I'm ready to buy my first gas engine and I have narrowed my choices down to the Taurus 52 cc or the DA 50 cc. What kind of issues will I have trying to setup and run either of these for the first time. I have alot of experience with glow but none with gas and there are no members at my field flying gas engines. Is one of these engines easier to operate than the other?

Do some searching in this forum and you will find a great deal of information about these engines... The bottom line is both are great engines and mostly differ in their installation... The DA has a rear carb and the Taurus has a side mounted carb... Both are side exhaust so there is not much difference there... Both offer world class service and support... Weight and power are about the same... Since Taurus doesn't currently post their prices I cannot comment on that... I would choose the engine that fits your budget, fits your plane, and can be acquired when you need it. It seems that DA cannot make enough 50s to satisfy demand so they can be out of stock... I personally have a DA-50, but would have considered the Taurus had my airframe not been designed specifically for the DA...

I have the Taurus engine and friends have the DA50. I don't think you can go wrong with either one. Both engines operate in similar ways. Both spark ignition and gas.
Nothing spooky about gas engines. These are often as easy or easier to operate than glow engines. Just break it in and set it up per the supplied instructions.
One issue can be that of RF interference. This is something you don't usually worry about with non-spark glow engines. Again follow the instructions and you should be just fine. Hope this helps.

Both are great engines, flip a coin. If the Taurus is in stock I'd get that rather than wait for the DA. I have the DA50, nice engine.

I agree with Joe, flip a coin..[8D]

I dont own a Taurus but from what Ive read they are good engines..I have 2 DA 50's and they are awesome as well..

I just got an email from Bill at Taurus and he said they expect to start shipping next week. I ordered mine two weeks ago so this batch might be spoken for.

Mine is going on a H9 80" Cap that I got a deal on.