Hi :

- Im building a dynaflite super decathlon 1.08 - 1.8 size plane and i want to be able to fly aerobatics with her ...

- The thing is that the best choice on my mind is a SAITO 1.80 4 stroke ... and i dont have experience on four strokes ... its the SAITO a good brand ?, do i will have too much troubles with it ?? ... maintenance ? , etc ? ... i have 6 years on this hobby, 9 airplanes from .25 to 1.20 2 stroke size but no 4 stroke experience ...

thanks for any advice ...

PAT

Saito has a GREAT reputation.

The local Pattern competition experts (one of which places in the top 10 every year at the NATS, and another who has a Futaba sponsorship... not the average field's flyers.) recommend YS 4-strokes for competitive aerobatic aircraft, and O.S. engines for sport aerobatic aircraft.

Its partially a matter of personal preference. The competition quality engines require a bit more careful maintenance... (partly due to thier tending to get a LOT of use... the competitors will sometimes burn 2 or 3 gallons of fuel in ONE DAY of practice.) The sport engines are designed for minimal mantenance and adjustments from day to day, or month to month (depending on how often you fly)

I agree with fhhuber. Saito has a great reputation. The engines will also run FOREVER properly taken care of. My 120 is at least 10 years old, and it still runs despite the poor tuning by it's first owner. He had it 2000, yes 2000 rpm too lean. I'm not yet sure why. It still runs great though, and all its needed were some new bearings because the old ones didnt get enough oil when it was running lean.

I think in terms of performance Saito is right up there with YS. YS is better but the price dif is huge! Like they say most pattern competition flyers use YS. But my Saito 72 runs asome! you will love it

Shortman is right, but do you know what the difference between a YS 140 and a SAito 180 is? $200 bucks, and the YS will pull the 180 backwards.

YS engines are very good engines, but they are high preformance, and you have to send it in every 2 years for some work. If you know enough about them you can do it yourself. Like I said, my Saito 120 still runs great. It runs the same EVERY time, so there arent any suprises.

I have nothing bad to say about both of my Saito 72's. They run great and have terrific power to weight ratio.

Hello; I like Saito's, I have a bunch of them; 45, 50, 56, 65,80,91,120 30, 150, 3 80's 3 65's, I have a 100 twin too, They are great engines, they last forever run well make good power and are very flexible easy to start and run quiet and reliable, not fuel fussy either. I also have quite a few Os and Enya 4-strokes, they run pretty well too. My best running engine is an Os 320, it is an opposed four cylinder engine. On the other hand, two fellows at our flying field recently bought OS 70 engines, one was a jewel the other a dog, they both went on similar planes Sig LT40's. We have the dog performing better now after a gallon of fuel, but it still isn't as nice as the other one has been from the start.

Since you say this is your first four stroke, consider the following:
No matter which brand, check the valve setting and make sure the adjustmenst are locked in. I've seen all brands have very malajusted valves right out of the box.
After a few tanks of fuel, check the valves again, initial wear can be quite sudden. Once broken in, you only have to check the clearance every 20 to 60 hours of running. Heed the manufactures fuel choices and try to never ever get a lean run. It might pay you to use a tack as, if you are only used to 2 strokes, it is hard to tune a 4 stroke by ear and you will almost be guaranteed a lean run if you try.

Saito's good, O.S. OK, Taiwanese (Magnum, Thunder Tiger,etc.) poor quality control and hard to tune correctly. BEST bet, get an ENYA. You will be rewarded by excellent performance and reliability for years to come. I've run 'em all
Max