I'm not an expert on gas engines. I only recently got my first one, an FPE 3.2 on a Sig Sundancer biplane. I love the engine so much that I just bought another one, a 4.2 Now I have to find an airplane for the 4.2 and I'm looking.

Anyway, the 3.2 is just so easy to crank, run, fly. The Sundancer is not a big plane, maybe 16-18 pounds but it is off the ground in no more than ten feet, if that much and it just zooms.

But I never read much about the FPE, it is not so popular as some other brands. Some advertise more than others and get more publicity while they appear to be the same basic engine. And everyone has his favorite, usually whatever he is flying.

The one engine that has impressed me the most (I've never seen one) is the Taurus. I've never read a single negative about it and the balanced crankshaft seems to make it unique among all the gas engines I have read about. And the manufacturer is a regular contributor to the forum...I think he truly is interested in his constituency and the way his product is received. The only thing I don't like about the Taurus is that the prop is bolted on, 180 out from the rest of the world....someday they'll change that.

Larry