What are some of the more powerful engines for the Gremlin in the .25 class? It's been a couple of years since I flew combat and I always stayed with the cheaper engines. I have used an OS.25FP, and OS.25LA and a Megatech .28. The OS FP and LA were very reliable engines but lacked serious power to catch some pilots and the Megatech was the biggest piece of junk that i had ever seen. The Megatech's carb's needle would leak and suck air and it would never stay running. I even tried a Davis Diesel Head. It may be a good product, but I didn't have any luck with it. Plus the smell of the diesel is almost enough reason not to want to try it. I kinda wish I could have gotten it to work as advertised. As a matter of fact I still have a Diesel head for an OS.25 FP,...Humm,... oh well. I guess what I'm asking through all of this rambling is: I'm looking for an engine for my Gremlin that can keep up with just about any .25 class engine out there and be in the same price range as a .25LA. I just cant fork out over a $100.00 for an OS.25FX, heck that two .25LA's nearly.

Thanks,
Johnny

OS .25fx, Norvel .21 or .26, or Magnum .28xl. These are the norm.
I use the .25fx, and never have any problems. Even after lawn darting it, on more than one occasion this year, it still runs like clock work.

Go with the Magnum >28xl or the xla, I beat the crap out of mine for 2 years, and it was still a hot running eng. when I sold my gremlin, besure and put a small piece of fuel line tubing on the needle valve, I do it to all My engines, stops leaks, break the magnum in right and you will get alot of bang for your buck, Fastlash

Fastlash,

Did you say you SOLD your Gremlin? Man, if I could keep mine in one piece for more than two weeks I would be ecstatic!!! Also, what part of Washington are ya in? I am in Bellingham and we hold combat on Thursday nites. If you are close enough, come on over and join us!!! I have been running MVVS .21 and a MVVS .26 as well as a Norvel .25 and all seem to work real well. I think the >21 is the fastest and strongest running so far, but I don't have much time on the .26, so time will tell. I think when I start killing engines that I will probably replace them with O.S. .25 FX as they seem to be nearly as fast and ultra reliable.

Jeff

All I can say is you get what you pay for.

All I can say is you crash what you get!!! I live in south Puget Sound,Got rid of it and went to spads, just a change of pace, to each his own!!!

FASTLASH ,

Where do you live, and where do you combat? I like going to other feilds to fly with other streamer chasers. Come on up to Bellingham on Thursdays if you can. Go to Bell-air.rcclubs.com ,and get the map to our field. If you do not understand it, page me at 360-416-1315. E-mail me either way, I am trying to get a little unofficial NW USA, and B.C. network going.

Jeremy M.

Astrohog,

what kind of runtimes are you getting on the MVVS's. Rumor has it that the .26 needs more than 6 oz for 6 minutes of runtime. Do you agree?

I hear the .26 is a pain. I have a MVVS.28 and love it.

1Jimbo,

Agreed, but I'm looking for 1/12 scale combat powerplants. Glad to hear the .28 lives up to it's reputation....It's on my wish list.

I just ordered a .28 Magnum. It appears to be about the most popular with price and reliability all considered. I currently have a Magnum .25 xl of a friends on loan till my .28 gets in. I assume they will both fit in the same spot and weigh appx the same. Has anyone here used the MDS .28? If so how is its reliability? If there is much difference i'll just put the .28 on my new Gremlin.

Thanks,....
Johnny

If you look inside of an MDS engine(if you know what you're looking at) you will notice that the liner and case DO NOT line up very well in the windows you will see why I don't buy them. I have seen three MDS engine and all three where like this. They are heavy and lack power in my opinion.

Look if you're looking for a good engine and don't want to spend much the Irvine gives you the best of both worlds. It also has a chrome liner unlike OS. This means if you want to get really competitive down the road you can tweak the timing without having to worry about the liner peeling. To risky with nickel liners.

The two that come to the top for .25/.26 engines for Scale Combat are the OS.25FX and the Irvine .25. The FX can be had from Tower Hobbies for $84.95 and the Irvine can be had from Just Engines in England (www.justengines.unseen.org) for about $75 or less.

A note on Just Engines:
They are super people to deal with. They often have the Irvine engines on sale for reduced prices and the shipping charge is minimal. I bought two Irvine .25s from them, the engines arrived within a week and the cost was $143.00 total. That breaks down to $71.50 each including shipping.

HTH,
D

TiGuy,

I have an MVVS .21 that just ROCKS!!! it has the "combat" head and the "mini tuned" pipe. It is the fastest engine at our field! Faster than the O.S. .25 FX. I can get two 4 minute rounds in on one 4 ounce tank with fuel to spare. I have not run the .26 too much, but I have found that it is easy on the fuel, too. I am using Red Max 0%, (yes, 0%) and it cooks along pretty good. It is not as strong as the .21 but it is fairly new and still real tight. I've probably run about 1/3 of a gallon of 0% through it so far and plan to try 15% to get every last bit out of it. I am VERY impressed w/ the MVVS engines! They have a very nice carb that comes completely apart for easy cleaning/repair. THe needle valves only cost $5.00 to replace vs. an O.S. at $$$$$$???? I would not hesitate to recommend the MVVS, but the O.S. .25 seems to be a real competitive engine as well. Good luck with your decision!

JEFF

I just want to mention that if you are located in the Massachusetts or New Hampshire area and are planning to enter any Stock Gremlin combat meets, you will need a bushed engine, which I would reccomend the Norvel 25, if you are not in New England or not planning to fly the stock class any of the above engines will suit you well!

- JK