I've got three Super Tigre 2 strokes (2x40's and 1x61) - and after the initial learning curve to tune these engines they've all been as reliable, strong and easy to start as any OS at my club. They produce as much power as an equivalent OS on less nitro (I use 5% fuel), and cost significantly less. Tuning them is simple, just different to what most OS owners are used to - I can have one running nicely in only a few minutes. My only real ***** about them is the huge ugly silencers, however they work as well as they look bad, and they're easilly replaced with a Bisson, Slimline etc if the look is a real problem for you.

I've also got a Magnum 120 4 stroke which has been flawless - perhaps not quite as much power as the latest OS Surpass 120 but ample for most needs. Unless you're comparing power on some sort of measuring scale you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in the air.

Really, any mainstream engine will perform reasonably well. Unless you've got to have that last n'th degree of power, have a bottomless wallet, or are one of those folks who're brand obsessed at any cost there's little reason to have OS over any other brand. The few percent extra power don't justify the much greater cost, and the (easy to acquire) skills in engine tuning will serve you well as long as you're in this hobby, regardless of which engine you use. The argument of "better metallurgy" doesn't normally stand up in real life - really after ten years with the same engine who cares if it's going to last another 4 or 8 years? Chances are you'll plow it into the ground and bend a crank way before the metallurgy gives out. Even the "buy American" (or in my case, buy Australian) argument only really matters for 1 out of 195 countries... for the other 194 countries it's a null argument.

You could argue that choosing something that requires a little more setting up as a first engine will let you fly any engine, while choosing something that requires no setting up locks you into that engine choice. It's like learning to drive in a stick shift vs an auto - learn in a stick and you can drive anything, learn in an auto and you can only drive autos.