I am new to this and I have read several magazines and books but still can't find an answer. However it seems that books are kind of limited on RC Airplanes. I can't seem to find much on this great hobby. I know there are different types of engines. As far as I have read there are electric, brushless electric, gas, and glow. The electric and gas are I believe are self explanatory but can someone please tell me what these types of engines are. Thank you so much for your help

There are a lot of resources available on the web. One great site to get a lot of information and links to other sites is:
http://www.airfieldmodels.com

A gas engine burns regular gas along with oil, and has an ignition.
A glow engine uses a ntiro/alcohol oil mix, uses a glow plug no ignition.
A brushless electric is an electric motor that has rotating magnets fixed coils and does not have the normal brush setup as common electric motors have.

Well thank you very much for the information iron eagel. I am actually shocked about the glow engine. I was reverting back to my military days and thought maybe the glow engines ran on diesel fuel because they have glow plugs in the engines to warm up the fuel to ignite it.

i forgot to thank you for the website link. I am looking at it right now and I tell you what, that is the best site I have found yet. Thanks again.

Hi HD,

There are also diesel rc engines that have no glow plug and run purely on compression.

Darren

Hello rrragmanliam. Yeah I actually just read that on the web link. apparently there aren't many out there. I wonder how they fly and sound

Hi HD,

Actualy RC diesel engines have been around for a very long time. There are still many offerings out in the market. The nice thing about diesels is they will swing a way bigger prop than there same size glow counterpart. Once you learn the nuances of running a diesel they are a simpler and more powerfull way to go over glow engines. All you need to run one is a can of fuel and nothing else.

Darren

how nice would that be. so much to take to the airfield now as it is. are they hard to start up? just knowing what it is like to start a diesel in the winter time I can't imagine they would be easy starting engines

wide glide, a friend of mine has a a diesel conversion on his airboat engine, yes it is harder to start in cold weather he needs an electric starter. but once it has warmed up a quick flip of the prop and it fires right back up. here is a link to Davis Diesels website
[link=http://davisdieseldevelopment.com]Davis diesel[/link] . They make conversions for almost all major glow engines.

thanks. i appreciate the help overbored77

hello,

anyone know some long endurance gas engines? It's for UAV. Actually it have to fly for 24hrs maximum, any idea?

You will find that airfield models has link to all sorts of modeling resources. I got back into rc just a few years ago and found that there were many changes. Radios, engines, ARFS, just to mention a few of the changes...
Good luck>

Over the last 5 years the prices of most of the RC stuff have come down and the quality has gone up. You can get a computerized 6 channel computer radio today that is cheaper than a basic 4 channel was 5 years ago. High quality recievers used to run around $150.00 with crstal. Now you can get one for around $50.00. Engines have come down in price and it used to cost you an extra $50.00 to go from a 40 and a 46 size engine. Now the difference is between $5.00 and $0.00. Kits have come down in price and there are lots of ARFs that can't be built and covered for the price. You can now buy a very nice flying 46 size twin ARF with a 69" wing span for $212.00 U.S. The covering has gone up in price and the glow fuel has gone up slightly aalong with gas if you are into the larger models. [8D]

Diesels are not very common in the U.S., but they are popular in Europe in the same way that diesel cars are more popular in Europe.

Two problems with diesels: they stink and the fuel is hard to get. Many people find the smell of running glow engines to be somewhat pleasant and unoffensive, but the same can't be said about diesels. Unfortunately, you can't run model diesel engines on diesel you buy at a gas station or truck stop. Model diesel fuel has a fairly high percentage of ether mixed with it to aid ignition, and ether (due to its use in illicit drug making) is a controlled substance and hard to get. You essentially need to buy it from one of only a few sources in the U.S. where it'll cost you over $20/gallon.

thanks again iron eagel I have found a lot of information and this site has been fantastic. I have learned a great deal of information from the fellow RCers

There is a whole series of Harry Higley books about models. One is something like "All about Engines". Worth the money.

just found it the other day and have it on order as well as the 4 other books related to building planes. I think I am going to order a miss stick junior next month. It is cheap and will give me an idea on how to build a plane. Then maybe build one more at a intermediate level and then buy a B-25. I want one of those planes bad.

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/miss-stikjr.htm