I guess you all have heard that China will be shutting down its nitro plant for 3 months. This will send the price of nitro through the roof. I have always been a fan of large 4 stroke nitro burning engines unti I got my first gasser which is a crrc GF26I. I was always under the opinion that these gas engines were too big, hard to start, and vibrated everything loose. Was I wrong. This little 26 takes the place of large 4 strokes, is easy to start, runs like a swiss clock, easy to start, weighs 2.5 lbs , pulls a 13 lb warbird around with no effort, sounds great in the air, cheaper to buy (just over 200.00 ) So why do we need nitro burning engines. The distributor for these engines (rconlysite.com) tells me that a lot of people are switching to these gassers and I can see why. Just my thoughts

You know what they say? Once you go gas you never go back

Yep. And bigger gassers are "better", and there ain't NO doubt about it.
I said bye bye to glow some time back, and haven't doubted that it was the right thing for me.

PROs

Lower operational cost.
Less mess.
No slime.
More "real".
Lots less "field equipment"

CONs

Smells bad.
Technically more complex.
Needs ignition batteries (if EI engine).
Can be really noisy.
Can create radio issues if "not right".

I agree with Bob, I went to gas about 4 years ago and never flew another glow airplane since. Also sold everything that has anything to do with glow.

there is a certain break-even point between glow and gas. That is at about 25cc. There are good 25cc+ gassers, and there still are some glow engines that perform well. Some manufacturers even spent years of hard work to make large glow engines work well (like OS).
Advantages? No, not realy. For a 26cc engine I personally would use a gas engine, and not glow, though I have the MVVS glow on the shelf. For 23cc, my ST2300 glow engine is a champ, but I would rather have electronic ignition on it, were it not, that methanol conducts current. So a little bit too much fuel will flood out the spark.
For power, methanol is the best, but at the expense of lots of fuel, and only a few quality oils will mix with it. These quality oils never obtained the quality levels that gas oils did. So for engine longevity and user friendliness, gas reigns above 26cc.
(example: don't try to start your big glow using the normal flip. You need to bump start it, or risk your fingers)
This uncontrolled moment of fuel ignition is exactly the reason to go to gas in larger engines.
Gas engines have smoother power and lower vibration levels than glow engines of equal capacity. Once run in, less slime to wipe off, and yes, A long learning curve before you and your gas engine get along. A gas engine is no easy push-over.

By the grace of A123 we now have a third option in the 25 to 50cc size range at a reasonable price.
Just think - no fingers in the prop, no starter,glow igniter or ignition battery to charge. No fluids to fool with and NO NOISE to get your flying field closed.
And then the only thing to wipe off your airplane is dust.

That'll be the day I sell out and find a new hobby.

I flew large electrics for a while and enjoyed for a while, Set up a couple large planes, 80" Extra and 96" Rearwind Speeder.

Even with the A123 there still is a heavy cost to set them up, With some of the good lower cost Gas engines out there now you can set up a 30% plane power system for about what you would pay for one set of batteries.

Milton

Electrics are motors, but by no means engines.
Motors drive a prop, but that's about all they do. They have no heart.

Yep

I love the smell of gas fumes in the morning[8D]

Can you imagine going out to the Reno races to watch the Unlimited class runs with all the heavy WWII iron flying by...silently I didn't think so. Airplanes have always made noise that sounded like either a reciprocating engine or a turbine. No reason to remove that luster now. I don't like taking long extension cords to the flying field as well.

I was in a Portland , OR area hobby shop about a week ago when the owner made the announcement that glow fuel was being immediately placed on a day by day price structure. Seems glow fuel is now as volatile as gasoline where prices are concerned. I still glad a $4.00 gallon of gas will go a lot farther than an $18.00+ gallon of glow fuel.

Yes and with A123's all you need is one set of batteries. The cost is about the same. Then the cost to recharge is almost zip.
As I said there is a third option.
I still have two glow engines and three large gas engines.
I find that I am flying mostly electrics now as I don't even get my hands dirty.
I have an 80" Extra that was designed for a ZDZ40 and a 5yr old 62" Lazy Ace that was converted from glow. Both now electric.

Joe - good to find out what's wrong with you..... been smellin' too much gas exhaust for too long???

I heard that running gassers makes you fly longer..... so does that mean gassers stay up longer?

LOL!! I wish it was THAT simple!!

I have Tired Old Man to thank for my issues!!!

Still putting it all on me are you? That's like blaming a compass for pointing north

Gee let me think about this. I pay $4.45 a gallon for gasoline. I order nitro fuel by to case and including haz mat fee it comes to $39.00 a gallon. Yep, switching to 1/4 scale gas is a good idea.

D7

Airplanes are supposed to make noise! I have a couple of park flyer electrics in my fleet, and they are enjoyable, but I find myself constantly worried about power consumption. Takes a lot of the fun out of it for me. It is just too easy to land, fuel up, and go again (immediately!) with a gas or glow plane. Then there are those expensive batteries. Last year I went through $150.00 in worn out, just don't have it anymore batteries. I have never lost an ENGINE in thirty years of flying gas and glow engines!! Besides, like I said, AIRPLANES ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE NOISE!

I am sure it will come some day, but can you imagine 'TOP FUEL ELECTRIC DRAGSTERS"?? Blah....

As far as nitro versus gasoline, it was a number of years ago that I noticed how much my .60 to .90 glow planes cost to fly. Gasoline is hard to beat!!

AV8TOR

Sometimes I wonder what the martians use to power their RC saucers??

If they say so they must lie I tried a gas model and switched back to nitro. I have had a 2,16 m Yak 54 with DL50. It flied very nice the fuel was cheaper than nitro but there were lots of but's... Every time i fueled it and smelled the gas i got headaches. My car smelled a couple of days after coming back from flying field. Once my wife almost puked from this smell. Such a big model needs a real flying field- the closest to me is about 70 km from my home. Everytine i took it home from my basement i had a fight with my wife- too big and too stinky
Now i have a 69" QQ Yak 54 with Saito 125. I fly where and when i want to, everything is clean and smell free, i can put it in my room and work with it as long as i need to.
And as far as i have heard im not the only one who after a gas model trial switched back to a nitro.

LOL!

Having recently moved from glow to gas with one of my helicopters, I was worried about the same problem. I have a 1/3 Cub with a 100cc twin gasser and it made my model room stink after a weekend of flying. I was introduced to Colemans fuel, and it is a godsend. No smoke at all, no smell and burns very very clean. The TAS 28 in my giant B47G loves this fuel. although it is a bit more costly than normal gas, its still way cheaper than glow fuel. we traditionally pay more for gas here in Australia than everywhere else in the world, but at AUD$15 a gallon, its still heaps cheaper than nitro fuel. (we average around $55 a gallon for glow fuel.......... depending on nitro content)

How much octane does your down-under Coleman fuel have?
You may well do your engine not a big favour, and be in for a large repair if octane is below your engine's requirements.

Aspen fuel (an alcylate), has 93 pump octane, and no stink. It burns as clean as leadfree gas or coleman. Available in the better garden appliance shops that care for Husqvarna. Rich mixture tolerance is slightly smaller than with gas.