And for the engine sound particularly the four strokes.

An electric flying by with speakers blaring the recorded sounds of a Merlin just isn't the same.

Most glow engines have a sound somewhere between a very loud angry bee and a weedwhacker.

My sentiments exactly !!

Those who actually get interested are doing the "imagine it, design it, build it, fly it" thing using electric.

When will glow come back? I think never - never to the level glow once had. Glow will continue on as a viable power source for those who want it. When the market in used glow engines dries up then some manufacturers will fill the void with new engines. Right now, the market for new engines is tiny as most of us can find whatever we want used for a bargain.

I fly exclusively glow. Electric is uninteresting to me - I don't know why, maybe it is that I am an electrical engineer by profession and I like the diversion of glow. Gasoline is good too, but the smell, noise level and complexity of gas engines are turnoffs for me. I understand that others have different opinions. It is just a hobby.

Absolute nonsense.

LOL A freaky foam bind n fly, gyro controlled battery limited plug and play no soul . Some slave in china did all the dream and build crap for the credit card "pilots"!

Perhaps that is the way people do it in your neck of the woods. You shouldn't judge everybody by your narrow local standards.

Show me a few that don't sound like somethin between a very loud angry bee and a weedwhacker.

Why try!
You obviously can't tell the difference!

As a long time beekeeper, 40 years and going....I find that electric motors spinning props sound far more like bees.

I've found that bees don't bother you as long as you don't bother them - you have to look awfully close at their eyebrows to tell if they're angry.

Having been involved in aeromodeling for a half-century and looking back at what has taken place to this day, here is my take -

In the grand scheme of things, the absolute pinnacle of model aviation occurred around 1990 - about the time the very first commercially available turbine came on the scene... after that point, little did I realize we were rounding the top and beginning the downward trend - and we've been going downhill ever since. I realize widely accessible turbines, 30% airplanes, micro flight, indoor R/C, brushless motors, and high-energy density battery technology all took place shortly thereafter but I see this as a curse rather than a blessing. The glow engine market suffered much to my dismay. Along with all these changes came the slow squeeze of electric from the bottom up and gasoline from the top down.

Leading up to the final decade of the 20th century, glow was at the top of the game. Complex multi-cylinder, four-strokes were being developed. OS even had an engine with a real working supercharger "Roots" style blower and another with electronic fuel injection - I was excited - ducted fans were pure magic and the performance that was developed from glow power was astounding. Then came turbines and I was really excited but... then... alas... the magic was - somehow - gone.

Expenses, complexity, waivers, liabilities, training - things that are supposed to be fun sounded like they were sapping all the enjoyment from aeromodeling. Shortly thereafter it seems came the electric surge, drones, urban sprawl, loss of flying fields, closure of hobby shops, and along with that, the AMA/FAA politics that put the squeeze on glow and carried us to where we are today.

the skills are going elsewhere

Today I am flying glow and enjoying it more than ever.

I'll admit that radials and inline engines with 3 or more cylinders do sound good even in modelflying sizes. Single cylinder, not so much.

Me too -

Never to be seen again......

Looking at a segment of traditional, sport (leisure) aeromodelling world-wide, including control-line, and R/C, I would still say a large choice of power is glow (>40% for R/C and >90% for C/L) - since the majority of aero-modelers today are remnants from the last century. In contrast, free-flight's form of power breakdown in descending order of popularity would be unpowered, rubber power, glow power, electric power, and CO2.

Here's what I think a power breakdown of R/C looks like - taking into account all facets (i.e. pattern, pylon, heli, sailplane, slope, jets, scale, sport, etc.*) based on club level evaluations -

Year 2021 -

Glow power: 45%
Electric power: 25%
Unpowered: 15%
Gas power: 10%
Turbine power: 5%

* Not including C/L or FF

I am bringing back to life a few cheap Ebay acquired glow engines. New bearings, free up the seized barrels that lazy slobs put away with no after run oil. Changed out a few hi speed needles and O rings. Boca has the bearings, youtube had the instructions and Stan at S&W Fuels in Easton, Pa. makes the best fuel around. Get your ball drivers out, grab a hair dryer, some denatured alcohol and get to work. I ran one of them on my test stand recently, an Evo 52. MAS 11-6 cranked out close to 12.5k, nice clean exhaust residue. Just waiting for spring and summer!

Nothing like the sound and performance of my Great Planes 81" Cub and the Magnum 91 4 cycle swinging a MAS 14-6. Tweak the hi end a little rich and enjoy the throaty sound and light exhaust trail. Hit the gas and it goes straight up! I add about an ounce of red racing Castor to Stan's 15% standard glow juice. (S&W Hobby). No carbon, no junk, no worries. It's the best. I fly electric too, have a few and enjoy them all.

Not all two strokes sound like weedeaters. My ST 2300 has a nice bass growl, and doesn't sound out of place on a (kit bashed) warbird. My second favorite engine is a screaming tower .75 that is incongruously pulling a Senior Telemaster about. No it doesn't sound right to some but then again I prefer the sound of a screaming crotch rocket to a defening open piped Harley.

Rant: open pipes may save lives but they surely do annoy EVERYONE else.....

a good 2st glow engine is like a good hunting dog, he will hunt all day, go to bed slick-happy and be up and ready the next morning

Jim

The people who say glow fuel is too expensive are the same people who have no issue paying $75-$125 for a LiPo battery.

I buy fuel at Graves RC in Orlando. It's 80 miles away. $18 for 10% and $22 for 15% today, but I bought two cases of fuel when it was just $12 a gallon and I'm still on the first bottle. Cheaper than whiskey. My planes cost an average of $300 each.

I have a variety of engine brands in the house that total about 40 to get by with, after liquidating more than that on fleabay a year ago when I thought I was hoarding too much. I flew my one electric plane once, the day I bought it. Didn't like the 4 minute flight and almost losing sight of it twice. I'm used to 10-15 minute flights and my 4 strokes can give me 20 minute flights. I have boxes of props and fuel tanks, just in case. 7 ready to fly planes. Maybe I should weed out some more glow engines soon, and I could live with just 10 spares, if I sell enough kits to get down to 10 of those. I'm trying to do that actually, but people just don't respond like they did a year ago even with free relief checks coming in. Maybe people can't fly at their fields yet? We aren't an AMA field, no club conformity or fees. Every club has two whiners named Statler and Waldorf. (Muppet show balcony pair) This field doesn't have that. Everyone is equal, no meetings, no dues, no arguing, and no problems. Glow is alive with a few, and I fly 72 Mhz too, no brownouts, or orange counterfeit receivers. I yell out "Anyone on 52?" these days as a joke. People appreciate my antenna flag showing wind direction. I prefer hearing where the plane is, especially landing so others aren't startled by the approach that occurs sometimes with electrics.
Just my choices. It works for me. I like the smell of nitro, I like my vapor trails. It seems my landings and takeoffs go down a lot further on the runway having a bigger heavier model, and I like how that looks as much as the flight. I still kit build on hot summer days also. If you just pilot a BNF model, then you can enjoy more of your free time 5 minutes later. I spend that on other facets of the hobby. I like to frequently buy and sell RC too, to keep it fresh. Second hand balsa and glow planes are quite a bargain.

what everyone or anyone else is doing is non of my business, I keep my hobby alive for me.
I use glow and build my own planes mostly from plans, I 'd buy kits but don't like the pop ply kits or the prices.
Theres room for everyone in the hobby, I don't need to virtue signal my imagined superiority.

I fly only glow engines.
I just love the simplicity and reliability, and the sound of the four stroke engines is not only realistic but also pleasant on the ears.

The funny thing is that at our field everyone is asking me when will I progress to gas engines… I have yet to understand why they consider this progress…

Others tell me I should try electrics and then complain amongst themselves about the cost and hazards of Li Po batteries and having restricted flight times.

Go figure…