I am just purchasing my first gas engine. I am now considering the DA50 or the Evolution 45. My criteria for selection were quality, weight, throttle response, availability of after market add ons for the engine.
I have read through a lot of information and have kind of reduced my choices to these two engines.
Most likely I will be purchasing the Wild Hare Extra 28%.


Thanks in advance,
Greg

These are both excellent engines but is there a reason you're limiting your choices to just these two engines? In the price range you've chosen (and below) there are many other choices to pick from.

Here are just a few that also enjoy a good reputation for quality and performance. All of these include a muffler in the price.

DL-50 @ about $399
3MM 53 @ about $399 to $430
Brillelli 46, 50 or 60 from $375 thru. $595
Taurus TS-52 @ $675

I own a DA-50 that is on a Wild Hare Extra and a Taurus 52 on a Texas Hurricane and find both very good quality, high performance engines .... the Taurus certainly has the edge in performance though. I would recommend both of them and am considering purchasing another Taurus or maybe a Brillelli 60 for a new project. Would get a DL-50 in a heartbeat but the rear carb won't work well in my particular scale application.

Good luck with your choice.

I've just gone through this myself, I now have a Brillelli 366GT being built for my 87 inch Yak 54. I just did a WH 85 inch Sukhoi with a LS Pro 50cc, it runs fine and is probably a good sport engine, but it can just hover the Sukhoi, it would be better in a 80 inch size plane, but it was cheap at about $350. If you talking DA money I'd look at the Brillelli, they take about 2 weeks to get.

Your choices are right on target. A 28% extra can get very snap happy if packing too much weight. I would choose the DA for it's abundance of aftermarket exhaust options while sacrificing a tiny bit of extra weight to the evolution. You should be able to get a composite can. muffler to evan it out.

I remember to have read a few posts about evo 45 loosing the front bearing but have no positive info if that is still the case. Call before you buy.

if you got your mind made up between the da50 and the evolution 45,go with the da.i have both of these engines and the da is still running strong and the 45 is in need of new nose or bearing after 4-5 gals. fuel!!

Do look into the DL50. I just ordered my second one this afternoon...$390 with a muffler. Their web site is http://www.dlusa.net/

This is the big thread on the engine. Initially they had faulty Walbro carbs, and support issues. DL replaced the all the carbs in the field and set up a local distributor who is providing excellent support.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5532868/tm.htm

...there has been reference to the aftermarket mufflers...etc, available for the DA-50, and thus a reason to go that route. ALL OF THEM fit the DL-50.

Chad

I have two MVVS's one 45 and the 58Pro they are both still in new condition, very powerfull with the correct cannister exhaust, don't use a Pitts restrictor sorry silencer? on the MVVS they improve out of all recognition with the free flowing exhaust, On the 45 I am turning a 22x10 Mejzlik at 7150rpm x 83Db, the auto choke is very good also, the throttle responce again with the cannister is better than any other motor I have tried, I have my throttle set up linerly so that at half stick I get half revs, that is half the difference between tick over and WOT, Walboro carbs only operate over the first third of opening, very little difference between third open and WOT, so be wary of those that say they hover (prop hang) at half throttle. Mass's of aftermarket cannister exhausts out there also its easy to get manifolds even specials.

Sold my DA and my DL.

Mike trying not to be controversial.

That Extra your looking at is a floater. Mine had four flights on it with a G62 with electronic ignition. It lands really slow. Slower than what I thought it would! Doesn't Wild Hare offer a combo with the 53cc engine?

Gee, that is a lot of information and replies for 1 little question.
Thanks to all who replied.
I didn't mean to limit my decision to just these two, but they seemed to be a couple of the more popular engines mentioned. I figured these would also have a good resale price if I were to move up to 100 size planes next, if I enjoy these larger planes. It seems as if the handwriting has been on the wall for the move to gas. Every plane I have owned was larger than the previous. It is costing me over $100.00 a month to fly my Saito 100 and YS 140L.
The DL and the ZDZ were the other two I was interested in.
Do any of you store your gas plane inside your house? Is the gas smell noticeable?
Would the engine selection be different for the SD Yak 54 30%.
I plan on addressing plane selection in another forum.

Thanks again,
Greg

I don't especially care for odor of gasoline myself but store most of my airplanes in the house. If the tank is drained before bringing them in, I have never found the odor to be a problem. You will probably have more odor on your hands than on the airplane and any odor seems to go away very quickly. You could also cap off the vent line but be sure to remove the plug before flying again! If you have a wife with an especially sensitive nose, you may have a problem though .........

I have two of the DL 50 and they run great the same if not better performance than the DA.

The original W/H 28% Extra flew quite well at weights up to 20 pounds or so. Of course lighter was better, but the heavy ones flew quite well. The only ones that were "snappy" were those that were incorrectly set up in the servo and linkage departments, or over controlled by those still used to flying glow powered fat wing type of aircraft. The new 28% W/H Extra is about a full pound lighter all up than the original, so it's even better still. The flight performance is outstanding.

Moving on to your engine choices, both are good but you have severly limited yourself to the higher side of the price line. Truthfully, the Brillelli line of engines is extremely good, and the DL 50 is working out to be superior than the engine it was "cloned" from. As noted, the Taurus is one of the strongest on the market, if not the strongest in it's class. Not the cheapest, but in the top three for the best. None of the engines I noted require a "pipe" to reach reliable and high power levels, which is where you would be with a couple 45 and 50cc engines.

Well I guess I have to ask the obvious question, How can the DL50 at $200.00 less than the DA50 have the same performance and reliability? What is the hook?
Does the side mount carburetor on the Brillelli present installation problems?

Thanks again,
Greg

None of the side mount carbs present a problem on planes of a size the engine would normally be used in. The DL, simply put, is made in a country where the labor force is paid $0.40 to $0.70 per hour. Many of the factory employees live in the factory itself since they cannot afford to have a place of their own. What a deal, right? On top of that the vast majority of the metals used in the engines are produced in the same country for the same labor rates. Neither country has any rules or regulations regarding employee benefits, safety, or social welfare programs. Work for the offer or starve. remember that the DL was copied from another engine, and that the DL had the advantage of using someone elses work to build upon. Thus a few minor changes that make the difference is performance were quite easy to develop since so much information was already available to review.

Some of the higher priced engine's parts are made in the same country or one next door at a slightly higher labor rate, so a lot of the production costs are similar. As are parts for many various products and goods for many different companies. Everyone should be able to easily determine why the pricing between the two is significantly different.

The case and hub of a Taurus is made and machined in America. The piston, rod, and jugs are German. The crank is American made. The ignitions used are the American procuced version of the CH Syncro Spark, rather than the Chinese RC Xcell. Both are good units

The Brillelli starts out as an Echo engine, wherever they are made. All the modifications to turn them into a model friendly engine are performed in the U.S.A. Strong and reliable engines.

All of your choices are good ones. All you need to do is determine how much you want to spend, how much weight fits the application the best, and which ones you believe will hold the best value over the long term. Personally, I've never sold one of my gassers and I've only worn one engine out in R/C flying. That one was well used before I got it. For me the resale value has no meaning since I'll likely keep the engine as long as I keep flying.

I own 2 DA-50's and one Evolution 26cc. I have beennothing but disappointed in my Evolution, the DA's are not disappointing at all. I would buy a DA in a heartbeat, never another Evolution.

I kept my 28% WH Edge in my one bedroom apartment without any noticeable odor. Make sure you drain your fuel tanks well though- that can cause issues.

The gas smell not being a problem is good news.
From the input I have gotten on the Evolution, I think I will move it down on my list.
The DL-50 was one that I hadn't considered until I posted here. I think it is pretty much between the DA-50 & the DL-50.
Thanks for all the good input, to all that replied.

Greg