Originally posted by Dave Bowles
The SE5 has more than enough wing for the weight, not a problem , The cowl looks to be big enough to apply what ever muffler that may help with sound, AS for power , Half throttle should fly it just fine, don't have to use full throttle if you don't want to. The one I seen fly used a 120 rcv engine and it flew great. I don't know of any .90 size production made Gas engines, there may be some that converted a glow to gas. But IMO the G23 or the G26 will work great and be reliable and cheap to run.
Thanks for the advise. My concern was more weight then power. The S.E.5a will fly more scale-like at a less wing loading which of course means less weight. I was afraid with a 3.5 pound engine in the nose I'd also have to add some tail weight to get the cg right. In my digging around I found that First Place Engines is now manufacturing a 1.3 gas engine that weights 40 oz. To me that would be perfect in size, weight, and power. I'm in email contact with them regarding price and availability. I know very little about gas engines, do they have a good reputation?