When did OS stop making the FP?
 

I bought one, a .25 on the bay for $35 the guy said it had maybe 20 flights on it ..it looks brand new,, back in 94~ I bought an FP .40 for my trainer, had some bad experiences with the guy who was supposedly going to train me and got out of the hobby until a few years ago....now I have an LA.40 which no one seems to speak very highly of,,I've only flown it once but it seems to have plenty of power...I mostly fly 1/2A stuff and am putting this .25 in a .10 size bipe...so does anyone know when they stopped making the FP?....Rog

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

The LA series came out in 1998 and it replaced the FP series. The FP's were available for awhile after that. Walking into a room and forgetting what you were going to do is Alzheimers. ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity. Big difference.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

The reason is simple. OS in my opinion is just doing everything possible to cheapen the manufacturing of there engines. Less head bolts, plastic back plate, and etc. I do not buy them anymore. There are to many other excellent engines for less monry that are built better.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

It's an entry level engine. Of course they are trying to lower the production costs to keep it competitive. That started way back with the FSR series. OS went to one piece crankcases and left out the brass insert for the glow plug. Kept the cost down as the Dollar to Yen rate dropped. The quality is as good or better than ever. I assume you don't buy modern cars as they have tons of plastic in them and everything is done to lower the production costs. I have a 1958 Cadillac series 60S that has no plastic in it and truly was the "standard of the world". Of cousre it weighs three tons and gets lousy milage but it sure wasn't cheaply made. I also have a 1999 Honda Civic. Plastic Bumpers, plastic inside, aluminum heads, etc. Gets 34 miles to the gallon. Guess which one I drive every day.

OS quality is as good as it ever was. Check out the engine reviews by C. Lee or G. Banks. If you can't get an FP to run try the instructions that came with them. The FP series was a great beginners engine.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

The FP-25 came out in 1984 and the LA-25 came out in 1998. I would guess the production of the FP stopped before the LA started, so your engine was probably built no later than 1998.

This info came from
http://www.osengines.com/history/ostimeline10.html
and
http://www.osengines.com/history/ostimeline18.html

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

The end of the FP production was the start of the LA series. as an LA was released the FP in that size was discontinued. Probably some still on dealer shelves, but if you go into the time line that carrellh gave the link to, when you see an LA that was the end of that size FP.

Bill.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Did they stop making FPs? I thought they just moved the needle valve to the back, anodized them blue, and renamed them LAs. :D
OK, there may be a few more details that are different but the LAs are basically the replacement for the old FP line, meaning that they are great entry level engines. Also, great engines for old pros who see a light weight plain bearing .40 as a viable alternative to a high output ball bearing .25.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

The FP seemed to have a better reputation than the early LA.

The LA's I've been seeing at the flying field the last couple years have been just fine considering they are a bushing engine.

I watched some control line flying the other day and a LA 40 has a lot more power than a Fox 35 or even the OS MAX S 35.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Some more thoughts have come to mind here.

The OS FP had been out for a while. Thunder Tiger brought out the GP 40 which was the same engine except for the way the carb mounted. The Thunder Tiger started selling these 40's to Hobby People as Magnum GP 40's and to Tower as the Tower 40. Most of the TT parts would interchange with the OS FP. So OS had to do something and the something had to be cheaper to produce.

ASP/Magnum started making the "S" series 46 and the inernal parts will interchange with a OS 46FX. So OS started making the AX with the 4 bolt head. Again cheaper to make.

Enjoy,

Jim

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Actually that's not quite true. The Magnum line of engines were the direct replacement for Thunder Tigers sold by Hobby Shack. Thunder Tiger was hobby Shack's House brand for years and the Taiwanese company made the TT engines under contract to Hobby Shack. Eveything we sold had the thunder tiger name on it from Engines to Power Panels to kits. The original Thunder Tigers were lousy copies of OS engines and Paul Bender went back the his manufacturer and brought out the Magnum engine line in the mid 80's. The original Thunder Tigers were even called FSR's just like the OS. They were strictly a Hobby Shack brand and were imported and distributed by HShack. They were exact copies of OS engines including the FSR series. The Ball bearing magnums were Called Pro's and the 40 was the Magnum 40/PRO FSR-ABC.The plain bearings were GP's. Funny how the OS was a FP and the Magnums were GP. Next letter in the alphabet. Always wondered how we got away with it patentwise. The same company made the Royal line of engines. They were made on the same assembly line. Paul Bender and Thunder Tiger had a falling out about 1992 and the new Magnums were made by the same Chinese company that made ASP. Right back to the same problems the original Thunder Tigers had. Lousy quality control. The Taiwanese company started selling their engines under the Thunder Tiger name. These were the original Magnums. They are what you buy as Thunder Tiger today.

Oh, I worked for HShack during this time frame and was paid to repair engines under warranty. The original magnums were not as good as OS but infinitely better than the original thunder Tigers. There were three ways to get fired in those days. Steal from the company, write a bad check to the company and call a Thunder Tiger "Thunder Junk".

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Thanks guys I just wanted to know how old the engine might be, so it could be 8-12 years old
but it still looks new,
Loughbd, I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD around 1992 ..not Alzhiemers ,have tried all the medications but would rather not take them, how you people dont have the abilitly to multitask is beyond me, if I'm not doing 3 things its because I'm asleep, maybe 5 hours of sleep on a good day...Rog

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

It's possible it got a good cleaning in a crock pot full of anti freeze to make it look new. Or, it was run very little and cleaned up after use. Either way I think you've probably got a really good engine that will run great for several years.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

I know exactly what ADHD is.My nephew has it and I taught Jr High school with a bunch of kids with ADHD. They never forgot anything. They just never stopped and never listened.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Lets put it this way. The FP is a better LA since your putting the 25fp in place of a 10 your weight will be close as opposed to a bal bearing 25. Fly it and be happy. The knock on LA is the plastic back plate, plastic remote needle and down on power for same size bearing motor. Do not use all syn fuel with your FP and LA. At least use a blend with castor.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Thanks again, speedster I buy benol castor from tower and ALWAYS add castor to ALL my fuels especially my .049-.074 engines fuel....which is .%35 nitro and my .40 is %15 fuel,,I buy cool power and add 4 oz of castor to it ...Loughbd I commend you at being a teacher. ADD/ADHD can go away or it can be lifelong, I am 47 so I guess I'm stuck with it, I tried Strattera, but once I figured out I couldnt talk to 3 people at the same time (and I couldnt pee) I had to stop taking it,...I felt stupid.....Rog

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

The guy I fly with most of the time has some form of ADD. He's 67 so I guess it's life long. Cannot help but think it has become more prominent as he has retired.

He's a prolific builder and good flyer. He has a degree in graphic arts and does great Monocoat jobs.

I've only known him for 3 years. About drove me bonkers at first. He asks me more questions than I can answer. About the time I decided that he might have ADD, he came out and told me about himself. I'm a little bit that way myself and so is my older son.

He will do anything for you and give you the shirt from his back. When I was in the hospital twice, he was always right there to take me to the hospital and bring me home etc.

I suppose the cure is worse than just coping with the malady. He doesn't let it get in his way. We all have some kind of problem.

Enjoy,

Jim

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

--------------


There were a couple of different versions of the OS .40 FP. One was a great runner. The other was impossible to get it to run right. They had different piston/liner metallurgies.

Naturally, every student pilot that brought one to me had the bad set up. If you set it rich enough not to quit in flight, you could hardly get the model off of the ground.

I used to watch with envy those instructors whose students had the good version. <G>

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

I only had one and it had the cast iron piston. It seemed to run OK. I bought it at a fly-in flea market and had it about 10 years.

Enjoy,

Jim

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

I don't think being cheaper is the reason OS went to 4 head bolts on the AX. Supre Tigre has been using 4-bolt heads for years. The AX has a wider transfer port in front which meant there was no place for the bolts in a 6-bolt head.

I have attached a photo of an AX & FX crankcase I took off the web. You can see the wider transfer port on the AX.

With the use of 4 head bolts, OS went to the same method Super Tigre uses where the cylinder, rather than being flush with the top of the crankcase block, extends above it and the cylinder head is cut away to fit down over the projecting cylinder. Super Tigre has been using this method for years. You can see the extended cylinder in the second photo, also one I grabbed off RCU when the AX first came out.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Thought everybody except OS did it that way?

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Hey Ed,

My AMA number is 13797 and I joined in 1956. My dad's is 1984 and he joined in 1936. Yours is 553. You must have joined in 1917.

Here's a little item. Most companies use 6 head bolts on their larger engines but there are exceptions. Phil Kraft used eight in his old Kraft 61 now being made by Mecoa and I have a little bitty M&M 19 sized ignition engine that has 12 tiny little head bolts. Johnson used 6 in the 1960 and later engines but 4 in the earlier versions. Some of the little OS 4 cycles used 5 head bolts.The K&B Sportsters used 4. I would say if 4 do the job, what's the problem? Guys are whining about OS using plastic in their entry level engines. No big deal. The back plate isn't subjected to any real strain and plastic is lighter. Seems like half of mondern auto engines are plastic. As far as the needle mount. Breaking the plastic mount beats the heck out of busting off more expensive parts like what happens when a metal mount breaks off.

AMA13797

R/C, C/L and F/F stud

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

Flyinrog: I have two OS FP 25's - one purchased new in 1985 & the other 2nd hand in 1989. Both are from the first run of FP's. The performance to this day remains very impressive - the quality the same. Currently both engines power my twin engine model with excellent reliablility.

You wondered how old your FP is?........ well possibly as much as 21/22 years. Please post a pic so we can see which series you have. Also look on the bottom of the mounting lugs, you will see a 2 letter manufacturing code.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

had not noticed that Bone, the letters are BN under the mounting lugs on the muffler side of the engine?.....so what does that mean????....Rog, it sounds brand new flipping by hand anh he said it only had about 20 flights on it,which is brand new to me...Rog

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

I haven't tried an LA yet. They are so danged ugly I can't stand the thought of having one on the front of one of MY models.

Blue, but with a standard carb and muffler? You're kidding, right? <G>

I'm being silly.

While I haven't been near an LA myself, the reputation for the LA does seem to be better than that for some versions of the FP. But this is all heresay. I would spend my beginner dollars on a Thunder Tiger .45. The latter is an engine that is only marginally more expensive than the LA, but which is capable of powering a much larger variety of models.

RE: When did OS stop making the FP?
 

In the old days, contest directors got 3-digit numbers. Later they got 4-digit. Now all those ran out so you keep your old number. I originally had a 5-digit number, but in 1967 when I got my CD, it was changed to 553.

You can also get a vanity AMA number with letters like your "handle" or whatever you want. Most people don't know this or just elect to keep their number.