Hi guys, I am a new pilot with a nexstar in my hangar and a great planes minnow needing build. I have been looking at saito 100 and ys 110 engines for this plane as I expect this plane to hold my interest well after my learning curve. A friend of mine got me interested in this hobby and the perverbial hook is sunk deep! Anyone with experience please respond! Not sure what engine and also looking at 2.4 trans and servos for this plane .....I know high torque is the recomendation and dont want to waste my hard earned $ so any input on that is as important to me as reccomendation on the engine!

so the airplane is the great planes right?.

yes

Just from doing a little search it Looks like the most popular engine in this plane is a YS 110, OS .91, or a OS 1.20 AX. You could use a Saito 1.15 or 1.25.

YS 1.10 would get my vote. I'd try some sort of intermediate plane before jumping from the Nexstar trainer right to the Minnow however.

I understand...have heard that and would like everyone to know I dont plan on flying this plane for a year!  Just want the best components overall....engine, servos, transmitter...etc...

27 views and 5 replies 2 of whixh are mine?  My friend told me this was the place to go for advice!  What gives?

Unless you have a mechanical degree or have been a mechanic for the past 10 years, DO NOT buy a YS engine as your second engine. It's the hot rod of engines that takes a lot of understanding to operate. But it takes no skill at all to mess up. I own two and hated both of them, until I figured out the process of how they work. It's been the school of Hard Knocks. The most flying they did was on a UPS jet going back to service for the first couple of years. Read YS Support Forum to see for yourself.

I had the minnow with os 91 fs. Was a good match for the plane. Balanced without any additional weight. I did mount the battery on the back of the servo tray instead of on top. I loved this

plane. It was a smooth flying. With the thin wing though you had to bleed off a lot of speed to keep from landing hot. Notice I said I had. I lost interest for awhile in the hobby and sold or traded

everything I had. Big mistake I know. Just now getting back into the hobby. I will have another minnow but this time I gonna power it with either a saito 100 or 115.

One thing I did question on the arf assembly instructions was using thin ca on joining the horizontal stabilizer. I did and it held up but I think on the next one I will use epoxy. GoodLuck with your

minnow.

I will say, go with the Saito engines, very easy engines to tune.

For radio system, I own JR/Spektrum and Futaba FASST. I prefered Futaba FASST.

Hope this helps,
Doug.

I have to disagree here. I too heard that they were difficult and required some kind of voodoo to operate. Once I bought a couple though I realized that they were no big deal. Yes, a properly plumbed fuel system that is sealed well is critical. That isn't rocket science though, just follow the instructions that come with the engine. The needle valve is no different than any other 4-stroke glow engine. Adjust it for maximum RPM then back off a few clicks and it is good to go. The low speed needle is reversed on some (out is lean, in is rich) but that's no big deal either; it tells you this in the instructions. The main thing is to not mess with the regulator screw; that's where I see a lot of people screw up. I even run them on 15% fuel with no problems at all.

The power these engines produce is unbelievable and when set up and tuned properly they are extremely reliable.

That being said, any Saito, OS, Magnum or other decent engine in the correct size range will fly the plane great.

thanks for all of the advice I trully do appreciate it!