I didnt notice any decrease in power after mine got the new mods

I do not know if the new version is less powerful but i am whilling to sacrifice some RPMs for more reliable engine. My DA-50 is on the mail back from DA for the third time this summer:
1) prop nuts broken
2) carb upgrade
3) crank shaft, connecting rod, bearings ...
I paid everytime for shipping but the parts are free of charges.
Great customer service but not reliable engine. For those who live far from DA, this should be considered.

3Djoy, NO IMAC in Quebec city for me this weekend
Daniel

? Is the 100 more reliable?
Jerry

Daniel .......why do you say not reliable

Im on the 4th gallon and never had a problem. yes i sent it in for the upgrade but DID NOT get the carb mod. the motor has been running great

I do not use ''reliable'' term for en engine that i have to send back 3 times to the manufacturer for different issues after only 7 gallons, without crash . Futhermore, I had to modify the high needle valve port to get a rich setting. You can find Nogyro's thread in this forum..

The Da-50 is a powerful engine, when it'is running , but not reliable. Just my personal opinion.

The cranks shaft and connecting rod issues occured on the 7th gallons. I noticed a strange 'clicking'' sound from the crankshaft and i could feel the little play between the con rod and the piston by moving the shaft manually. I decided to send it back the DA before getting worst but they decided to change everythings.
Does your engine die when you raise the tail plane? If it does not, you already got the carb upgrade.
Daniel

My engine died once when i lifted the tail .So i richened up the bottm end and it never did it again. NO CARB MOD either.

I'm defending DA now! Everyone was crying to get a 50 out to the public, remember? Just like they're crying now to get the 75 and the 200 out. This is where the public pressure and demand vs. the manufacturer's testing process comes into play. I'm sure, given the time, DA would have found these issues and would have addressed them. But, how many thousands of hours and thousands of engines did it take for us, the modelers to come up with these issues? How many years would it have taken for DA to test these engines to the point that we've tested these engines? The DA 50 may have been able to be introduced in the year 2050 when gasoline is probably going to be a thing in the past.

DA is a stand up company and stands behind their products. You've got an issue, send it in, you get it back. Pretty much no questions asked and mostly at no cost to you. What actually has been done here was to produce a quality 50cc engine, that's been user tested.

I, for one, am glad DA decided to put their 50's out to the public. They're light and powerful, just like everyone asked for. All the issues have seemed to have been addressed. Now, with what they just went through with the 50, (it had to cost them a fortune) I wonder how much more extensive testing they're going to do on their 75s and 200's. Maybe I'll see them in my lifetime, maybe I won't. There has to be a time where a manufacturer had to feel comfortable with a new product that they introduce.

DA, sell me a 200! I'll be glad to be a proto type tester. I won't be ashamed to give you my feedback on what it may be lacking.

Well said John. people ***** to get an engine like you say then now that ***** cause they have to send it in for " FREE REPAIR "

Try to find another engine manufactor they will stand behind there product and not charge you nothin for doing an update or a bench charge just to look at it.

No other manufacturers has the DA problem, so no need for updates. Just the though of sending it back turns me off. To all you royal DA fans try the MVVS 45 and you will be convince thats a better motor.

The problem I had with my DA was that I got the high and low speed mixture backwards. So I was richening the high end to no avail to get my motor to idle properly . Once I got that straightened out it's reliable to run. Another issue was to empty out the remaining fuel in the tube. Before I did that, I would have a hard time starting the motor initially. But once I make it a practice to run the engine until it doesn't have any fuel in the tubing left, It's a real beauty to start. Just choke, 7-10 flips to get the fuel to the carb (my tank is low, so it takes more) until you hear the burp, open it up, 3 more flips, and off you go. On restart, 1-3 flips alone is enough.

... one satisfied customer

I am not positive but I believe the "rod" upgrade is to replace an aluminum connecting rod with a steel one. The would definately slow the spool up time and may reduce peak rpms some.

Joe

How did you break the prop bolts?

IM not to sure about that.. i was getting 7400 rpm spinning a 22-8 with the chip hyde quite pipe and from i understand is that you loose about 100 rpm's with that set up..but not on mine.

Moving the pulse line from the crankcase to the carb block didn't change the performace of my DA's at all, other than solving the stalling out problem.

I have 12 hours on my DA after the upgrades and all is well I waited to the last possable min to send it in flying season is short enough. It took a week from door to door to get it back. I am more than possative No other manufacturer could do this. Performance is rock solid. Has anyone weighed there DA after the upgrades? Out of curiosity.

Got to love these guys that buy an engine and defend it to hell, even though it's back and fore to the manufactuer....
I have a DA50, i also run a ZDZ60, i now which i'll buy again!! After all, i bought it to fly my model aircraft. Not to be in transit all the time.

i have da/zdz and mvvs - my Da150 is a marvel - my Da50 works well but the time and cost of sending back and forth is frustrating - my zdz50 has run just as well as my da without any problems and my mvvs58 looks to beat them both!! this said i believe Da to be a real standup company and to hang in with all our crap takes some doing - will i buy more DA - YES SIR

Dennis C.
your comment "find another manufacturer that offers better service"
evidently you haven't tried a Taurus.
Read what the fellows have to say about their 3 year warranty, and the service Taurus is giving to fellows who are buying previously owned Taurus Engines. I don't think you can find anyone that does a better job then the guys at Taurus.
Taurus may not sell many engines, but you won't find 15 pages devoted to problems either.

Bear in mind that a VAST majority of the guys that have purchased the DA 50 are first time gas engine owners and as such they have no point of reference other than how they have been treated by DA. Considering that basically all of these engines have either been, or will be, upgraded speaks volumes about DA's commitment to it's customers. I, like many others don't have a problem with sending it back IF they are going to make it better than it was before it went out the door, IMO they have done that.

So where is the problem anyway? I have read quite a few posts about problems obtaining satisfactory service from other companies on RCU as well, ZDZ was one of the brands where a few guys had issues with the company. Did it make me want to buy a ZDZ, not really because I didn't want to be one of those guys that sent their engine in and waited a month to get it back and then got a bill to boot.

I already had a good idea of what to expect if I purchased a DA because we have guys around here that fly 100 and 150 twins and have had exemplary service and have NOTHING bad to say about their experiences with DA.

Quite simply put, I didn't buy a DA 50 because I thought it was going to be a perfect product. I purchased mine because I knew IF there were issues with it I was going to be taken care of. Of course there were issues, the 50 was a new design and was a departure from what DA had been doing and as such it was highly unlikely IMO that it would be trouble free. Remember, ZDZ and Brison and others have made and sold single cylindar engines for a LOT longer than DA has, they know what works and what doesn't, DA is getting there. It doesn't take a degree to figure out that there would be issues with some of these engines, in fact I'm surprised more didn't have major issues. Notice I said some because not all of them had issues. I have a friend that has one from the first production batch and it is still running hard and he has no intention of sending it in, unless it develops issues.

So, if the idea of having to send an engine in for service turns you off or if you feel that the very need for such transits constitutes an unreliable product perhaps you should sell it and buy something else. As for me I, as of yet, have no reason to be dissatisfied with my decision to purchase from DA. I will continue to buy DA engines in the future with confidence because I firmly believe DA will be there to take care of me when I need them. This is far more important to me than how reliable a first run designs holds up and performs for a newby gasser owner that has a lot to learn.

I have read on here that no one can get their DA-50's to run rich without modifying them. I don't know what's up with my engine, but out of the box with factory settings it was running reeeeaaaalllly rich. Through several runs I leaned it out about a total of about 3/8 of a turn to get it to still run rich, but with enough power and be reliable enough to be comfortable. I made sure that I'm not running lean and in fact I leaned it out a little more to see just how rich I am in regards to top end and it still has a way to go. My engine was in a batch that they shipped in late July. I wonder if there was another revision prior to that batch shipping??? Anyway, I have a little over a gallon run through it and I am extremely pleased so far.

Tom

Check and see what the carb # is. DA was using the Walbro WT201 on them. That's what both of mine came with and my serial #'s are in the 2400 range.

Hopefully many of these issues are resolved on new engines. I was thinking of getting one for my BME Edge II.

You guys have me freaked out now, I just ordered a DA 50 from Chief Aircraft. I hope it has whatever updates it needs already. I read everyone saying it shuts off on the ground, but what about in the air. I will be flying alot of 3D and IMAC. I have seen some people running the motor without any problem, without sending it out for mods.

In our club there are at least 6 DA 50's that I know of, I own one of them and I know the guys that have the others, 4 of them have been flown on a regular basis this season. NONE of our engines have had any issues in the air and to date none have had any issues on the ground either. One of these engines was purchased before the engine was available so it's about as old as a DA 50 can be and it runs fine. MIne was the next on the scene here and has never let me down while in use. I sent mine in because we could hear a ringing sound while it was running at half throttle but it never failed in any way. DA has taken care of my issues with my engine so I'm completely satisfied with my purchase and their support.

Considering that something like 3000 or more of these have been sold it's understandable that a few are going to have issues. Unfortunately it seems that EVERY single one of the few that has had problems has been discussed to death here on RCU.

Based on what I have read here I MIGHT be on the fence as well if I did not currently own a DA 50 and was considering buying one.

Based on what I have seen at the field and from my personal experience I would not hessitate to buy another.

I wouldn't buy something that is my ZODIAC, there attitudes would collied