They are a higher class of product though. Even though the price (here) is close to the same.
I run the MVVS 26 on a 3270 "compact" muffler 18/8 Xoar Laminated at 8500 rpm on the ground. My 3W 28 is similar in performance but I use a 19/8 on that one for similar revs.
Even though the "xxx rpm at YYY prop" is not al that meaningful. Once you experience the throttle response of a higher end product, the respect for the lower end ones soon goes downwards. It is all about throttle curves and the mid range response on the higher end products is nothing short of fantastic.

Very true
I don't use any of the cheap clones anymore, simply because I have found they end up costing far more once you could all the wasted time, lost planes due to engine failures, downtime, parts etc etc

Really guy's, come on.

My RCG26 has two seasons of exstenive flying (approx. 180 flights) and
is still running good with no problems. Pulls a 15 lbs. Stearman around
quite well. There is another thread on this engine (RCG 26cc) check it
out for more useful info.

Stick2K

Even the JC 28 is a stronger engine. The RCG(F) 26 is really not a very powerful engine for its class. Might run fine but that is easy to achieve on a low powered engine.

Can't speak for the RCGF as mine is a RCG26 and it has very good power!
The two engines come from different companies. Based on the performance
in a 15 lbs. high drag plane, it should have unlimited vertical and fast pull
out of hovers on the the new 26% 10-11 lbs aerobatic planes!

Stick2K

Same engine with two names.

Give it up Stick2k. There are those people that don't like these so called cheap engines and never will. Lay ya odd's if one would stick a so called high class name on them they would love them.
Wild one, Think of it like General Motor's. GM, GMC, Chevy, etc etc.

Acerc,

You're right, I should know better by now!

Stick2K

A couple of years ago, I bought a cheap Chinese engine, Aerovate RCGF 26 for around $250 shipped. Within the first couple hour's running, the ignition failed; a bit at a time, not all at once, so I got lots of dead stick time on the plane. I sent the bad ignition back for replacement, and the replacement ignition worked fine. It cost me a few $ to return the faulty ignition. I had tuning issues from the git go on that engine but attributed them to the ignition problems. With a working ignition, I then found I still had to reset the needles about every time I went to the field, which doesn't make sense for a gas engine. Got a replacement carb under warranty that also had simlar issues. I paid a few $ to return the faulty carb. I had good help from the warranty folks, and they offered to take a look at the engine. I sent it back for evaluation. It cost several $ to send it to them. They got the engine running with a prop I don't use (I failed to specify what I was using on my engine). When I got it back, I had no better luck than before. I totally trust the warranty folks that they did what they said they did, but I didn't fare so well. I then bought a genuine Walbro carb to replace the Chinese carb on the engine. Problem solved.Then, I had a reliable engine I was flying regularly, untill one day the prop hub broke in flight, and the prop, spinner, prop shaft and prop hub departed the airplane. It was well past warranty by this time, but I was able to buy a replacement hub and the engine continued to run well. However, when the prop hub tore loose, there were "several" severely out of balance RPMS before it left the plane, and this extreme vibration pretty much scrambled the internal structure of the fuse. I got the plane back on the ground without crashing, but it was a totaled fuse from the vibration.

I bought another of the same plane and this time, I installed a Zenoah G20. Funny thing, it's about the same weight as the RCGF 26 which is fine for the plane its on. Another surprise was that the power of theG20 is a bit better than the 26. Same prop, same gas/oil, better performance.

Looking at the costs involved, I discovered I had more $$ in the cheap Chinese engine than I have in the G20.

Gosh.

two rcg 20cc beam mounts running strong, dle performance. Hand start and great performance. $139 dollars for a rcg 26 from hobbyking, $200 dollars for one from bp hobbies with full support, cant go wrong.

Am not familiar with the mvvs 26 or evolution engine range where can I buy one for $139 dollars?.

Ive had one for a while now. The only problem Ive had is the mufler coming loose. The holes not drilled correctly and the CDI failed not sure what caused it But the engine did get hot on this one run after being cowled fitted a Rexel and have had no problems...Ive just re kitted the carby as the engine had been sitting for 6 months and I wnated to be sure.. Its in a H9 1/4 cub now. It was in a SPAD bi-plane.

In many of those cases, including me, It's not that they don't like them. It's just that the value really isn't there in them. Even your own engine spent a lot of time getting sorted out according to your own posts on the other thread. That is time spent not flying. RCVFR post shows a typical example of this also.

Cheap isn't always economic if you actually want to fly (don't a lot of others preach this a fair bit?).

This doesn't only apply to RCGF, There are many other brand threads on the various forums full of questions about how to modify (or replace) carbs or ignitions, how to find crankcase leaks, how to fix faulty reeds, how to overcome early bearing failures etc to make an engine reliable. Those threads often start with the person asking why their engine won't start or run right. Occassionally it has already cost them a plane or two.

Then there are also a lot of threads about "how great XXX seller is for their backup service" when the requirement to have sent the product back should not have been there in the first place. How is your shaft now that it has been taken care of? - why did it ned replacement to begin with and why do the engines need Nylock nuts? It cost someone somewhere along the chain for the new parts and the postage etc. Chances are that was a loss to the seller.

Even the worst manufacturers sometimes let an occassional good item slip through their "QB" process (that is not a typo, it stands for Quality Breakage but it is gracefully adopted because a "B" must be better than a "C"). I even heard a guy mention how he had a good run out of a Venom Engine once as it had lasted for a few years without a fault. I have seen some that are happy with their GRPro's also. Even those "great companies" occassionally made one acceptable item out of the many poorer ones.

My preference is to buy a product that will fly and last. Others prefer to have great service while others prefer to spend time on the tools. Take your pick really, it's a free world (a concept the Chinese take a lot of pleasure in taking advantage of).

Once you have experienced a better class of product, you tend to notice the vagaries of the lower class product but until such time, they are all the same to the uninitiated. Nowadays, I find it a pleasure to take a brand new engine out of the box, install it, have it runing on within the first few flips of the prop, have it tuned a few minutes later and know it wil last me and has got a very good actual throttle response right through the whole throttle movement and not just the first half of it.

Remember your first car (no matter what the brand). Back then it was probably "the bees knees". More than likley now later in life you have experienced better vehicles. Would you like to go back to that first one? (other than perhaps experiencing the "other first" on the back seat of it).

Really. Cause My engines have ran great from the gitgo. Now there were issues self induced such as prop experimentation. Other than self induced the only problem was a prop nut. Andwhat was posted on the other thread was not all the storyjust what I was willing to tell. Got the results I was looking for.And there was one issuefrom a muffler coming apart, but that was my fault as well. The muffler was not made for this size engine and I drilled out the holes to make it fit. Once again self induced.So please refresh my memory as to what problems I was having. As for my coments on customer service, I have not needed it for warranty work or any kind of work.. Just commenting on how well and quick they are to answer any questions I have. Like recently about exhaust issues, The engine didn't have issues I did with how I wanted to run the exhaust in a particular plane.They were very helpfull.
The only problem with this engine is everyone bashing it whendollar for dollar, it is as good as any other out there.

"dollar for dollar, it is as good as any other out there. " That is like saying a Yugo engine is an good as a BMW engine.
The engine "company" in question uses low end castings, low end bearings, loose tolerances and low QC practices. Some of the early models were downright dangerous. That isn't my personal opinion, it's a fact.
Is it really" bashing" when it is the truth? Why do you think they are so cheap? If you buy a cheap engine just own up to the fact that it is a cheap engine.
I have some of these cheaper engines, not RCG but similar, but it's no big deal. When I hear people talking about the quality of them I know it's the truth. I actually like the two I have a and will probably acquire more because some of them that fill a gap that no one else does.
I am the last person in the world to bash someones engine choice but a DA or Kolm, RCG is not.

"I dont have a rcg but similar", how can you dismiss a engines quality when you dont even own one?.

Thats what pissed me off when I ran my two rcg 20s up and gave the prop figures, people that thought they new better and pretty much said the engine was crap and that I could not be producing the power it was because it was a "cheap chinese engine". Well it is and its a wee belter of a engine.

Also it is presumed that if you buy a cheap engine you are a fool who thinks for half the price you will get twice as much, this is not the case for me and I would imagine many others, I do not expect this engine to last as long as a 3w or have as good qualityBUT for $139dollars for the rcg 26and if you can tinker (set the static timing) these are amazing value for money. Great for a first gasser and for many sport planes where outstanding power to weight and linear power curves dont really matter, the real world for most weekend flyers.

They do not BLOW up first flight. In fact I pulled the cylinder sleeve for a look and the piston and liner looks like new after a few gallons. Has nsk bearings and no play in big and little end so far.

Personally I think it would be good for dle who would be their main rival to have some competition, im not happy about paying $310 dollars for a dle 20 in the uk, yes thats how much they cost here.Far as im concerned a dle 20 is a cheap chinese engine also and the only reason it does not sell for $160 dollars, like it used to, is customer demand and lack of competition......Rcg 20 from hobbyking $159 dollars, maybe to others im a fool but I think im pennywise personally.

If you are reading the rcg/rcgf threads and dont own or run a rcg/rcgf and the only input you have is not fact based, jog on.

i have a rcgf 20 got from hobby king> it froze up on the 3rd spin of the prop> u can not get a hold of them on the phone emais coming back take a long time so i sent it back to the return address on the box having a hard time with them will make stop payment on engine this week i called my credit card company testerday no more from hobby king

 No dollar for dollar means if all I need is a YUGO then I saved money over buying a BMW. If I buy a BMW and only use it like a YUGO then I have wasted money. If you don't like the RCGF don't buy it. If it won't last long enough for you don't buy it. But for many of us it fill's a need that nothing else does.

There is no customer service from hobbyking, this is well known. If you are not prepared tostrip the engine and fix it yourself you should have paid the extra and get one from BP hobbys.

Pay the extra and get full aftercare, buy cheap from hobbyking and take a risk, thats the choice. I bought from hobbyking and so far im happy, would buy another, but if there was a fault I would strip it and repair it myself, would not even consider sending it back to china.

This engine is now stocked in the Hobby King USA wharehouse.
Cheaper shipping for a cheaper engine that keeps on turning.

Stick2K

FWIW, I just ordered an RCG26 to replace the Zenoah G20 I'm struggling with (see other thread).  If it weighs about the same, and turns a 16x6 at 8500 or faster, I'll be happy.

My G20 will eventually get sorted out (ran awesome before I crashed it), but for the price it was easier just to buy this motor and have something that runs.  I can't imagine anything worse than a 1:1 flight to deadstick ratio that I'm experiencing with the G20.

I think there are a lot of us that have a reasonably good idea of what we're doing and are able to work on our own engines. If I can buy an engine cheap enough, as long as there are parts available for it, I for one am willing to roll the dice on getting one with no manf. defects. From there I'm good to go.

Just ran it the first time today.<div>
</div><div>Not sure how someone could say the G20 is more powerful.  My G20 never spun a 17x6 this fast and it, too, was brand new when I crashed it (so it's an equal comparison of two non-broken in engines).  I think this motor weighs about the same, too.  Anyway, I'm happy with this motor.  After only 15 ounces of fuel it's starting easily, transitioning beautifully, WOT is great (if a little slow at 8100 RPM) and idle is smooth.</div><div>
</div><div>Not sure what else I could ask for, especially when a DLE20 is more $$$ by far....sure it's lighter...but this airplane flew wonderfully on the G20 (when it was running) and the weight between the two is a wash.</div><div>
</div><div>We will see what the future holds.  For now I'm happy.</div>

going on two years with my HK RCG26 on a 69" Extra330L airframe... rock solid sport performance with an 18x8 prop. AUW is a bit piggish at 11lbs but I like running redudant 6v 2000mah NiMH packs for my servo/receiver power. I could probably get her down to 10.5lbs if I switched to expensive A123/LiFE packs but honestly the beauty is a low cost flier that takes a licking and keeps on flying...


Flyracer

FWIW, I now have 3 of these RCG/Hobby King 26's as well as an Evolution 26 (read Horizon Hobby $499) and an OS 33GT and I would put the RCG's up against an Evolution or DLE any day of the week but not the OS, it is in a class above the 26's. I was really reluctant to make the jump to the inexpensive motors till a club mate bought one for me to install on his airplane, I did so with much reservation till I started it and flew it the first time. I put about 6 flights on it wringing out the new plane and fell in love with the motor. I ordered 1 to try myself in a Pulse 125XT and now have 2 more for other projuects. The motor starts perfectly even when cold soaked and after setting the needles it hauls the pulse around identical to the DLE30's at our club in the same airframe.

Are these motors a replacement for the better supported and higher quality motors - ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Would I recommend them to someone - Depends, if they have some experience with gas motors and can do a little tinkering to get the "perfect" the yes but if they are new to the gas engines then I would suggest they go with a more popular and better supported motor till they get their feet wet.

In short, I am now running 3 of the 26's and a few of the 50's from Hobby King (the 50's btw are actually 55.6cc measured) and am very happy with them. They are rough with no pretty machine work, they have "taillight" warranties which means once they leave the factory they are your problem, there is no such thing as customer support but if you have an airpalne you love to throw around down low and dirty and will likely take a dirt nap long before the engine wears out then these may fit the bill. I lost a scratch built Waco with an Evolution 26 in it due to a battery failure and for what it would cost to repair the damage to the Evolution I can purchase a new RCG with money left over.