I don't think so, but acknowledge the perspective that beauty lies in the eyes of the individual beholder.

They certainly don't sound "more realistic", which is the other over indulged in fantasy so often abused in attempted rationalisation.

That's true enough, in the context of speaking of R/C participants as spectators, although the lay complainant is just looking to complain and will complain about both. Much of the favour re four stroke noise is contemporary fashionable popularity. Just ask any electric zealot and he'll tell you what he thinks of the dirty, noisy, smelly things. It's all relative to one's personal pet hobby horse and the deception of ego.

Despite usually higher propellor tip speed, using a good propellor design with an effective silencer, two strokes can be quiet as well. In fact, with the right timing, prop and silencer, they can be very quiet. eg: Pattern units. It's just the darn maufacturers timing their oversquare Schnuerled supersport designs so that they can keep themselves top of the claimed peak power bunch for marketing....and the proliferation of the cheap and noisy generic SANYE muffler supplied with Tower, by Just Engines and accompanying many new Asian entrants such VMAX, Force, Shark) which ain't quiet doesn't assist at all in either advocating or promoting it.

I can see both sides of the coin, and do see that like so many things in today's society, the 'perception' of an or the "noise" issue, often where one doesn't and will never exist is often misused and abused, manipulated by those with a personal agenda to their own clique dominated particular interest and end. But in general, I do concur that we should all be looking at trying to reduce the overall noise output of our operation and that manufacturers themselves should also be facilitating this which is in their own long term interest. However right now, their major market isn't critical. Rather than being proactive, it will take it to become so before I think we'll see any seriously applied initiative. Perhaps that 'initiative' is just watching the market to see where it's popularly headed, to potentially end up dropping production of 2 strokes as the transport sector has <sad> and just supply nothing but 4 stroke and electric?

Headline "2 stroke goes way of old sparky". Ehehehe..you wish.

Haven't heard of Weston. Presumably a parochially marketed product rebrand? eg: SANYE aka Magnum or ASP .61? ... both of which have well deserved reputations regarding their lack of ooomph for capacity. My mate has a 4 stroke Magnum .61 in a SIG Something Extra. A S A D sight in the air is understatement ! ! !

Now I don't have a Groovy 3A myself, but amongst several similiar in class, I do have one equally as large but even heavier. If the Groovy assembles anywhere within +200g of its spec weight, a .46FX on 10% nitro with OOTB supplied 873 silencer will rip it through the 2006 Sportsman pattern sequence with ease.

Ouch! That'd really hurt. But WM do spec without alternative mention of 2 stroke capacity that it is intended for a 4 stroke, and the 11 page manual doesn't illustrate the suggestion of using a 2 stroke, so it looks as if the designers have configured it to balance with that in mind presuming most will put a sport FS-70 in it. That may have something to do with its relative non-appearance in class at so many flying fields, at least over here. That there are so many other good offerings now available in that class which do might have something to do with that..or not. But insofar as one might stereotype or generalise, the typical Groovy 3A or 3D class buyer would be one buying his first sports pattern type model, more oten than not wanting to use his available ubiquitious .46 class one size fits all 2 stroke in it rather than outlay on an expensive new four stroke until AFTER he sees if that style of model and flying is hs proverbial cup of tea, eg: our inquirer.

Interesting to note however, that it does appear set up balance wise for the larger capacity 4 stroke as a .46 2 stroke with muffler would weigh about the same as a .52 and that .61. One the bright side, the supplied tank (and therefore its bay) will easily accomodate the thirst of a .46 - or .53 2 stroke for the duration required to fly the Sportsman or Advanced patterns. If it flies anywhere near as well as its predecessor the Zen 50, it'll be a superb Sportsman contender.

Does the Groovy 50 3A have a pipe tunnel for that option? The manual doesn't illustrate, although from what I can see, it looks like not.