Hi Terry,
OUCH - that sucks man! There have been quite a few guys talking about needle valve troubles with the Tower motor on this thread already...

I have learned (the hard way, like you just did) to not try to "save" money by using off-brand motors. I stick to OS/Saito for aircraft, and Nova/Mega/Rossi for cars. It's just not worth the cost of the model to have an unreliable motor. Same thing with batteries - I always buy NEW battery packs for each new plane, and trash packs that have been in wrecks. Same thing with servos - if you're not 110% sure it's good, throw it away.

Saving $20 or even $100 is not worth it if you trash your model....not to mention the time you put in building it.

Way back when...I built a Balsa USA Enforcer, and decided to "save" some money, and bought on of the "new" K&B motors for it. It was all Aluminum (AAC - not ABC) and it leaned out and shut off on the first flight about 10 feet off the ground. I had peaked it out on the ground, then backed off the needle enough to hear an RPM change (slower) thinking it would unload and speed up in the air....well, it did, but who would have thought that it would lean out that quick with tons of smoke coming out? I had run it 4 tanks on the ground, and thought it was good. Then my buddy flew his, same configuration, and SAME RESULT. Stupidly, we both REBUILT our planes, and did the same damn thing the next time we went out. We thought we were so smart by buying an $80 motor, instead of buying the OS equivalent size motor....so we each saved about $50...but ended up spending a lot more in rebuild, time and frustration, etc.

I'm not saying the Tower motor is bad - in truth I have no experience - but you can spend a bit more, and get the AX55 (people say this moves the plane out pretty well - I'll let you know next week), or if you really need more power, the AX91 is an INCREDIBLE motor, too. My buddy has the 91 on his Seagull Edge 540, and this big plane will hover at about 1/3-1/2 throttle.

Point is, with the OS (just an example), you get what you pay for, and more when you figure in reliability.

I'm sure you can get rid of the motor quite easily on Ebay...

Sorry if I sound like I'm lecturing, but 20 years flying has taught me some valuable lessons, and I'm just trying to pass it on.

I hope the Cat is rebuilt, but thankfully a new one will not cost as much as a car-payment.

Keep us posted...

Mark