Asmund, fiddling around with cheap Chinese engines all the time must be distorting your judgement

The LA series is not known as having a liner peeling problem. We have scores at our field and there's not a single peeler amongst them. The LA series is one of the more reliable, consistent engines out there. They just keep going and going, many of them surviving several spectacular model-destroying crashes in the process. Remember, a good number of them are subject to the most trying conditions, typically being in the hands of the most inexperienced user segment in our hobby.

I suspect your LA .40 buddy may have suffered foreign object damage in his somehow, just like the YS .63 we recently saw at our field with a peeled liner. So, using your logic, why don't I condemn the entire YS line as being peelers, based on this one example I saw?

So enough of the "LAs are peelers" nonsense, eh. Yeah, sure, early FXs and the odd SF may have had more than their fair share of peeling issues but, sheesh, it's 2008 now; it's time to move on.

Ok, I knew this was coming, but I have actually read about other peeled LA`s in this forum, I`m not saying that all do it, but OS is the only brand using nickel who has issues.
My friends LA 40 was peeled badly all around and up and down in the sleeve, it looked like most of the nickel had just loosened and fallen off. It was certainly not from one piece of foreign objekt or sand as we only fly off grass and no other engine has had this happening. I do not only fiddle with cheap chinese engines, I also fiddle with my OS, YS, MVVS, Sirio and Rossi engines


Oh and let me add to that that NOTHING is really cheap in Norway, I payed equal to 416$ when I bought my Magnum 91 Fs some years ago here in Norway.

That said I actually started out with a trainer with the LA 46 some years ago and never had any troubble getting the engine to run great, but I am not so sure it would have taken the abuse I put my engines through nowadays, squeesing every last rpm out of them

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Old Larry, if you have already become acclimated to Super Tigre engines, the only sensible choice would be another Super Tigre engine. They are still well made, even in China, and they still represent a terrific value for someone that is used to the drill of running and tuning them (really not much of a drill - is it? <G&gt.

OS makes great engines. I buy OS just about as often as any other brand these days. But I do buy other brands as well. The Sanye made OS clones (ASP/Magnum/SC) are fine engines and you are already used to them via the Super Tigre experience. They will let you save a few bucks over OS - but not over Super Tigre.

Enya engines are on their way back to popularity, but they are slightly costly. On the other hand, they nearly last forever, like a Super Tigre.

Maybe it is time for a four-stroke. What do you think? The Sanye made four-strokes are good buys, but if you want to treat yourself to a bit of luxury, the Saito and OS four-strokes are great too. I'm on mostly a Saito binge right now. They are a unique experience and their support in the USA is superb. As is Magnum's support and OS as well.

It is difficult to name a bad engine brand today. We lived in good times.


Ed Cregger

I did a quick search on the peeling issues and found three different threads containing peeled LA engines, so it definately happends to them too : http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_48...ey_peel/tm.htm post 90. page 4

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_51...2Cliner/tm.htm post 10 page 1


And this one: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_34...tm.htm#3470909


Not to start up something old again, just to prove that this also goes for the LA line since it has been denied

You're right that spending more on a "brand" engine is no guarantee of quality. What OS was it a few years ago? Was it the OS .46 FX that was prone to peeling liners? It was one of the OSs anyway. Lots of people sent them back for warranty repair, some more than once. They all reportedly got fixed but OS never acknowledged the problem. Look at the problems with the first pumped OS 1.20 FS.

Tower engines have a good rep. I have two .46s. One has always run well. The other was unreliable until I replaced the remote needle assy. Now runs OK. I have an older GMS .47 that runs super. I've never owned a bad SuperTigre.

Right now Tower is selling the GMS .47 front-needle engine for ~$60. What a deal! If I wasn't going to get rid of all my glow stuff I'd buy one.

CR

I have settled on the Hanger 9 Pulse XT PNP that comes with an engine. Any thoughts and the Evolution .46NT engine?

The crash was a great show. I actually thought the Falcon has disappeared. I heard a big pop and when I looked back to see what everyone was laughing about I could see the cloud of parts still floating in the air. It took a few seconds for realize that it was my plane. I don't think one can duplicate such a crash. A hobby shop owner said that he and a friend went through 6 tanks of fuel trying to crash two old planes together and just gave up. I salvaged three wheels, no electronics, nothing. Two of the wheels were found clear out in a parking lot by the wife of a friend. My loss was really no big deal but the other guy lost a scale Spitfire that had won trophies. It took a while for him to calm down. He was coming out of a loop and I was doing a fly-by. His plane was a total loss, too.

I guess under ideal conditions we'd all have callers when flying. I think if I was flying something like that Spit I would.

David

When we have more than one plane up at our club field we make sure everyone is aware of what direction the pattern will be. If the wind is from the right, we fly a left hand pattern and so forth. If they collided head on someone was going the wrong direction.
It happens now and then.

CR

That looks like a good deal. The Pulse has a good rep. Some say the Evo .46 runs better with a OS A3 glow plug. Lots of bang for your buck, it looks like. You need a receiver? Look at <www.servocity.com>, it's where I get my Hitec Receivers. No financial interest on my part.

Cheers,

CR

I haven't used that engine, but my Evo trainer engine that came in my Arrow ran very well. Or, at least it did after going to an OS A3 plug.

As for the PulseXT, I have one with a Saito 82 on it. It was my second plane, and I still am very fond of it. It is agile enough to do basic aerobatics, but very tame when you want it to be. I highly recommend it!

Before I realized that I needed to adjust the valves on my 82, I had a few deadsticks. I learned that Pulse wants to float FOREVER! (BTW, after I properly adjusted the valves, no more deadsticks!) It is nice to have that "floating" quality when you need it to get back to the runway.

The only negative things I can say about the Pulse is that you don't have enough ground clearance for a large prop, and the landing gear area was a little weak. The largest prop I can run is a 13 x 8. If you glass the inside of the gear area, it will be much less likely to pop the gear out. Really, I have started doing that on ALL the ARF's I buy. It's just good practice.

I doubt you will be unhappy with the RTF PulseXT / Evo 46 combo.

I had a plane that started out with an older TT Pro .46. Later, I put an OS .46FX on it. Finally, I got a new Evo .46NT. Right out of the box with the baffle removed, the NT had more power than the others on the first tank. I just cranked it up, tuned it, and flew the plane. Later, I switched to hotter plugs and a Towers muffler.

I found a NIB HB .61 PDP "Blitz" conventional ring, chrome bore on *bay for $149 shipped.

I danced a jig.......

I understand that they're not popular anymore but for general use in a sport model they are real hard to beat.

Sometimes less is more.

Beautiful engine, John! Now you just need to build a Classic pattern ship like a Mach 1 or a Banshee and you're set.

Lots and lots of inspiration here:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_379/tt.htm

and here:

http://www.trentonrcflyers.com/pattern/pattern1.htm

David

We have a rough grass field so it looks like a stick or similar.

I know where two HB .61s are. I don't think they have been run, and if so, only for a few hours at most. No other info on them right now. I may get them for free.

They're excellent engines. I'm not sure what the new MECOA ones are like but the originals are truly "Flip and Fly" and they will "Haul the Mail".

Even if they are not the PDP version I would snag them. (if for no other reason than to give one to a kid just starting out with a trainer) They idle down great.

If they're black heads you hit a Home Run. They were made with pre-EPA hardened chrome cylinders. The regular PDP models use a dykes ring if I'm not mistaken.

The smaller engines were a Lapped Piston Cylinder and ran ok. The little one screw mufflers worked great.

The military used a single bearing Drone model that had a "fake" bearing to the prop drive. (cheaper)

If you've never owned one I highly recommend them, you'll get alot of "What the hell is that" at the field.....

Some neat pictures of HB engines. Helmut Bernhardt Feinmechanik was a watch and surgical instrument maker. He also played with models....

Nice photos. That Redhead .61 has external similarities with the Webra Blackhead. Which came first?

David

I'm sure that Webra has been around alot longer than HB.

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I tend to forget about the OS liner peeling problem because I try to buy ringed OS engines, when I think of it. I doubt that anyone would have a problem with a USA warranty covered liner peeling problem. I can't speak for them and certainly I can't speak for the distributors of other countries.


Ed Cregger

They aren't PDP engines from what I could tell. I only had a minute to look them over. They aren't blackheads either.

Thanks for all the great responses.

Now that I'm back in the hobby I'm amazed how the Internet has been such a strong influence up the hobby. By that I mean the if any vendor out there does not take care of customers the word spreads quickly. And just the opposite. If a vendor makes a good product and supports it the word also spreads.

I gave all my old radio gear and other stuff along with another Falcon 56 NIB to a high school kid after my crash. We needed a new set of plans for the 30 year old new model and found a set in one day that someone shipped to us for FREE. The plans were as good as new and we were back to work that quick.

I'm going to help him get started and you can be sure we will have a spotter looking out for diving Spitfires.

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I have been buying some PDP HB .61 engines and still have an eye open for them. Great for classic pattern planes.


Ed Cregger

My first engine was a Fox .40 BB deluxe (with the air-bleed EZ-carb). I followed the instructions that came with it and had fine performance and reliability from the start. Many gallons have been though it and it is as good as new. This is with 0-5% nitro fuel, which is relatively inexpensive. It was less expensive than a comparable OS engine, is a true ABC engine, and is very light.

Fox engines have a reputation of being "difficult" and the "experts" at my club (where the 2-stroke engines are most commonly OS's) generally said that it was a poor choice for an engine. But I don't think that there is a better running engine at the field, from idle to wot. I have a Fox Eagle 4 .60 engine and it too performs really well and is reliable (again, I carefully follow the instructions that came with it).