If you are concerned about the gas smell, why not use 100LL Aviation fuel? Plenty high octain, and IMHO doesn't stink.

Several reasons.

#1- there is still some odor. It might not be enough to bother me, but my wife is very sensitive to this sort of thing; and if she's not happy... well, you know. The climate here sucks, and is not friendly to engines and electronics stored in a non-climate-controlled area. Which is why I keep my models in the house.

#2- Just GETTING the avgas is a major PITA. I should say, getting on the airport proper to where I can get the stuff is the aggravation. Long story, not germane to this discussion...

Anyway, its a moot point for now. I've decided to stay with glow until I'm ready for a larger (30% plane).

I appreciate all the advice/help in this thread. It has been noted and filed for future use...[&:]

Well I just ordered the TS52 from Bill. I hope it's everything everyone says it is, I have a feeling it will be.

Spoke to Bill on the phone, super nice guy, said he was really busy working until 8 tonight on engines, and still had the time to talk to me for what seemed like as long as I wanted to talk.

They are an American company which I like even though my plane is made in china... er wherever.

I think it's kind of a big engine for this plane but I'm hoping the smooth operation touted by the Taurus faithful will go easy on my plane. Power wise I'm not worried, weight wise it seems to be right in there with all the other lightweight 50's.

Camss You are reall in for a love afair with your new Taurus. They are everything that we Taurus owners claim they are. You will be very pleased with it's smoothness, and lack of vibration. Almost as smooth as a twin, and never a cough in it's running.

So I'm trying to check my numbers here to see how close (weight wise) I am to the DA setup. And I'm bored and waiting on my engine soo....
My theory is if Mike was happy designing and flying the plane with the DA setup then I'll be happy with it too. (weight wise)

It looks like I'm coming up with 66oz for the DA with the 2.5" standoffs and the pitts muffler? Is that right? I'd need to use the 3" standoffs, and pitts since I don't think I would spring that much $ for the cannister setup, and it's not like I'm underpowered.

The Taurus is 54.7 oz plus either 7.5oz (according to bill) or 9-ish oz for the pitts muff and radial mount. So I'm looking at 64 to 66 oz for the Taurus?

Are those numbers right? Am I missing something? Cause I'd be really happy to be the same as the DA setup for my plane.

Actually Mike is running the cannister on his DA anybody know what that weighs?

The problem with the Taurus & Brison is not the weight. They really are about the same as the DA/ZDZ/MVVS with the requires standoffs. The problem is with performance. As far as I know there is no headder available for the Sachs cylinders. That means you don't have the option of using a tuned pipe or cannister system, leaving the DA/ZDZ/MVVS quite a bit more powerfull than Taurus/Brison.

Hi Wings,

Actually, headers are available from KS, just like about every other engine made....if that is an issue....but what you really should be looking at is what people typically use, and I think(pure speculation) you're still looking at 90% of people are using pitts-style mufflers with these engines. Although I have not seen numbers for a Taurus with a canister or tuned pipe, the numbers with a pitts-style exhaust, are at least as powerful as a DA or any other 50cc motor out there, and maybe even better at swinging bigger props, such as a 23X8. One number I recently got direct from Taurus, because they ran a comparison for me to my MVVS 45 running a 24X8, was 6250 RPM using a 24X8(I think it was an NX) on a brand new engine with their pitts-style muffler.

Even the piston port engines will benefit from the "pipes" most of us use for aerobatics.
These are not peak tuned devices -far from it -another advantage of course is to get reduce noise ---
Question:how can you compare power using different props and different mufflers?
Just musing?

I don't think you'll get an argument on that Dick, but going back years, I have stated that although I am a total fan of canisters and pipes, and use them on virtually all my gas installations, they are not for everyone. Although there are definitely more people trying them out now than even just a couple of years ago, it's still a very small percentage. This will continue to change as noise is a bigger issue at more fields....but as long as people can get the power they need with a pitts-style muffler(which they typically can), most people will opt for simplicity, cost and weight over the advantages of a bit more power, and the quiet factor.

Well, I would think you can't. In the case I mentioned above; asking Taurus to compare the 3.2 with my MVVS, we were using the same prop, and the mufflers didn't matter, because I was looking for a comparison between the MVVS as I have it configured with a can against the Taurus with the pitts-style exhaust. A very valid comparison.

I have looked and looked but no one seem to make them. The KS web site does not list any exhaust parts for these engines. Is this a special order? Am I missing something? Here is their list: http://www.krumscheid-metallwaren.de...op.php?lang=EN

Sorry Wings, I definitely wasn't clear enough. They do not specifically list Sachs, Taurus, or Mahle, so what you have to do is take the measurements from the engine you want the header for, then look at dimensions given for each of the header flanges KS lists online and find the closest match. I did this a couple of years ago, and I think I came up with pretty much an exact match, but I'm sorry that I don't remember which one it was. You can then order the flange, or header, for the engine the dimensions match, and it will work perfectly, or require minor mods, like drilling or elongating the mouting holes slightly.