I really like reading about old pattern info. Guess it has to do with my introduction into RC, and pattern being the dominant activity in that era. Would anyone list off their favorite engine used back in the day? We had a guy in our club that had a reverance for the OS 60fsr with perry pump and carb. I never got to see it, just heard the stories. Would anyone else be interested in sharing stories?

Thanks,
turbo

I have been acquiring engines/plans of the period 'cause I grew up reading about guys like Lowe, Chidgey, Kirkland, Bridi and the rest. I was fascinated with terms like "full house" and "propo" and read everything I could get my hands on. Engine selection was limited at best, but nobody knew the difference. There is a picture of Lowe's original Phoenix in a similar thread with the transmitter next to it. What a photograph! Big 'ol .61 stuck up front, rubber band wing hold-down, and all. There truly is beauty in simplicity. My latest acquisitions include a vintage Kraft .61 (although circa 1972?) anf a NIB pre-'72 HP .61 4-bolt head. Now we're talkin'. These engines are gorgeous chunks of metal! I intend to run them as they were meant. I love the stuff from this period because they are like me: old, simple, and full of hope. Mark

In the very early days of pattern the Veco 61 was the hot engine (no muffler of course), then late 60s the Webra 61 Blackhead (a very distinct Webra sound coming back to idle on the down wind landing leg), then the Kraft K.61 now updated by RJL (RJL is doing an awesome job on this engine) and the big power house the OS 61SF ABC-P (big prop and pitch, pipe and rocket like speed).

Enjoyed the pix of the older engines--I still have a NIB Kraft 61/Perry carb along with 2 NIB Webra 61 Blackheads and a slightly used (on a Eyeball) Webra 61 Blackhead. Discovered that the old K&B 61 muffler is almost a perfect fit for the Webra BH.

Had two OS 60 FSR's NIB, but gave them to two guys who promised to use them on pattern planes--they never did though.[&o]

My first .60 sized pattern plane was a Super Kaos .60 back in 1975 (after having 2 Super Kaos .40s). I put a brand new OS .60FSR with Pery pump and carb in it. I still have a vivid memory of my first flight - wow, now I really have enough power (of course any pattern flier will tell you that you can never really have enough power VBG). I discovered that having an 'overpowered' Super Kaos revealed a minor design issue resulting from the excess power: fishtailing. Yep, at full throttle, in straight and level flight, the tail would oscillate from side to side. The fix was simple: just add more fin area. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to make the modification. The radio failed during 3 horizontal rolls and she went screaming through the woods at full bore in a shallow descent. The fuselage (and about 4" of wing on either side) came to rest about 60 feet off the ground in an oak tree. Took a while to retrieve it, but the engine and radio escaped completely unscathed - good news to a teen-ager. There was balsa and monokote strewn over a 100 yard crash pathway in the woods.
The early .60 FSRs had a habit of breaking the crankshaft at the the intake opening, but were great engines otherwise. The Perry pump had wayyyyy to much pressure and had to be closed down to the minimal pressure setting. Once OS got hold of the design they refined it to a very reliable system. I had a Hanno Special with 1700 flights (the bearings and piston/sleeve had been replaced) it was well worn when retired, but the pump/carb still workde great.
Favorite engine? Probably the OS .61VF, but the YS .60FR is a close second. The early YSs required a long break-in (like an hour) because of the ABC piston/ sleeve fit, but they were the most powerful pattern engine of their time (BY FAR). YS did have a slightly annoying habit of continually making minor changes to the carburetor.
Man, lots of great memories.
-Will

Rossi 60 or 61, YS 60, Webra 61F racing longstroke, OS 60 &61FSR are a few of my choices. All are very good/powerful engines. The one that still blows my mind away though is the Enya 60 XF series engines. It is good on power, but nothing can compare to this engine's Marathon life. IT "was" the only engine that I can truly say that if every flight was worth a penny, compared to the cost of the engine itself..... I would have a nice wad of cash in my pocket. This engine payed for itself over, and over, and over......

Another classic.... The Super Tigre G60 Blue head.

Thanks for the input guys---AWESOME.

Flywilly, is that the Bridi 'weave' I used to hear about?

turbo

Yes it is!

I just read an article by Don Lowe (RCM July/Aug. 1965) where he discusses the development of his Phoenix. He states that his original Phoenix I (accidentally lost at the '63 Nats) and it's replacement, also a Phoenix I were powered by ST 46's. It's successor, the Phoenix II used a ST 56. Don's friend Ray Nugen who also developed a swept-wing design at this time called the "Expinkamental" also used the ST 56 for his prototypes. Cold hard facts here. Thought I'd share a couple of engines that I hadn't known about. Mark

For me its a tie between the OS 61 VF and the OPS 60 FIRE engines.

Super Tigre .60 Bluehead is my favorite

What does a "OPS FIRE 60" look like?

AW

FIRE=Front Intake, Rear Exhaust

My favorite two vintage engines are the early Enya and HP 60 engines.

Got 3 of each and still fly them regularly in sport planes. Neither is very powerful by today's standards of course. The HP's are the stronger of the two, but I still have a soft spot for the Enya's because it was my first 60 and my first true R/C engine. My first Enya (which still runs just like it did new) was - at $26.50 - a major investment back then that took a lot of convincing for my wife to agree I should buy it. The first 60's used an exhaust baffle and no muffler. I flew it in my glass-n-foam Kwik Fli III for a long time which was guided by a CitizenShip 4 channel proportional (the flight pack weighed 25 os - due parly to the aluminum cases wrapped around the servos and reciever!).

The first Enyas were prone to backfires in flight which almost always ejected the prop along with the nut, washer and prop driver. Naturally the parts didn't come off all together and I don't recall ever finding anything but the prop! Enya soon came out with a maintenance kit which had all the missing parts! It was a good idea to have more than of the kits with when you went flying - for one thing you could sell one or more to another Enya flier who suddenly needed one. Later when we started using mufflers the backfire problem disappeared completely.

My original Enya still starts by hand on the first flip.

The HP's were - in their day - very strong engines. And they were even stronger with the aftermarket AFM carb (which is shown on the HP mounted on my current Aeroworks Edge 540T).

Great fun reminiscing about the old planes, engines and radios.

Tony

Tony: great post! Where did you find the muffler for your 4-bolt HP?

The muffler is a Bisson 'universal'. If you look closely you'll see the adaptor I fabricated between the exhaust stack and the muffler - it's made out of two pieces of sheet aluminum stock.

(Picture was taken prior to first engine runs. I quickly discovered an almost total lack of muffler pressure. So I bored out the muffler tap and soldered a short length of brass tube with the inside portion cut at a 45° angle facing the exhaust port. Better but not enough. So I wound up using a Perry pump which works just fine.

I believe the stock pressure tap position is where it is because the stack is much thicker than the oval section. But it's in the wrong location for generating adequate pressure...at least in my installation.)

Tony

My favorite first pattern engine was a Super Tigre 60 Bluehead. What a great engine. My all around favorite was an OS 61 VF. I had one of the first OS FSR Goldheads when they came out. It was great also.

Recently got a NIB OS 61 FSR for a new Mach 1 I am building from plans and a NIB HP 61 Gold Cup rear intake for another vintage.

Ebay is great!

Jeff

The era I enjoy most was the early 80's, I was maybe 12 or 13 when I used to imagine having a Tiporare or Curare with a YS-60RE ...

I like the idea if a tricycle gear (Retracts- Kraft?) Pattern ship with a 2 cycle and a pipe runnin through the tunnel- I still am trying to find a Tipo in the want ads on here

I am fortunate enough to have a Rossi-60 on a full quiet pipe in my Supra Fly-45 (Hanno design) and a YS-60RE waiting for that special ship-

Good stuff man, good stuff!

webra .61 racing longstroke rear exhaust with dynamix carb. and hatori long chamber pipe
apc 12x10 cool power 20%.

The Dynamix carb is one of the best carbs ever built! I am glad Webra is re-offering them again.

ys 60 ys 60 ys 60
still use them still love them
vinny

Man, great thread!

Early 80's, I was 13 or 14 and got my first .60 for a birthday or Christmas present from my parents. A Super Tigre G60 Bluehead ABC PDP. It flew an Ugly Stik for many years, first with the factory venturi muffler (which didn't) and later with the factory tuned pipe which was originally supplied with the S60. It still goes really well.

Over the last few years, I've been buying a few of the "Classic 60's" which I dreamed of as a youngster. I should start building a few old ships for them!

ST G60 Bluehead ABC PDP
HB 61 PDP with Perry pump and Carb
Webra Blackhead
OS H60 F GR

OS Goldhead, Super Tigre Bluehead, what great engines. The first piped motor was a Super Tigre X61 and it was a good motor when it ran, not so much if it felt like being ornery. The best engines I ever had were OS .61 FSR's and I stilll run one with a Shadel piston and sleeve. What a powerhouse. It will probably end up on a Taurus. I need to contact Shadel and order some more of these actually, I have 2 more that need re-buiding. I hope he still makes them.

Rick H.

My first 60 size engine was an Enya too and was mounted in a Fliteglass Pagan. By the time I got the Enya and the Pagan, the Seattle Radio Aero Club moved to a new field and implemented a muffler rule so I used the Enya muffler. As I recall the muffler was extra cost and did not come with the engine. My Veco 61s came after the Enya and I loved flying them with open exhaust at other fields that hadn’t implemented muffler rules. The bark of the open exhaust sounded great echoing around the flying site. The muffler rule sure caused a lot of disagreement and chaos in the RC clubs during those years.

The Pagan and Enya at the SRAC field.

How about the H.P. Austrian designed and produced (now manufactured in the United States of America) H.P. 61 Goldcup available ringed or ABC piston and liner.