I have the LA and the FX. I also have a TT 40 pro. The TT overpowers the LA by a lot and could be compared to the FX. It has that much more power. I've had many people ask me if my plane I'm flying has a 46 fx in it and I reply, "no it's a TT 40. Lots of times they are suprised. However the 40LA was the first engine I ever bought and when choosing a reliable(I read PaPa say it was unreliable) engine for a great price for a beginner, with a trainer that is smaller than the LT-40, the 40LA is a great engine. I think it is perfect for someone who doesn't know how long they will be into RC planes or how interested they are going to be in it in the future. I have all the rest of my engines in a plane except for the 40 LA, now because of the lack of power it provides. I originally had it in an Avistar(flew great)then had it in a SuperSportster and it was underpowered. I think for the price, and quality, the 40LA can't be beat. Just my opinion, no one has to listen.

I'm going to jump in late on this thread and agree Strongly with "goingstraightup". I had two trainers(don't ask)- a PT40 with the low dihedral wing, and the Aerostar. The PT40 was a great first kit and good plane. I liked the Aerostar even better. The engine thing is a bit nebulus-I think everyone would agree that a bearing 46 is "superior" to a bushing 40.....but for what purposes. In learnining to fly you want most of all a well behaved even tempered engine. A 40 LA fits the bill, and as you KNOW its not a powerhouse there will be no temptation to wringe just a bit more power from it. When I was stupider just a few years ago I spent too much NRG trying to get my engine really cranking-with the resultant deadsticks! No way to learn basic flight. As far as the arguement "you can use the engine on your next plane" I am not convinced-I always end up keeping my planes intact, and buy new engines for each kit. YMMV good luck

Thanks for the thumbs up Jaguar! Good point.

Let me repeat myself
Again im not discouraging anyone from this engine (for the money its not bad for the occaisonal flyer) i just feel that there are better engines out there for just a little more.
In my opinion and personal expierience i feel there are better engines out there even for the occasional flyer.
Carpunky what kind of flyer do you plan to be and how many planes do you plan to have.
Maybe for someone whos not too sure about this hobby and wants to spend a minimum amount of money(i know i did when i got into this hobby). The LA might not be a bad chose (though if your going with the LT-40 i would go with a .46)

Papa

I have two trainers I still fly for a change of pace, and I agree the LA is a reliable engine, especially for a newbie. I started with a Superstar (which I still have) with a O.S .40LA. I bought a Avistar with a O.S. 40 LA later.
I had a O.S. 46 FX lying around, so I put it on the Superstar. WOW!!! The Superstar is a much better handling plane now with the small increase in power.
I beleive the Avistar is best suited with the .40LA though

My .05 cents (inflation ya-know )

going with the LT40 and the tiger .46 pro engine

thanks

Carpunky

Good choice,
what radio are you going with?

I only have 2 years experience but here is my take on getting started. My buddy has a Eagle 2 ARF. This plane is a great looking plane and has all the features for a "trainer". First it has a flat bottom wing. This is a big bonus for training as it slows the plane down while providing more lift. This means easier landings and faster take offs. I have had many flat bottom wing planes when I started and all were nice and predictable and forgiving. They help avoid tip stalls in my experience. They get tricky in high winds but you won't be flying in those initially anyway. He has put this plane on floats now and it is a beautiful plane off the water too. The price is comparable to the others mentioned and it has real windows intead of monokote ones adding to scale appearance. Dihedral is your friend when learning. It helps pendulum your plane to center. On engines I would buy a .46 LA engine. It is the same size and weight of the .40LA but puts out a little more power. This is still a cheap engine and very reliable. The big bonus with this engine (or any LA) is the single needle valve. This means you will be able to tune it yourself alot sooner and are less likely to run lean due to a misadjusted low end needle valve. Also if you do ruin it your out $55 instead of $85. You don't have to have a ball bearing engine to have it last long. You just need to have a properly tuned engine and run fuel 15% or less with good oil content 18% or above. Some people even add a little castor to their fuel to bring the oil content up. You can pull the baffle out of the muffler on the LA to get a few hundred RPMs. Props make a huge difference too. I have found that I love low pitch props. Pitch is the second number in the prop designation. For the .40 / .46 LA you may want to run a 10x4 or a 11x4. This will slow the plane down while providing you with extra thrust to climb on take off. It also works like a brake when you throttle down and will allow easy landings. If you are going to spend any extra money spend it on a nice transmitter. This is what you will use with all your future planes and they hold settings for multiple planes. It will be as much of flying as the plane itself. Listen to the guys who recommend a 6 channel. You will want it for the next plane that has flaps/flapperons/retracts/ or even a bomb drop. I know they are more expensive but you definately should get a low end computer radio. This will have very important features such as dual rates. These allow you to "desensitize" the controls for takeoffs and landings. Then when you need it you can switch to high rates to allow the plane to roll faster or be more aerobatic. It will save you tons of time by setting endpoints on the servos through the radio instead of tearing the plane apart each time. PLUS you instructor will probably have one. SO if he sets up his radio and trims things out it might be easy for him to fly but you will be SOL because your standard 4 channel always has maximum throws. I started training friends to fly and came accross this. People will tell you you shouldn't rely on a computer radio to do the work for you but my take is that you learn to fly first with as much help as you can get. Then work the details out later. I happen to prefer JR equipment because the computer radio was really easy to program and I got a XP652 on ebay for around $65 for the transmitter. If futaba is what people at your field are running then try to match it. Its a great hobby (addictive/obsessive for sure) and for some its one they know they will do for the rest of their life.


I should mention I got 8 fully functional planes currently. High wings, low wings, clipped wings, warbirds, floatplanes, trainer. This relates to the "addictive" comment.

Carpunky,

I can tell you from experience that the LT-40 TT 46 Pro is a great combination since this is the exact setup I started with. I love the TT so much I haven't bothered buying an electric starter yet. I hand flip mine and it always starts easily as long as it isn't really cold out (the timing on two strokes is affected by temperature - warm it up a little with a hair dryer and it starts right up). I personally think this is the best deal in an engine you can find right now. The 46 Pro makes as much or more power than the OS 46FX at a much lower cost. This is really saying something since the OS is a great engine with plenty of power.

I would have to agree that a 46 is probably a better choice for the LT-40. It doesn't make any difference when you are first learning to fly - at that point I hardly moved the throttle past half way up. The difference is when you are flying on your own and you start to experiment with aerobatics. Having a little more power will simply allow you to get a little more out of your trainer. It is also nice to have the extra power when you are starting to take off on your own. At that point the faster the plane gets into the air and gets some altitude the more relaxed you are.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here with all the talk of poor engine power is the possibility of converting your trainer to a tail dragger. If you are flying from a grass field tricycle gear is a real pain. It works but not very well. If you think about it, tricycle gear didn't even come around on full size planes until paved runways were available. The conversion means that you don't need as strong an engine to get off the ground since there is so much less drag so if you are having a hard time getting speed on take-offs you are probably a good candidate for the conversion. I would suggest learning to fly first with the tricycle gear since your plane will be a little faster in the air as well as on the ground as a tail dragger. This means faster landings which you won't be ready for at first - the LT-40 is such a great glider you can easily overshoot your runway if you don't burn off as much excessive speed as you can before trying to land. Don't forget you can always go around for another try. The conversion is something to keep in mind for when you get comfortable with your trainer and start thinking about another plane. It will allow you to get better at using your rudder and handling a tail dragger before you get a new plane (which tends to be a tail dragger) that you don't want to risk crashing right away.

If you are wanting to stick with Futaba for a radio, the 6EXa 6-channel (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXCZR6**&P=0) is a good deal in a computer radio. I believe JR has something comparable if you would rather go with JR. I agree with the others suggestions to spring for the 6 channel radio from the start. If not you will only regret it later. Besides, if you get out of the hobby it will be easier to sell a 6 channel used than a 4 channel.

Good luck!

Carpunky:

Checkout a post that I have already written for this same question.

http://www.rcwebboard.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7488

Engine any OS that has both high and low end needle valves settings would be my suggestion.