoto