What's wrong with the OS LA series?

Precisely. You trade off ultimate top end power for the ease of tuning that comes from a small carb orifice.

Its always easier to set up a low tune engine.

Most of my engines are OS LA's...

Venture 60 / .65 sized Mid West Hots II, .40 sized Butterfly, .25 sized

The Venture will do steep climb outs (almost vertical).... the Hots II the same. And the Butterfly.... well, it is a Butterfly.

All engines have many trouble-free hours on them... they start easily and run well....

I also have a Thunder Tiger .91 4-cycle that runs very strong. I mention this because in my club there are 3 and the joke has become: "at least there in one that runs good".

My brother has bought Tower engines and some others (super tiger I think) and he is happy with them..... my thinking is most engines these days run well....... except my .52 magnum which has never had any discernable compression.... it is so bad the compression stroke is hardly recognizable...

It was the first engine I ever ran where the backplate unscrewed itself and was hanging loose after a flight. One of the screws was completely missing, the others very loose. To their credit OS replaced the screws gratis.

A bit hard to start, but not too bad.

I find the remote needle (not specific to the LA) a chore to deal with in tuning. I like angled needle valves better as a safety feature.

Greg

Nothing really. I used the .46 LA in my trainer some four years ago when I returned to the sport. It survived me re-learning with all that goes with it. It is still going as is the trainer now it trains others and the engine still produces everything necessary including limited aerobatics when.

If you want out and out power then the LA series is not what you want. If you want reliability and very little fiddling around with the engine then it is pretty good. That precisely why they are mostly used to train new pilots. Yes they are basic but basic is good when you are learning. I'd rather learn on an LA than an Irvine say. Too much messing around.

Like everything else it depends what you are going to do.

David.

"Mike Szewczyk hcgi.com>" Almost everyone I speak to about getting my first plane qualifies the O.S.

Actually it's the other way round so long as the correct amount and type of oil is used and this means 20-22% and preferably at least half being castor. Do this and you'll probably never wear out the bush while everyone else is continually putting in new bearings.

The "rattle" at low throttle is normal for all plain bushed engines because there are no ball races to lock the crankshaft longitudinally. This rattle goes away when prop thrust overcomes the tendency to move backwards.

I would never have guessed that correctly.

Good piece of information.... thank you... I've wondered about it, but figured something on the plane was loose and rattling.. (I have 4 OS LA engines; not because they are the best, but because I've never had a single problem with them, I just kept buying them). . Arne, USA . .

"Mike Szewczyk hcgi.com>" Almost everyone I speak to about getting my first plane qualifies the O.S.

It will last as long as your trainer (about 3-4 months) An OS46FX can be used in another pane and is almost indestructible

I have two .40 LA engines and haven't had any trouble. Maybe just luck

but with all the others I have seen with no problems, I would say the are very good engines for the $$$

-- KG4ZT

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this thread:

I don't know about anyone else, but this seems like a terribly pessimistic estimate of both the engine life and the airframe life.

My first plane (aerostar 40) flew for the first time on October 13 1996 It still has an honored place in my lineup, and has been used HARD through it's life. At least five people have used it to train and solo, at least 5 others got at least some training on it, and it has been used to give many more a taste of RC flight. all that, and it is still flying on the same 40fp engine it started with.

The LA series isn't all that different from the FP series, and we have used the LA on several sport planes including the dazzler and Limbo Dancer. To really see what these "junk" engines are capable of, slap them on a 4 pound airframe, stick on a nice APC 11x5 prop and a MCP.

bob

That rattle isn't "normal" and is a sign of too much thrust clearance between the crank and the case. OS and others made several thickness thrust washers early on (in the FP days) just for that. Usually, if they rattle at idle, there is about enough clearance for an extra washer. Don't get it too tight as the case expands more than the crank when hot.

The 46 LA sells for around $80.00. That is about the same price as a Thunder Tiger Pro 46 or GMS 47. Both of those are head and shoulders above the LA series. Most trainers come out VERY tail heavy so the couple extra ounces of engine weight will also come in handy.

-- Paul McIntosh

"Mike Szewczyk hcgi.com>" > The rest of them, and ESPECIALLY the .40, are very weak, and they vibrate

As usual, Klondyke has nothing constructive to add.

The LA series are not nearly as good as the FP engines were. The LA series seems to be a step backwards for OS in their attempt to squeeze even more money from modelers. I have seen many run side by side and the FP was always a better performer. Shortly after the LA series were introduced, many people were calling for OS to bring back the FP.

"Paul McIntosh" posted message IDon Tue, 20 Jul

2004 16:26:52 +0100

Nonsense, Paul. I was looking out for your easily-damaged psyche. After all, you disappeared for more than a week the last time you got all butthurt over name-calling.

Has he ever made an airplane-related post? Does he even fly R/C?

Curious Pete

Another know-nothing response from a worthless poster. I disappeared because I was on another continent working.

This seems to be the main difference between him and C.O. Jones. At least C.O. is conversant in airplane subjects.

"Paul McIntosh" posted message IDon Tue, 20 Jul

2004 22:41:18 +0100

Do you deny that you whined about name-calling, while ironically indulging in name-calling yourself?

Then I'm sure that you'll want to go back and address the issues that, up to now, look like you abandoned them. I'll re-post them for you if you wish.

The LA's are standard ordinary bushing engines. They performs like standard ordinary bushing engines.

If all you need is a standard ordinary engine they work fine.

If you want a more powerful engine, upgrade to a ball bearings engine.