G'day I cut my teeth on two strokes way back when. (Actually I mostly cut my fingers.) For the first part of my RC career (which started 20 years ago when I was nearly 40), I used two strokes. Mostly Super Tigres because I had had a good time with them in control line back in the 1970s. But then I bought an OS 26 Surpass. And it all changed. Here was an engine that was quiet, sounded amazing, drank little and just gave me the quiet performance I was looking for. These days I run mainly Saitos but I still have a couple of TT 46s, a Magnum 46 converted to diesel (amazing) and many two stroke diesels. I guess what has happened is that I have grown older and quieter and that is how I like my engines too. But if you had asked me back when I had my Tigres screaming away I would have told you to get your head read.

There will always be a place for two strokes. They are simple and they are cheap. You can't ask for much more in a trainer or sport model. An LA46 is the perfect beginner's engine. Tough, simple, easy to tune and tolerant of bad handling not to mention crashing. And the sound of a Nelson 40 singing on its 71/4 x 7 carbon fibre prop is one of the sounds to be savored. But for me these days, it will generally be a puttering four stroke.

But not all older dudes like four strokes. I have a friend who is in his mid seventies and still flies nothing but big Super Tigres. His Kadet Senior on floats with a ST 90 is a wonder to behold. The floats hardly get wet. It is one of his small engines.