The .46 LA will be a terrific sport engine for your next plane as well. The .46 LA will turn an 11x6 propeller around 11,500 rpms on 10% nitro, and will provide plenty of power for a variety of sport planes.

My advice? Fly the engine you already own and start thinking about what you want to fly after the Nexstar. The .46 LA will be plenty powerful for a Sig Four Star .40, a Great Planes Big Stik .40, a Goldberg Tiger 2, a Great Planes Rapture .40, a Hangar 9 Pulse XT .40, a Hangar 9 Super Stick/Ultra Stik .40, a Seagull Models Spacewalker II, a Phoenix Models Dolphin .46 ARF, a Tower Hobbies Voyager .40 ARF, a Great Planes Easy Sport .40, a Goldberg Skylark 56 ARF, or any of the dozens more sport planes not already listed.

The one caveat with flying a plain bearing engine like the .46 LA is to simply use fuel with plenty of castor oil in the lubrication. Castor oil has a thicker viscocity than synthetic oil and it helps "float" the crankshaft in the bushing. It also helps seal up the crank case for better compression and smoother performance.

The ideal fuel would be 10% or 15% nitro with 20% all castor lubrication. If your fuel supplier (usually your local hobby store) only carries sport fuel that is 20% castor and 80% synthetic oil, just buy some castor oil from your fuel supplier or your local pharmacy and add it to your fuel. 8 ounces per gallon will raise your total oil content by about 6% or so and provide the extra castor oil your .46 LA will need to run well.

If your fuel supplier only sells glow fuel with 100% synthetic lubrication, then a plain bearing engine like the .46 LA isn't a good choice.

Most folks who bash plain-bearing engines like the O.S. LA series never ran them with the proper amount of castor oil. In many cases, they bash plain-bearing engines without ever having flown one at all. Their buddies tell them that ball bearing engines are way better, so they never try a plain-bearing model.

Ball-bearing engines can produce higher rpms and are less sensitive to lubrication requirements when you're shopping for fuel. Plain bearing engines are lighter weight and don't have any ball bearings to freeze up or wear out. Both designs have their places and that's why top engine manufacturers such as O.S. Max, Enya, Thunder Tiger, and K&B/MECOA still make plain bearing engines.

You're going to be flying a long, long time before you run out of really great airplanes that are a perfect match for the .46 LA engine.