How good is the 3W 50 compared to the DA 50? How does weight, power and reliability compare? I have heard a lot of negative comments about the DA being a bit down on power, hard to start and prone to ignition failure.

JMW

Well, I can't do the comparison between the 3W and the DA, but I can certainly dispel some of the myths at least with my DA 50. Power is as good as I expected. I'm turning a Biela 22X8 at over 7200 rpm, and this is a VERY wide blade prop. It hovers my 17 pound Edge at about half throttle, and I'm at 3500 feet here. I had a problem with one of the wires going to the ignition that broke, but as far as the ignition being a problem, it's never missed a beat. The starting thing is different. When I'm starting the engine from cold, I put the choke on, ignition on and throttle at idle. On the third or fourth flip, it fires. I then turn the choke off, and continue flipping. It usually starts on the third flip without the choke on. On subsequent starts the same day, I don't use the choke, and it virtually always starts on the FIRST flip!!!! I don't see how this could be considered hard to start, in fact, I've never had an engine that started easier.

HTH
Jim

I would go with the DA, nothing but praise for my DAs, and customer service second to none. Plus, the DA is lighter (almost a pound I believe). I have only seen one 3W 50 run, and it ran fine.