Every $140 to $200 Russian 1/2A Combat engine I've ever owned has outlasted 10 Cox, 10 Norvel, 10 AP, or 10 VA engines. I have coffee cans full of the cheaper engines to back my claim.
I've never failed or worn out a FORA or a CYCLON and I've had 100s of 2 minute runs with these engines over the years.
I once lost a Cyclon .061 in a swamp when the engine broke away from the plane....that's been my only casualty.
I bought a Cyclon from Doug Galbreath who performed final QC fitment and bench test on every engine
I also bought Cyclon directly from Aleksandr Kolmykov in Siberia with great results
George Cleveland was the Fora Dealer at the time.
He was a guy who traveled the USA as a C/L Combat Competitor and someone who cared a great deal about his reputation as someone honest to deal with..
I

Yeah but just think of all the money you'll save on fuel...!!

I've got a brand new Cox .010, which unfortunately the cardboard box it came in was destroyed in an ugly fuel spill incident (It was in a storage tote with a gallon of fuel that leaked). I've also got a brand new Cox .15 that was lucky enough to be above the fuel level in the tote. I'm just blown away that this tiny lil engine that I paid $50 for years ago at my LHS is now worth hundreds of dollars. I doubt that my OS wankel (the good "PI" one) would bring in that kind of coin.....

Radio gear and batteries have gotten so light, cheap and dependable that you should get some fun out of that little engine.[if you haven't already]

Hi CP, both are new, never run, and are among the things I'll likely never get to, as I've got far more days behind me than ahead of me.

HEY..!!
I don't want to hear that..!!
When the time comes for me to go I hope is with a 150 mph plane with a full tank punching holes in the sky and with nobody to pass the transmitter to ...

going out in a blaze of glory, a small blaze, to be sure, but a blaze none the less...

A really good friend and pattern mentor of mine drove from the SF Bay Area to Sacramento for their annual pattern contest just as he had done for several years. After winning the Masters class, packed up and he and his wife drove the 2 1/2 hours home. The story is that he told his wife he wasn’t really feeling well and decided to go to bed and unload the equipment the next day. Next morning they got up, made and ate breakfast and then he started unloading the van. On his second trip into the workshop he collapsed and never regained consciousness. That’s the way I want to go out, on a high note. Miss ya Bob.

He was lucky because he didn't spend his last days or years unable to spend his time exactly the way he wanted to..

Of course with Mongo we might end up seeing something like this in the newspapers.....Angry Man Creates Homemade Tank, Goes On Rampage To Destroy Entire Town - Elite Readers

Sorry my Friend, wasn't trying to be "Debbie Downer", but as I slide not so gracefully into my 70s let's just say I've reached the point where I've got more doctors than old time friends.

They say getting old ain't for wimps, and man o man are "they" ever right

I understand completely..my friend.

Yep getting older is a bit**
71 keep up if ya can
Getting the F250 worked on ready for 2023
Arctic Fox 811 camper ready to go
Now I have to decide if I want to tow my 18 ft Lund Fishing Boat or My 12 ft enclosed trailer with some models inside, a Yamaha RoadStar inside and a canoe and outrigger with a 2.5 Suzuki motor.
It would be really neat to drive to Tuktoyaktuk in the dead of summer and float fly off the Arctic Ocean.

Single with no demands on my time.

I guess I’m the baby of the bunch at 58. Getting things ready for the summer as well. Planned so far is at least one of the following: Pattern Contest, IMAC contest, Soaring contest, float fly, Helicopter fun fly and Aero tow. One of my clubs do a winter build/rebuild challenge that I’m trying to complete an old Pilot 1/3.5 scale Pitts in time for. I feel I need to make up for my lack luster 2022.

i will not be referencing the things i did for a living.

but a tank,of any kind is small potatoes.

I don't know how anyone could "upstage" that guy in Colorado's final blaze of glory...mongo....but I'm just a simple guy.

I've got a little way to go before I hit that "milestone" but, with that said, it's going to take more than a chronological point to get me to slow down. In three days this week, I've worked 39 hours and got less than 10 hours of sleep in doing so. I guess getting older isn't the only "hurdle" those of us with a work ethic have to deal with

If you had a work ethic prior to retirement chances are it will stay with you for life. Something a lot of the young don't seem to have now days. A good friend was forced by his employer to retire because they thought his Parkinson's posed a hazard at work. Now he spends his time in his wood shop making puzzles and toys for kids undergoing cancer treatment. He made wonderful furniture (I had him make my wife a few pieces) now he works for his own satisfaction and gives his stuff away at the cancer clinic. I think he still gets up a 5 or 6 in the morning to take his meds, so he can be in shape to go to his garage/shop each day.

It would seem that one members' incessant and incoherent rants was able to render everyone speechless! LOL.

Astro

Or that people are just getting tired of the same old back and forth. I’ve been concentrating on building and flying. Got my Pitts done and it now has a dozen flights on it. My wife has become good friends with another club members wife and the four of us are leaving for Disneyland on Wednesday. Today I’m heading out in an hour to maiden my new sailplane. No time for negativity.

I like the scheme on the Pitts.

Astro

Thank you.

Isn't that scheme very similar to Art Scholl's Super Chipmunk?

RCU died awhile back and was not worth the effort to resuscitate.

Mike

Prior to the Chipmunk, Art had a Pitts. Sadly it was the Pitts he died in while filming the spin footage for the first Top Gun movie.