I have the 4 star 60 as my second plane. It is a .61 to .75 size. (2 stroke). The guys at the hobby shop say it is always best to go with the larger size engine. I would like some advise from some of you that actually have this plane with a 2 stroke. And what size would you recommend. I am leaning towards the Tower .75.

Most people in our club who fly them use a .91 four stroke.
In two strokes; most .61, .75, and .91s are physically the same size and weight and fit the same mount; so you have lots of choices.
Every brand has fans and detractors, so asking which is best just gets tons of opinions from people you do not know.
I've read on RCU that Tower engines are notorious for air leaks; then the writer gets flamed by happy Tower owners who haven't had any issues.

I have a stock 4*60 with a 61FX and APC13x6. It does all the standard aerobatic maneuvers and knife edges (1" added to rudder). The 75 will do fine, but expect it to float a little more on landing. One consideration might be prop clearance - it'll be tougher to nick the 12" or 13" prop on the .61FX than a 14" prop on the .91 four stroke

If you are set on a two stroke, the OS 65LA is an excellent engine that has run perfectly for me since day one. Most guys at my club fly their Four Star 60s with .91 four strokes, but I'm sure the 65LA would do very well.

I don't know if this is typical, but my 4*60 ARF came out very tail heavy. If you go with a 2-stroke, one of the heavier .75's or .91's would help it balance.

I put in a larger batt pack (4.8V 1400mah NiCd) and pushed it all the way to the firewall. I also have a 16oz tank. The cg is at 3 7/8", the maximum in the recommended range. I did have some lead weights up front (1/4 ounce or so) which I removed after some time

OS 91 FX, period. Plenty of power and it balances well. If it is your second plane, believe me, you are going to need plenty of power to be able to pull out of your bad setups on landing.

Voice of experience.

Good luck,
doubledee

doubledee, is your 4*60 an ARF? Did you have to add nose weight to balance it with the .91FX? I have a .91 that I might try in my 4* if it will balance without a lot of extra nose weight.

rajul, what engine are you using and are the mounts stock? How far out on the rails is the engine?

Tim, I'm using a OS61FX, and a Dave Brown mount with an Ernst right-thrust plate sandwiched between the mount and firewall. The drive washer is approx 4 5/8" from the firewall.

rajul, I have both the Dave Brown mount and the Ernst thrust plate in my junk box, so I'm good to go. pelham, I'm not trying to hijack your thread, I hope some of this info is useful.

Tim, let me know if you need the part numbers. Don't have them now, getting old.......

I have had two of these planes one with a GMS 76 2 stroke on it and it was plenty of engine. It had unlimited vertical with this engine on a 14x7 prop. It would knife edge good and would do any aerobatics that you would want. The other one had a Thunder Tiger 91 4 stroke on it and it was the best to fly. This was my favorite plane for 2 years and I loved flying it. The 4 stroke engine is the way to go on this plane you would love flying it. If you are going to use a 2 stroke I would get a 91 as they weigh the same a most 60 size engines. I have several super tigre engines and like them alot. You will not have problems balancing your plane with any of the engines that you choose.

Rick

I have had a 4*60 for a couple of years now and am flying with an OS91 surpass 4 stroke. To me it has the right amount of power and is a great plane to fly. I would recommend a 91 four stroke for this plane. I had to add a lot of weight to the nose to balance, but do not go by mine. I made my pilot out of a super mario brothers bobble head doll, so it was pretty tail heavy.

I'm with the others, I have a .91FS on mine.

I fly my four star 60 witha a Super Tiger 75 with the battery and receiver sitting under the tank, plane fly great and unlimited. With this plane the more engine the better. Best plane in my hanger...

I had a OS 61 on my four star but change to the GMS 76 and what a difference. If flys like a different plane with the 76 on it.

The four star does build tail heavy like others have said, so I put a long engine mount on mine to get the engine as far forward as I could and put the batteries under the tank. I still had to add 1oz of weight to the nose.

Cruz

Are you still flying that 4*. Do you still have the TT 91 on it. The 4* with the TT engine is the perfect combo. Those Thunder Tiger engines are great and if you need a couple of extra ounces on the front of your plane why not have them be engine weight. My TT engines run as strong as my saito 100. They will turn the same prop at the same RPM as the saito too. I have 3 of them and love them all. I have about 350 flights on one of them. It has been a real workhorse and has been on several planes. What have you been up to Cruz it's been a while since I have heard from you. The warbird picts that you sent me were killer VERY NICE. I am building me a 28% gasser right now.

Rick

I second TRROSCOE opinion. I had a friend with a Super Tigre .90 in it. That was the perfect combo. Flew it like a dream. Tons of power to get out of trouble, but yet you can throttle back and it will be a nice sunday flyer. Them Super Tigre .90's run like raped apes. That's what I'd put in it..........

In reading all these posts so far, the Tower 75 and the GMS are Half brothers. Are essentiall the same engine except the Tower is ABC whereas the GMS has a Dykes ring.

The Tower 75's at my field have run fine.

There's a ARF at the field with a Saito 72 that seems to get along just fine.

My ARF has a OS91 Surpass I on it.

Enjoy,

Jim

I started the year with a Super Tigre .60 in my four star 60. I added an inch length and an inch height to the rudder per several past posts on the plane. It flew great. Then I put a Super Tigre .75 in it. It flew great. Then I put a Super Tigre .90 in it. It flew great. Each gave a little more verticle than the previous. All needed one ounce of weight to balance in the nose. Then I started removing weight and learning flat spins with it. At the end I had dropped the nose weight and added one ounce to the tail. It was a wild beast and did amazing flat spins. Then I had a severe case of brain fade. In an inverted flat spin I broke the rotation but forgot to break the stall before trying to fly out of it. With the power of the 90 I did make it out but ran out of air room when a secondary stall got me while I broke it away from the flight line. A 90 also makes a nice mess of a 4star. But I thought all the combinations work well in the plane. I had put a ST 90 in my small VectorFlight Extra 300 (also a .60 plane) and loved the totally unlimited veriticle it gave. The four star is such a draggy plane it will even run a 90 out of verticle unless you are always flying full power, which I only do on uplines. Pick a motor that you will use in future planes as well, depending on what size models you like. But from my experience power gets you out of alot more things than it will ever get you into.

bob branch