Well .... I've wanted to get into the hobby since I was 6 .... I'm 26 now and getting married next May - and luckily my bride to be got me a Thunder Tiger 40 trainer for Christmas. I've been looking for a .46 engine to put into it .... and there are two engines (mainly) available on the local scene - O.S. Max and Thunder Tiger. Both engines seem highly rated so I'm having a hard time choose. Any suggestions?

Also does anyone know of a European mail order store on the internet? I was considering buying my radio from Tower *but* all their radios are 75MHz and we're on 35MHz over here!!!

Both are excellent engines. The primary difference between them (besides price ) is that the OS engine has a remote needle valve (on the rear of the engine ) and the Thunder Tiger has the needle valve on the front of the engine (angled towards the rear to help keep your fingers away from the prop ). Another engine you might want to consider is the Evolution 46 engine. All 3 engines are VERY user friendly and have pretty much the same amount of power. By user friendly I mean that 99%+ are going to run well right from the box. The breakin time is minimal and they will not need constant 'fiddeling' with to run (or stay running ) properly.

As for the radio.....Take a look a Polk's Hobby http://www.polkshobby.com/ Their Tracker III radios are available in 35MHZ. I have a Tracker II and really like the radio. The III is even better as it has a 'buddy box' port and alpha naming for you models. These radios do not use/need a crystal since both the transmitter and receiver can be set to operate on ANY legal channel. The transmitter and/or receiver will work with ANY OTHER BRAND as long as it is on the same MHZ. Last I knew they still had a 5 year warranty on the radios. I had 1 problem with mine. From the time I sent it out until I got it back was 8 days. The problem was fixed and the programming was upgraded to the latest version. I paid for shipping it to them - they shipped it back at no cost. And yes, I am a big fan of the radio. I think of it as an EVO radio without the high price.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the quick reply! I'll check out the Trakker III radio!

I was going to get a Futaba 6EXA ... but it's about Lm130 here which is WAY over my budget ...