I was wondering if anyone has used the Tower 2-stroke .61 for light pattern planes. Such as Dirty Birdy, Kaos, etc. It seems hard to ignore the price of this engine. The OS engines are literally twice the price for what is advertised as the same power output with a great warranty. I have had a 40 size Tower engine years ago but don't remember the ease of starting, idling or overall reliability. This is not to trash OS because I have always liked these engines and own quite a few. I would like some feedback from this group. thanks

sounds like a no brainer to me. a light pattern plane doesn't need a top of the line engine. so i say go for it.

Some user's reviews (not for pattern use thought) can be found here:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/product_gu...?engine_id=445

Skip,

You know the old saying, it’s not the engine that makes a pattern flyer, it the amount of practice to be a pattern flyer. As for me, I would say any brand 61 size engine would be good for the first couple of levels in SPA/BPA pattern, by today’s standards. At that price you could get a lot of quality practice time with the Tower engine. Plus you can buy two for about the price of one OS. Also don’t forget that the short stroke 61 engine was once the king of the hill, pulling around 8-9-10 pounds planes through all the classes back in the day.

The Tower 61 has tons of power. Its biggest problem is the carb; it can be hit or miss for a great one, most are good though. It is real picky on tank hight. I had one on a 46 u-cando pulling an APC 14x5N.