Hey up to all...

I'm just starting out in rc aircraft after having had a couple of flights at the local club on buddy.

The reason for my post is that after finally deciding what plane I want, Thunder Tiger Trainer 40, I now need to decide which engine to put in it.

It took me ages of trawling websites, forums etc to finally decide which plane and I just wanted the opinions of you guys to help speed things up / check I'm making the right choice.

I've narrowed it down to the following:

OS 40LA - Bit underpowered - £53
OS 46FX - Bit pricey - £99
TT 46 Pro - Fairly pricey - £72
MDS 48 Pro - Heard MDS are quite cheap / unreliable - £40
Irvine 53 - Again, fairly pricey - £79
SC 46A - Don't know much about this one - £51

So whats your opinion on the above in terms of price / power / reliability and quite importantly whether it fits in my chosen plane!

Thanks,

stubthumb

(Once I've figured out which engine to buy I've then got to start thinking about transmitters, receivers, servos. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!)

Evoultion .46 $89.99

VERY Powerfull

I like the Thunder Tiger Pro 46, I have 2 of them, I would choose the Pro46 over the FX and LA, I cant speak for the others... but LA is underpowered and it has a nylon backplate that I heard could possibly break, I like the FX's but I dont like how the remote needle valve is set up on it, sometimes its hard to get to the fuel line, and it would be worse because the Thunder Tiger trainer has a cowl exactly like my tiger sport does, making it harder to fuel up with the way the RNV is set up on the FX (you could always use a 3rd fuel line)... I have also had a problem with air leaks on the FX, simple change of the fuel line from the RNV to the carb fixed that though.

Good Luck.

Dont buy a SC engine ever. I can fly, and my dad has just started flying he has a tiger trainer MK2, He has a OS 40 LA in that, it flys exalant. SC engines are like a copy of OS.

When i started to fly i had an SC and every time i went flying ther woz always sumthing wrong with it. Go for the OS 40 LA MAX or OS 46 LA MAX. it pay to hav a good engine in the long run,

trust me nothing will ever go wrong with it! (if you look after it proply)



1wheel lou

1wheel lou,

Whats an "OS 40LA MAX", is that different than just an "OS 40LA" ???

And you reckon that will have enough power, cause I saw on a forum post somewhere, that with a .40 taking off can be a problem? Whereas a .46 makes it a little easier?

Like you said I want to make sure that what money I spend is worth it in the long run and that I can reuse the engine in a different model.

stubthumb

My first plane and the one I soloed with was a Hobbico Avistar with an OS 46LA. Plenty of power and I'm still flying it today. over a year old and no problems at all..

stubthumb

they are the same except the max has the needle valve mounted at the back of the engine (so you wont end up with 2 of those thumbs).

The OS FX has ball raced bearings so the propeller spins faster.



1wheel lou

Stay with OS, TT or the Irvine. The manufacturing standards of the other brands are not up to the quality of these 3 manufacturers.

The LA would fly your trainer fine, but if you want something higher performance in the future then you should consider a ball bearing .46. If you do go with a BB .46 on your trainer you will have MORE than enough power, so use the throttle control accordingly. When you are really comfortable flying your trainer, the BB .46 would be a perfect match on an Ultrastick or similar 2nd airplane.

That makes sense... Definately no chance of flying with no thumbs!

I'll probably go for the OS 46 LA MAX.

So do you know any good mail order companies that stock the above cause I can't see the MAX version listed in any of the RCM&E mail order adverts?

Many thanks 1wheel lou, got to think about the flippin' radio gear now!

stubthumb

Stubthumb

Go on www.ashtonmodels.com Then go down till you see 'online catologue' clik it. scrol down till you see the 'Engines' then clik '2 Stroke' Scrol down till you see 'O.S 40 LA MAX' then clik 'order' under it.

or if u wont you can look in yellow pages 4 'model shops' and get you local 1.

The Cheepest digital handset(transmiter) will all your servos, battery paks, charges, etc. is the FUTABA T6EXA (£149.99). That is the latest 1. Buy FUTABA not sanwa, (FUTABA R THE BEST)

Ther is a handset about £20 cheper, but it is not digital, I recomend the FUTABA T6EXA.


1wheel lou

I have a Thunder Tiger Trainer 40 that I have been flying for several years. I started with a TT GP40 and later picked up a TT GP42 cheap so I put that on it. The GP42 has more than adequate power and is relatively light-weight. I have two (2) TT Pro46's and this things are really impressive for the money. It is not too much power for the trainer but the extra power and little bit of extra weight will not be any advantage. I recommend getting the GP42 for this particular trainer because it is such a great match.

howard


in uk we dont hav the TT engines

You could get the GMS 47, great price, great engine, but if you wanna stick to OS TT or irvine, choose the TT 46 PRO, best engine in its category. I never had any problems with it and its a lot cheaper than the OS 46 FX. I hate OS
Victor

1 wheel lou,

Found the engine at ashton model now. Thanks.

I've been looking at the Futaba 6EXA and it looks just what I'm looking for and you answered my next question, "whether it came with all the radio gear."


Lightfoot,

Was the GP42 designed to fit in the Thunder Tiger 40? If not does it fit in OK?

stubthumb

I think you find the 46FX (or any similarly sized ball bearing engine) to be more power than you need for that trainer. Sure, you can always throttle down, but if you forget you risk structural failure in flight.

The 40LA or 46LA should be fine. You might also consider smaller ball bearing engines... doesn't Irvine make a 32 or 36 size engine?

stubthumb

if you get to OS 40 LA MAX make shour u wipe it down, cus the muk burnes onto it & turns it blaker

Hi guy I too have a Thunder tiger trainer and at the time I was looking at the Gp42 but was advised that I should go for a better engine,so I got a OS 40 FX.Great engine a breeze to start and runs great once broken in,about one tank or so.The only problem is that the FX 40 has a remote needle valve and the cowl on the Tiger trainer allows for a forward valve position,so I had to do some modifications to the cowl so that it will fit,not too difficult however.Plane is an ok trainer but I think that it baloons too much,that seems to help but on windy days have to use a lot of down elevator to keep it level and not too high.So in my opinion a OS 40fx is a pretty good engine with enough power for this trainer,and by the way my field has grass that sometimes gets high,no problem takeoffs are still ok at half throttle...Have fun with your Tiger trainer

I have(now, had) a Thunder Tiger trainer with a TT46 pro. Great combination! Fly's excellent with an 11x6. Unfortunately the plane found one of those quick growing lamp posts, and is now a total loss, but for the price of the 46 pro, it's really worth it. Very reliable, lots of power, and I found it to be very fuel efficient.

Of the list i would go with the Irvine. How about the Irvine 46. It would have plenty of power and be a little less expensive. I have 2 Irvine 53's. I have not run one yet. This soring my old trainer will have one in it. Then I will try it out. I bought one because noone here or at any of the fields I visited had anything but good comments about them. Good luck and I hope you do well with whatever you choose.

Mark Shuman

Suggest not getting LA series, they have bushings rather than ball-bearings. Reliable enough, but can make an obnoxious knocking sound (crankshaft is designed to travel back and forth to promote lubrication of bushing).

The OS FX and TT Pro series are excellent choices (ball bearing support crankshaft). I have the TTPro 46 on my Avistar. Very happy with it. Runs quite smoothly. Costs less than OS FX - same quality - and I really like the slanted needle valve arrangement.

MrJB

The engine you had must have had some sort of crank, piston or con rod problem - as I have one 40LA, four 40 FP's and one 60FP (all with bushing supported cranks) and all purred like kittens.

I agree with you that the LT-40 should be powered with a .46 engine. It is definitely larger than the average .40 size trainer. It is also the best trainer that I've ever flown for inverted flight. I took off a students once, trimmed it out and gave it a whirl upside down. It was so solid inverted that I felt I could have easily flown a whole nice relaxing flight that way. Very fun.

Actually, it was designed for the GP40 but the GP42 has the same mounting lugs so there will be no problem in mounting it. When I mounted the GP42, the trainer balanced perfectly level. I only had to move the battery pack a little to achieve a slight nose down attitude on my balance jig. I like to have trainers just a little nose heavy. This is one of the reasons that I say that the GP42 is a perfect match for the trainer. It has sufficient power to take off with authority, does loops at full throttle without tending to stall, and has sufficient power to get you out of trouble when those unexpected events occur.

How bout Magnum (or ASP in UK) XLS .46?

I like it (but haven't run it yet).

In US it costs $89.99

Much cheaper than Irvine, much better than LA .46, similar to FX .46

Me like pay less money.
Me hate dandelions.
Me hate duds.

get a good engine, you will be happier in the long run. (and it will be cheaper in long run too) wow... 99 pounds, i wish that was the dollar amount[X(]