I am building the ARF Christen Eagle from Great Planes. I am looking to see what anyone has put or is putting into their Christen Eagle for power. I read an article in Model Airplane News and they used a Fuji 50cc. They said it was a perfect match. I have not got into gas engines yet and thought it might be time to start with this one. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you to all who have something to say on this.

Wide choice of power plants for this one. The local hobby shop just finished one with an OS 160. It came in a tad over 16 lbs and it flies great.

I am scratch building one and I will be using a Moki 210 for power.

Lots of people are using gas motors.

Hope this helps

tonyc

Stuffed my old Moki 1.80 in mine balanced great.The Fuji is also the power plant used in the R.C. Report review>check it out.-Mike

Jimmy3711 - reading your post took me back about two years. I was exactly where you are now when the G.P. Pitts was in the MAN magazine with a nice review by Roger Yarrish. I saw the Pitts with a Fuji 50 and decided this would be my introduction to gas engines and BIPES. Needless to say this was a big project as I look back on it.

The Pitts and the Eagle are very similar. There are tons of post on your very question. To help save you some time and research I will try and answer your question and add a few things I learned in the process. That said, let me encourage you to invest the time to read the post on the Eagle and the Pitts for tons of very good information that will help you once you get started.

I had the Fuji 50 and it is a fine engine. I had the original model and it was difficult to start. Being new to gas at the time probably didn't help, so don't judge the engine to severely on this one report. I ended up getting a Sullivan Megatron starter with a 24 volt battery system and this was the ticket to saving my arm after nearly wearing it out. The Fuji 50 had plenty of power and ran very well, once I could get it started. Again, mine was the earlier model of this engine. I understand the new model has improvements that are supposed to make it easier to start. I haven't read any reports to verify this. I would certainly check this out in more detail if I were considering this engine again. The price is certainly attractive, but there are other cost to consider such as the starter set-up if you encounter starting issues as I did. Likewise, with electronic ignition you have an ignition battery and an extra switch, which you don't have with a magneto generated spark. You just have to look at all the variables in making the best decision for you.

Honestly, while the 160 will fly this airplane, it doesn't provide for much power reserve for getting out of trouble. Yes, I know of at least one thread of a guy flying the Pitts with the 160. He also agreed that there wasn't much extra power if needed. Depending on your flying style, you may want to consider more power. While neither of these airplanes are considered your typical 3-D airplanes, having the power to fly scale and some of the 3-D maneuvers may make you want to consider having more power.

I lost my original Pitts due to my own stupidity after several very enjoyable flights. Unfortunately I lost the engine in the crash as well. It was ugly. I liked the airplane so much that I purchased a new kit and this time put a DA-50 on the nose. I liked the idea of electronic ignition vs. an engine with a magneto generated spark. Having had both of these engines I can say that the Fuji ran a bit smoother due the big flywheel on the shaft. The Fuji is also a good bit heavier. The DA has much more Power and with the electronic ignition is much easier to start. Just telling it from my vantage point as I have experienced this first hand.

Many of the threads of guys flying this airplane and the Pitts will encourage an engine at or close to 50 cc. There are several to choose from. IMHO any of the well know names will serve you well. I went with a DA for the following reasons. Easy to start, ran perfect out of the box with one or two clicks to the low end. No dead sticks. Service from DA the best I have experienced. Engine runs smooth, is very light weight and has amazing power. One last thing - I also just wanted a DA. I have read one post where a guy had an issue and DA not only resolved the problem but also added new updates at no cost. Every post I have read has been excellent on this engine. Just my 2 cents. I'm sure you will get other opinions on this as well.

Good luck and if I can help in any way you can PM me. I was exactly or close to where you are not long ago. Maybe I can help if needed.

Jim, I posted a question a few days ago about wheither a OS1.60 would fly the GP Pitts. I found several people using them, Moki's and a vast majority using gas. I dropped out of the Big gas
burners a couple of years ago. If you want to try gas, a good 50cc will power this with power
to spare. I've run Quadra, Zenoah, Sachs, Brison, US Engines, and 3W. All have their pros and cons. A magneto type engine will run fine, will shake at idle due to timing is set for wide open. They are heavier, and can start a little harder. A electronic ignition has a extra battery to keep
charged. start easy, are more costly, and have more power. They make Pitts style mufflers for most of the popular models, also set up for smoke. The 3 cu. twin 4 strokes are heavy, costly, but sound nice. So suming up, a OS1.60 will fly it, so will the 1.8 or 2.1 Moki. If you go to gas,
either type, you can get a Pitts smoke muffler on most models. Most important compare total weight, with muffler and what ever is needed to run it, power, and cost of each engine. Remember gas is way cheaper than glow fuel, but don't spill it in your car or you will be smelling it for weeks! Hope some of this helps.
Rick

Does anyone have experience with the OS BGX?

I built one of the GP Pitts for a friend and an OS 300 Super Gemini Twin was used for power. It fit completely inside of the cowl, has plenty of power, runs very smoothly and the sound coming from the Slimline Pitts muffler is awsome!

Recently, this bipe won the Pilot's Choice Award and Best Scale Flight at our Spring Fling Scale Fly-In in Phoenix, AZ.