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What's going on with Irvine Engines


Ian Jones
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I did hear a rumour that the Irvine 53 had been discontinued.....perhaps the whole range has been.

Didn't OS make them "on behalf" on Irvine......? Maybe the agreement has come to an end?

Has anyone asked Ripmax? They only list a few Irvine motors now....

Edited By Steve Hargreaves - Moderator on 14/12/2012 16:53:39

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I asked this same question on another forum a month or so back. Call me cynical but they are made by OS, are arguably as good as OS, OS produce their own engines in the same range, the equivalent OS engines are a lot more expensive (you can add £60-£70 on the price tag). It will be a big blow if we lose Irvine engines as they did bridge the gap price wise between cheap Chinese second rate engines and premium branded ones, the Irvine engines give a good quality, reliable engine for not much more money than the Chinese rubbish.

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Alas folks, the 'good' guys at Ropmix have discontinued the Irvine 53 as it was in direct competition with their OS engine. Really hope its as good if not better, coz i have 5 Irvine 53s and i cannot fault them in anyway.

Ian...i do have engine case plus other bits for an Irvine 53, but its the mark 2 varient, i dint find out til i bought them. Any use?

Cheers

Mark

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Posted by Mark R on 15/12/2012 10:54:00:

Alas folks, the 'good' guys at Ropmix have discontinued the Irvine 53 as it was in direct competition with their OS engine. Really hope its as good if not better, coz i have 5 Irvine 53s and i cannot fault them in anyway.

I think it's very short sighted of Ripmax, with no budget brand, I wonder how many former Irvine users will be prepared to spend the extra £70 for an 55AX, my guess is they will move to ASP or SC.

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Thanks Mark but I don't need one at the moment. My predicament is that I had settled pretty much on two brands of engines. Super Custom for general use but for something better I use(d) Irvines.

I have OS engines but I have never bought a new one and had no intention doing so, there was no reason to. With cheaper engines now being much better than they used to be I may well stick with them.

So, for me, Irvine getting into bed hasn't done Irvine any good and OS dropping Irvine won't do OS any good - in that respect both parties have shot themsleves in the foot so far as I'm concerned.

If Irvine engines really are dead it's very disappointing.

Ian

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The chinese engines aren't rubbish. Really they've always been quite good - with a variation in quality control letting it down.

I've got a mk1 SC 85 four stroke and years old and still keeps going. Also got a Mk1 ASP 46 aero engine, the original early 90's version and can't fault it, having power, reliable idle and instant transition - even better than some OS's.

Also seen a old ASP 32 blue head that was atrocious, never gave a reliable flight, but today's ASP/SC/Magnum are just as good as OS/Irvine, cheaper and parts are cheaper. The only problem is that they haven't got the chrome finish that OS use, instead electing to leave their engines in a "naked" state.

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  • 6 months later...

If you go a long way back Irvine were a distributor in their own right, including the distributor for Sanwa radios, but they got bought out by Ripmax and Sanwa was quitely dropped. With irvines engines i think the problem is more that there isn't enough demand to justify manufacturing another batch. I've heard through the grapevine that even OS haven't made some of their engines for quite a while now and are just supplying them from their stockpile such is the reduced demand for glows these days, being squeezed by electric and petrol (and ASP/SC).

As electric sound cards come on are we going to see 4 strokes go the same way.

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Spoke to Just Engines sometime ago they'd not been able to get Irvine 46's and 53's for over a year, apparently too much competition for their own brand. I'd considered switching to Supre Tigre but having just maidend my PT19 with a Evolution 10gx petrol job I'm waiting to see how it performs in the future, If its good in the cold winter months then goodbye glows.

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There seems to be some confusion here about who bought who!

Ripmax themselves mention a merger on their website, saying "Since the merge of two great companies in 2003, Ripmax Plc and Irvine Ltd; Ripmax Ltd have continued to expand their product range and services, giving you, the customer, all the benefits you expect from the UK's Number 1 supplier of R/C."

Flyingsites described it back in August 2003 like this; "Ripmax has been in the ownership of the Coote family for 54 years, but they have have now decided to sell their 100% shareholding. The company has been sold, on the 18th August, to Nick Moss, the owner of the Ultimate Model Corporation (UMC).

The acquisition of Ripmax by UMC strengthens UMC's portfolio of companies, which already include Irvine Ltd and Slough Radio Control Ltd. Both Ripmax and Irvine Ltd will however, still trade as separate companies, for the time being."

Searches for publically available company information (eg. on duedil.com) shows that UMC was founded by Mr Howard Moss in 1996 and currently has 4 subsidiary companies - Irvine Limited, O.S. Products Limited, Radio Control Supplies Limited and Ripmax Limited. In turn Ripmax Limited has one subsidiary company, Hobbystores Limited.

So, in summary, the owner of Irvine bought Ripmax.

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It just seems so daft to me that the Irvine 46 is no longer available. It seems that you can get 40's but who wants a heavier engine with less power?

It seems possible that the 46 was reckoned to be taking sales from OS and so production ceased. If that's true its a daft decision. People won't buy an OS instead of an Irvine 46, they will by a SC or ASP 52.

A great shame... it was such a good little engine!

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Posted by GrahamC on 27/06/2013 20:26:13:

It just seems so daft to me that the Irvine 46 is no longer available. It seems that you can get 40's but who wants a heavier engine with less power?

It seems possible that the 46 was reckoned to be taking sales from OS and so production ceased. If that's true its a daft decision. People won't buy an OS instead of an Irvine 46, they will by a SC or ASP 52.

A great shame... it was such a good little engine!

Yes that's right, I know because that's what I've done & will continue to do.

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Posted by Frank Skilbeck on 27/06/2013 14:07:50:

If you go a long way back Irvine were a distributor in their own right, including the distributor for Sanwa radios, but they got bought out by Ripmax

Not quite true, the guy that owned Irvine bought Ripmax then merged the 2 companies and kept the Ripmax name. Ripmax were still selling Sanwa gear up until very recently so a good 10 years after the companies merged.

edit   Sorry, I have just seen John Privetts post.

Edited By Andrew Jarvis 1 on 28/06/2013 09:41:05

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Posted by john melia 1 on 28/06/2013 10:30:22:

while on the subject of irvine , anyone know what size this is , its got a gold cylinder head

Looks like the irvine 36 mk 1, I sold one on a year or so back. Believe it was ringed but can't be sure. I have the red 36 now, lovely engine, also a bnib 46 that I bought two or three years ago for an unfulfilled project.

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