PaPa-NeGeorgeo

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What type of engine should a beginner go for a small plane?
Gas or electric can someone give me the pros/cons of each(easier to install, faster, lighter, smaller, etc.)

ctdahle

There is a darn good reason why forty sized glow powered airplanes are the most popular. They are the best compromise between the easy of flying a very large plane and the economy of a small one.

If you are serious about learning to fly, learning to run and maintain an RC engine, and learning all of the skills and techniques to make you a skilled modeler, then the engine to start with is one of the plain bearing .40 glow engine.

My personal preference is for OS because they last for bloody ever, and are very easy to tune and maintain, but the other manufactureres make some good offerings too. I will say this, while there are guys that swear by some of the other makes and complain that the OS engines cost too much. I have never spent more than 2 minutes fiddling with an OS engine.

The best value in beginner engines in my opinion, is the O.S. LA-.40. I bought one last january to run in the club trainer and it has had more than 15 gallons of fuel through it, is still on the original glow plug, and has operated with out a hitch in weather ranging from below zero to over 100* F. I've run it in freezing rain, snow, and fog, and on hot muggy mornings. I have had exactly ONE dead stick landing with it, and that was due to a fuel line problem.

Electric is now a viable option, with the cost slowly declining, but running them is still more complex than flying glow. The cost is competitive with glow only because you do not have the ongoing expense of fuel, but the entry fee is a bit more than what it takes to do glow.

For a properly equipped trainer with a .40 glow engine, be prepared to spend about $400 for the model, radio, engine, and sufficient tools and support equipment to fly. (Kadet LT-25 or LT-40, OS-LA.40, four channel radio, covering and accessories, fuel and AMA membership.

If you go electric add $200 (SR Cutie with SR's recomended motor, spare battery pack, charger, radio and misc. support equipment)

$ircra$halot

Hi PaPa-NeGeorgeo: Wow! don't ask me to type that one twice Don't get me wrong I love glow or gas. But either way you look at it, if you really want to enjoy the hobby you will spend the $$$. Electric has some definite advantages, such as the small park flyer's, some of which can be flown in a good sized back yard. I know it is getting hard to find a place within 30 miles to fly my Saito 91 powered Tiger 60, and some of these park flyer's are even very aerobatic. The elec. planes range from $50.00 to $150.00 roughly. Most come with an elec motor, and the higher priced ones may have a speed control included. You will need a radio and equip. $150.00 and up, some come with batteries. You need batteries for both glow and elec. in the transmitter and the plane. A good battery cycler $90.00 to $150.00 is highly advised for nicad batteries. This conditions the batteries. A well cared for battery pack, will out last 20 gallons of fuel easy at $15.00 to $20.00 a gal. unless you are flying the small 1/2a planes with small Cox, or Norvel engines, and I think it may still be close. A field charger comes in handy, these run from about $40.00 to $175.00. Don't forget support eqip. I could go on and on. I'll stick with glow or gas, till death do us part. Garry

BingoFlyer

Get a .40-.46 Glow powered engine, electrics are not very user friendly for beginners. While small park flyers are usually easy to fly they have very limited performance (low flying time prier to having to recharge due to the limited battery capacity) a glow engine can just be refueled. There are high performance electrics but their cost is much higher as well as requiring larger batteries. Not my recommendation for a beginner on a limited income.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I also agree with the 40-46 size glow for all the reasons mentioned.

PaPa-NeGeorgeo

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How much does all this fuel cost for a glow power engine and how much would a .40 cost.
But thinking of it a fuel engine would probably be less expensive do to not buying batteries or a recharger.

$ircra$halot

Hey Papa: We meet again. I disagree that glow is cheaper or easier then elec. Like I mentioned in another post to you, glow fuel cost between $15 to $20 per gallon. Yes a battery will cost close to twice that, if not a little more, but it will out last 20 gal. of fuel. So if you buy 2 battery packs, you will have at most $70 to $80 invested. Fly with one while the other charges. Buy one at a time. You will have to buy a speed control, $20+. you may want to invest in a field charger about $30 to $100. You are going to have to buy a charger for either type of plane. You would be wise to invest in a battery cycler $70 to $150. Nicad batteries need to be discharged once in a while, or they develope a memory. Before you know it you will have charged your batts. for 12 to 16 hours, and they won't last a minute. A cycler will tell you exactly what kind of shape your batts are in, and make them last longer. If you run out of batt. while flying glow, your plane WILL CRASH !!!!! With elec, the motor will stop, but you will still have control over the plane. And if you pull the throttle back for a moment, then advance it again, the motor will run again, giving you a chance to make it back to the field before landing. Now you can buy nickel metal hydrid batts. they are somewhat more expensive but do not develope memory so they claim, I have no experiance with them. Glow engines are messy, can be tempermental, and glow plugs cost $5 to $12 each, of coarse if the engine is properly tuned a glow plug will last years. But so will a speed 400 elec. motor $10 or $12, a bushing glow motor will run you about $50, and a bushing motor is bottom of the line a bearing motor will cost $70+ in the same size but has more power.

$ircra$halot

Hey Papa: We meet again. I disagree that glow is cheaper or easier then elec. Like I mentioned in another post to you, glow fuel cost between $15 to $20 per gallon. Yes a battery will cost close to twice that, if not a little more, but it will out last 20 gal. of fuel. So if you buy 2 battery packs, you will have at most $70 to $80 invested. Fly with one while the other charges. Buy one at a time. You will have to buy a speed control, $20+. you may want to invest in a field charger about $30 to $100. You are going to have to buy a charger for either type of plane. You would be wise to invest in a battery cycler $70 to $150. Nicad batteries need to be discharged once in a while, or they develop a memory. Before you know it you will have charged your batts. for 12 to 16 hours, and they won't last a minute. A cycler will tell you exactly what kind of shape your batts are in, and make them last longer. If you run out of batt. while flying glow, your plane WILL CRASH !!!!! With elec, the motor will stop, but you will still have control over the plane. And if you pull the throttle back for a moment, then advance it again, the motor will run again, giving you a chance to make it back to the field before landing. Now you can buy nickel metal hydrid batts. they are somewhat more expensive but do not develop memory so they claim, I have no experience with them. Glow engines are messy, can be temperamental, and glow plugs cost $5 to $12 each, of coarse if the engine is properly tuned, a glow plug will last years. But so will a speed 400 elec. motor $10 or $12, a bushing, glow motor will run you about $50, and a bushing motor is bottom of the line. A bearing motor, will cost $70+ in the same size but has more power. always glad to help if I can. Garry By the way I like glow, go figure.

$ircra$halot

PaPa: I meant to suggest you go into towerhobbies.com and spend some time looking at prices. None of the prices I gave are quotes, just educated guesses. I recommend doing a search on engines, I think the tower brand is about the cheapest, but O.S. is one of the most popular, although more pricey, and I can vouch for very user friendly. and reliable. Also do a search under Wattage for elec. and Herr, and Balsa USA for 1/2a size kits since you seem to wan't to go with small planes. I still strongly urge you to consider something bigger. They make bigger in elec. too, as well as aerobatic. Always happy to help if I can Garry

PaPa-NeGeorgeo

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Ive done alot of searches on tower hobbies but most seemed cheaper than i thought i saw i nice looking 4 channel radio for less than $150 does that mean it wont last more than a year or two i want one that i can use on at least 4 of my planes and will last a couple years.

$ircra$halot

Hey PaPa I'm back. It depends, just about any radio will last a good long time if you take care of it. You know, keep it clean, throwing it against the wall is definitely out of the question. . And it will need to be sent in for service once in a while. IE after a crash, or just once a year or so for calibration. Somethings you wan't to consider are, is it compatible with what most of the people at the club you are going to fly at are using, so you can hook up a buddy cord while learning. We have driven the instructor thing home havn't we? Another is do you plan to progress to other options, such as retractable landing gear, or flaps, bomb drops, turbine powered jets . If so you may wan't to look into more channels, or possibly a computer radio. If so, and you can crank out the pennies, you might consider getting the radio of your future today. It will save you money in the long run. But if all you can afford is a 4-channel, you can always sell it at a later date to help fund the bigger and badder. Always glad to help if I can. Garry

PaPa-NeGeorgeo

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actaully i think im gonna go with the 6 channel i saw some that were the same price as some of the expensive 4 channels ones.
about how much should i six channel radio cost to have good quality? (like u said i want this one for my future)

Jim Finn

My Feedback: (2)

I worked in a hobby shop for a while selling this stuff. I flew 40 sized engines 20 years ago . I fly 40 sized electrics now. To get an electric 40 sized plane to fly like a 40 sized engine you will spend double what you can do it for with glow. Electric can go smaller but the small planes will not tolerate wind. What you should do is find an instructor (You will need one) usually in a club and ask him what to buy. Do what he says. It is good to keep your teacher happy right? By the time you have learned how to fly on your own you will know a lot about this subject and can decide on your own then. I prefer electrics but they aint cheap!

$ircra$halot

While I agree the initial investment is more for elec. than glow, especially something in a 40 size. Once you make that investment, unless you crash or mess up on charging batts. or something of this nature, you won't have to invest again for a long time. Now at $15 to $20 for fuel in my case I go through about a gallon a month. Plus $5 to $10 for glow plugs, $15 for a ni-starter. Well I'm not going all through this again. I've stated before I prefer glow myself, but in the long run elec is cheaper. Always happy to help if I can. Garry

PaPa-NeGeorgeo

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sorry about this question but im canadian and dont follow this imperial system,
how many ounces are in a galleon?

Jim Finn

My Feedback: (2)

128 Oz per gallon

Steve Guinn

:bananahea

I'm just gonna shoot myself!

$ircra$halot

PaPa: Don't know if this will help but 1 gallon = 128 fluid oz, or=3.79 liters hope this helps. Garry

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

I fly both. Replacement costs for my ele run from $150 to abt $1300. The piston planes range is $100 to $1800. You pays your money and takes your choice. Point is you can go high or low with either. Whichever you choose make sure it has at least two motors or engines.

Twins WIN!!

WLR

jharkin

My Feedback: (2)

Where are you guys buying fuel at $15-20 per gallon? That seems very high to me. I live near Boston and I pay about $13/gallon for Omega/Coolpower 15%. Powermaster prices are similar. 10% gas is only around $11 a gallon.

Jeremy

$ircra$halot

I live in Colorado Springs Co. The last fuel I bought was actually a special blend 20% mixed by some guy in Denver, and it cost $19.95 per gallon at lhs. I normally use Cool Power 15% from the lhs at $15.95 per gallon. Even at $10 per gallon it would add up quick, I fly 2 to 5 times a day weather permitting. I just can't give up the sound of glow. . Gas sounds even better. I'm saving pennies. Wonder if I will live to be 176 years old. Always glad to help if I can. Garry