Best Engine
 

For a few years I have been looking at flying, so one day when I was helping my friend clean out his garage there was a old trainer kit still sitting up there. After talking about it I recived it for $25 It is a OLD sig kadet mark 3 trainer. Right now I am looking for a power house for this thing. I am looking at a O.S. .46 AX I am wondering if this will be a good motor, It needs to last a long time and have good power, I want a motor that will over power it but not to much ( If that makes since) I dont want a 4 stroke yet. Please post if you thing this motor will work... If not please post a better motor. (also my friend is going to teach me how to fly .. he also owns a kadet.. something extra... and a few other planes.)

RE: Best Engine
 

I would prefer a Super Tigre, but there is nothing wrong with your selection.

RE: Best Engine
 

this motor will work fine. any 40-50 size two stroke will work. i have been using it's older brother, the .46 fx, (almost identical) for years now with great success, and would highly reccomend the AX. it is very reliable. however, other comprable engines out there would be the evolution .46 or the tt pro .46 off the top of my head, and they will all work very well. a bit of advice though, any time you post something that contains the words "after run oil" or "best" will usually receive a flurry of different opinions and just confuse the person asking.

RE: Best Engine
 

The OS-46AX is a great engine for a new modeler!

RE: Best Engine
 

Welcome to the hobby Doug! What Spaceclam said is especially true. "Best" is very subjective here, as u will see in the other threads. Every one has a personal preference and an opinion. To be politically correct, my "personal" preference would be the OS46FX or AX that u mentioned. I've been using OS engines since I was a kid, racing 1/8 scale buggies, and they have proven to be very reliable. The OS46FX is rated at 1.62HP, 0.26HP more than the OS40FX and it is slightly lighter as it is a bored-out 40FX. The 46AX (your choice) is a newer version of the FX and it has slightly more power. These engines are extremely reliable since they have 2 needles (high speed needle and mixture control) and they are ball-bearinged. What a beginner should look for is an engine that runs consistenly and reliably so that it instills confidence in flying. You do not want one that stalls when u are flying or one that requires a lot of fine-tuning. U will also want one that has ample power to keep up with your progress into basic aerobatics. The 46AX or FX wil do all these at quite a reasonable price, and it's powerful enough to be "transplanted" into your next sport plane. I have 2 of them - I've had the 1st one since I started learning and it has taken serious head-on crashes but still runs perfectly.

RE: Best Engine
 

Thanks guys, I do have a background with nitro rc cars, Thats what I wanted to hear is that the AX will do good, my friend said get the FX but they dont make it anymore. As for my next plane I want to get a 4-stroke.

Thanks again
Doug

RE: Best Engine
 

The OS is a great engine. The Thunder Tiger are also in my good books. Both are easy to adjust for nice running. :DIf I am the only instructor at the field, I don't have time to be goofing around trying to get Super Tigers to run properly.

RE: Best Engine
 

I agree with Fastsky, except that I would put the TT first & the OS next. The TTs run like a watch right out of the box. My experience with Super Tigres is that they are often troublesome to tune & have frequent deadsticks --however, they do run strongly.

RE: Best Engine
 

I sorta agree with Britbrat. I have 2 TT engines, but they are the GP (bushed) type. Thet ran great out of the box and I have never had a moment's problem with either the 42 or the 61. The BB engines are supposed to be great, but I just wanted a low priced motor for my beginnings into R/C. If they last me 10 years that averages out to less than 10 bucks a year. But either the bushed or bearinged TT would be a good choice.
RWCherry
Mt Sterling KY

RE: Best Engine
 

The OS .46AX will be a great choice. I have nearly every .40-.52 sized engine and the AX is the easiest to adjust, breaks-in quickly, has excellent power and runs great.

RE: Best Engine
 

I have 2 of the OS .46 AX engines and are very reliable, one has survived a head on crash
and still runs perfectly, the other hasn't had a lot of running on it yet, but has run good since
break in. The AX will tune easily and run perfectly IMO.

RE: Best Engine
 

Here is an example of the new OS-46AX, a gentleman at our field is ALWAYS showing up with new airplanes, engines, TX's etc. One day he asked me to test fly his Lanier F-4 with the AX installed... As usual he did NOT break in the engine, and he had it inverted with the carb. WELL below the centerline of the tank (All difficult issues-) I was pretty sure he/we would not get it to run properly with all those negatives- so I wandered off as he began "tinkering" with it-

Boy was I wrong, within 15 minutes, he had that thing singing along beautifully and the low-end was great also (And he is a new engine tuner-)... I forget the RPM's but he had an 11x6 or 7 on there and it was a great performer! (I recommend a 10x7 or 8 apc on a Prop-jet like that)

While I recommend a careful break-in on a test-bench, ;) I was VERY impressed with that engine! I have also flown a couple other folks AX's that were perfect runners also---

Like Ed I have had MANY 46 sized engines and the most trouble free are TT, OS, and Irvine for me--

TT's are awesome for the buck also---

RE: Best Engine
 

Well the AX sounds like a good motor for me. I would consider thunder tiger but ( I know I am new to planes) I don't want to go with a brand I never heard about or seen in real life, When I received my first pistol radio by airtronics now all of my RC car radios are by airtronics. I guess what I am trying to say is I like to go with main stream stuff so I will know it is good. I have always known OS to have good airplane motors (or it seemed that way) and there car motors are starting to become good also.

Thanks Again
Doug

RE: Best Engine
 

For a Kadet? Any .46 sould be more than adequate. I've seen them take of grass fields and do adequate basic aerobatics with as small as .29. I think they were originally sold to be powered with .25 to .40, back when flight packs were more than twice as heavy as they are now.
I passed my club's solo flight requirement on a Kadet Mk II lent to me that was powered by an older OS Max 35, that was definitely NOT a powerhouse. No trouble getting off our grass field.

RE: Best Engine
 

I began with the Kadet LT40 and the .46Fx. Way more power than needed and I eventually changed to a .32 Fabc made by OS and then after a wreck put an old .46LA in it. I realy preferred the LA powerwise, it is a great match and it costs about one half of the AX or FX series and still use it as a trainer. Lots of fine .46 sized engines made which are cheaper than OS, consider Magnum, GMS and others. OS is a good motor but no guarentee any better than any other. My first /46FX had a sleeve peel and ruined the engine and OS just said that is too bad, I am just one of many. I will say I have bought 3 others since then however.

RE: Best Engine
 

O.S. max 46 will be a perfect engine for it. Where are you planning to fly at.

RE: Best Engine
 

A local field (club) to fly there I have to have a AMA membership... SO I am flying at a safe place
But when flew my friends ZAGI we just went the the local park. Nitro are way more dangerous than electric .. I don't have to worry about kill any one with a electric

RE: Best Engine
 

I have an OS 46 in that Kyosho Breitling Cap232. Its about 5 years old now. Anyway, I have a climb prop on it, a 11X5. Aerobatics are alot of straight up and straight down. My Cap goes up for ever. People are always asking me, " What have you got in that thing ? ". The performance is simlpy great. Same with my T28, it has the OS Max 61 bearing. Folks can't believe it. I really like thier 50's also. I say the best 40 ever made is an OS Max 50 !!! The metals are quality and they last for years. Parts are everywhere for them and easy to get. They have really great support techs also. All my engines start by snapping my fingers on the spinner, amazing to see ! I saw that on discovery Wings. I can recommend OS Max to anyone. Others might match thier specs, but they don't match thier metalurgy or support. That 46 will serve you for years and years and will be plenty hot enough for some sporty planes. Welcome to the hobby and good luck with that Kadet. I like those too.