World's Cheapest ARF

I bought a Magnum .52 four-stroke shortly after buying and breaking-in an OS .52 four-stroke. The two were as different as night and day during break-in, but once the Magnum settled down, they ran nearly identically. I don't know why I am saying nearly, because I couldn't tell them apart if someone hid them from view while pitting the same plane with each engine and then letting me fly them.

What was even more amazing to me was that I removed the OS from the test stand and put the Magnum in exactly the same position using exactly the same throttle linkage without having to change a thing. Yeah, I know. Magnums are supposed to be clones of OS engines so that shouldn't be a surprise. But even with the differences in apprearance of the carbs, the throttle linkage was perfectly adjusted for the Magnum .52.

Would I buy the Magnum now? Not unless the price was very attractive. The last time I saw their prices they were too close to the OS to buy them. The OS is a better made engine and does not require as much break-in time.

I think I bought my Magnum .52 for $105. At that price I would buy another, but not at $150. When you apply Tower's discounts and Super Saver shipping savings, the engines aren't that far away in price. Just from an aesthetics point of view, the OS is worth the difference in price. But, that is just how I see things. YMMV

Ed Cregger

I pretty much feel the same way, Ed, except I prefer to ante up the extra cash if possible and purchase a Saito. I bought the second Magnum .52 to have a budget-priced matched pair for a twin. If I had the extra disposable income, I'd use a pair of Saito .56's.

I only have one O.S. four-stroke; a .70 Surpass II. It has been broken in but is on the bench waiting for the right airframe. It's a beautiful piece of work, but the fact that it weighs more than my Saito .91 just plain bugs the hell out of me. :-)

Good flying, desmobob

The only thing that bugs me about Saito, besides the lowered compression ratio, is not have a bushed connecting rod.

I don't fly competition models, so the weight really isn't that important to me.

Ed Cregger

It's no big deal to me either, but it seems the last few .40-.46-size models I put together were powered by my favorite engine for that size model, the Super Tigre G51, and I had to add tail weight to balance them. I'm waiting for that tail-heavy model to show up on my bench so I can say, "Hey! I'll pull the G51 out and put in my O.S. 70 Surpass II!" :-)

Good flying, desmobob