Favourite I.C. Glowplug/Diesel Engines

[Christopher Wolfe]

I was just reviewing my I.C. engines and thinking about what was my favourite model glowplug engine.

 

It came down to three.

 

O.S. Max 45 FSR

 

O.S. FS-40 S Surpass OS FS-40 Surpass review

 

Super Tigre G51 Ring ST G51 Ring

 

The old O.S. Max 45 FSR is reliable and powerful (it is the ringed version) and has never left it's original model since installed in 1995 (A float-plane) although I might have changed it's preferred Enya #3 plug a few times.

 

O.S. FS 40 Surpass just keeps plodding along, just an occasional check of the tappets is all that is required. Swinging a 12.5" x 5" wooden prop at lazy rpm it actually runs at reduced power when flying an ancient Red Zephyr around the sky.

 

Super Tigre G51 Ring came close to the top of the list, the size of a .40 with the power of some .60's it is a classic model I.C. engine.

 

Still not sure, they are all pretty special in their own way, so what model glowplug engines made your day?

 

 

 

[Jim Hearnden 1]

Two engines  a Super Tigre G15 FI and an HGK 45. The first was open exhaust and had been in a race boat. It ended up in a home designed control liner turning a 7 x 6 at around 21000 RPM, probably why I have tinnitus now!

The HGK was bought second hand for little money as it was ignored and passed over for better known names. It has flown a few models. but is now on my home designed Big Beam and probably has a lot of hours under its belt.

[2.4g Shaun]

Super Tiger G20/15 G  ( I used this in combat along with the diesel version )

 

160 OS FS Gemini Twin ( superbly engineered and ran as smooth as an electric motor)

 

COX TD 010 ( modelling jewellery)

 

All Merco's ( Tough as old boots )

 

Open Rocker OS FS 60 ( perfect for a sticks and tissue cruiser)

 

And my all time fave and first "big" glow was the OS MAX 19  (non RC version) It scared me to death in a KeilKraft Talon as a 11 year old. 

 

Guess I'm an OS fan. 😀

Shaun

 

Edited September 30 by 2.4g Shaun

[Brian Cooper]

O.S. 70, 91 and 120 four stroke engines.

 

Saito:  72, 82, 100, 150 and 180 four stroke engines. 

 

ASP: 91 and 120 four stroke engines. 

 

ASP: 28, 32, 46 and 52 two stroke engines. 

 

MVVS:   28 and 49 two stroke engines with pipes.

 

WEST: 36, 50.V1 and 50.V2 two stroke engines with pipes. 

 

ALL run cleanly, faultlessly and with great enthusiasm exclusively on Pro-Synth fuel with 5% and 10% nitro. 

 

[Nigel R]

Os 40 fp

Simple, reliable, excellent power/ weight ratio. Best engine os made for a long time. 

 

Irvine 36

Best of British two strokes

 

Os 46 & 61 sf

Second best of os two strokes, beaten only by the fp.

 

Recently, os alpha four strokes. Have run several sizes and all have been lovely to use. Dare I say it better than the surpass engines. 

[Simon Lumsdon 1]

I will go for OS 52 FS and OS 40 F

boring but bulletproof

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Any Cox, my first IC engines, a couple of screws into the firewall, and you are in the air.

 

2.5cc Russian green headed sold in a bubble pack diesel 1967, the first engine that I got more than one lap in my control line planes, a couple of flicks to bring it to life.

 

All OS Surpass 4 strokes, especially my .70.

 

Enya 4 strokes, 90/120 real beasts.

 

Saito, I have a few, but some have compression problems, when fixed they are excellent, my only choice in 4 strokes Methanol today.

 

Laser, although they did have a couple of design faults, they were a piece of art.

 

OS .35FP 1984 cheap' OS 2 stroke that never missed a beat, winter or summer.

 

Any Rossi, especially the .40's.

 

HP .40 rear, 1974 two flicks, and it was in the air.

 

Dle, 20 petrol really smelly and noisy but frugal.

 

Apart from planes,

 

OS .50 Hyper helicopter, Novarossi .61, Rossi 61, start on the button and NEVER stop while fuel is in them,.

 

 

Is there a favorite electric motor post for these lifeless lumps of metal  ?😅

 

 

 

 

[leccyflyer]

My favourite IC glowplug engine is my OS .25 SF, which was my first glow engine having restarted the hobby thirty years ago and it was a revelation with ease of starting compared to the wee Cox .049 and PAW diesels of my youth. Never needed adjusting, started first time, every time and was a brilliant engine. Second favourite would be my OS 20 FS, which literally couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding, but sounded like a baby sewing machine as it pulled my Flair Attila through some gentle chandelles in the fading light of balmy summer sunsets. Most of my engines were either OS or Enya two strokes and they were as good as gold in terms of operation. When I came to sell them all off they fetched very good prices, but they were all kept in good condition and were boxed when sold. I quite liked the Irvine 36 and 46 that I had in my Xero and Silhouette, but both were ultimately converted to electric. Engines that I was less attached to, which usually came with second hand airframes I tended to give away, rather than sell them. Now I'm just left with the OS .25SF, some diesels, a couple of Cox Baby Bees and a BNIB Super Tigre G45 that I was given with some vintage radio gear.

[John Lee]

Had many over the decades but all is history now. However my answer is:

 

OS40 FSR

 

Merco 61 twin plug

[Ron Gray]

Just got to be the best of the lot, Laser:

 

80

100

120

155

180

 

150v

160v

240v

300v

360v

 

200FT

310FT

 

160 in-line twin

200 in-line twin

 

 

[Engine Doctor]

Any of the OS  or Enya fourstrokes but YS  fourstrokes are my  top favourites.

Edited October 1 by Engine Doctor

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I’m more than happy with any of my 4 strokes, Laser, OS ( and clones - although the ASP 180, unique to the clones, was a surly beast until I added a second head shim) and Saito. 
 

Like Leccy, I do have a particular soft spot for my little OS20 FS but I have to say that I found it surprisingly powerful.  Mine pulls a scaled down (40” span) Peter Miller Ohmen - renamed to the Glohmen - very well. 
 

 

[leccyflyer]

1 hour ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said:

 

Is there a favorite electric motor post for these lifeless lumps of metal  ?😅

 

 

 

 

If you like - I've a few favourite motors which are more reliable, powerful and joyful in use than many of the recalcitrant, tetchy, unreliable dead-stick oil burners that I used to see at the club field.

 

AXI 2820/10 way back when JOhn Emms brought AXI to this country for the first time - superb bit of kit that replaced the OS and Enya .25 2 strokes in my funfighters - initially on 10 cell NicDs and MiMhs, subsequently on 3s1p lipos.

 

Twister 60 in my Wot 4 and Silhouette, replacing OS and Irvine 46 2 strokes and using 16 cell NiMh packs and subsequently 6s1p 4200mah Loong Max lipos.

 

AXI 4120/18 in my Kyosho SQS series conversions - including the Spitfire 40 and P-51D Mustang - oodles of power and totally hassle free operation on 5s1p 5200mah lipos.

 

Even the wee fellas' 10mm geared brushed motors that give 15 minutes at full throttle for dozens of clights without missing a beat - I've never had an IC engine small enough or light enough to fly a 2oz aeroplane like that.

 

Thanks for asking though. 😎👍

[Mike T]

Gosh!  Back in the days when the performance of motors and speed controllers actually exceeded their nominal specs!  😀

 

Talking of back in the day, in the late '90s or thereabouts I was looking for a a less noisy replacement for the Merco 35 fitted to my Precedent Funfly.  The engine I bought has been fitted in two successive Funfly's (as well as a dreadful pink ARTF Sukhoi 26) and is still running in my current Funfly, built in 2020.  This engine just starts and runs and runs and runs.

 

Laydeez an' Gen'lmen - I give you - the Thunder Tiger GP42. 

 

Honourable mentions go to my OS40FS - a pleasant plodder - and my Moki 210 - a surprisingly tractable savage beast (also easily converted to petrol/ign.)

[GrumpyGnome]

2 hours ago, leccyflyer said:

 

 

AXI 2820/10 way back when JOhn Emms brought AXI to this country for the first time - superb bit of kit ...

 

 

Real game changers.......

 

Plus the Mega inrunners

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Before this thread heads in the tired old direction, please bear in mind that we’re discussing favourite IC engines…

 

 

P.S.  Although not a great fan of 2 strokes, I do have a great deal of respect for my OS 91FX which started first time out of the box with a reverse flick and has only improved since!  It drags my Panic towards the stratosphere with not a second thought…

Edited October 1 by Martin Harris - Moderator

[Tim Flyer]

One engine that stands out in my current fleet is the OS120ax . It’s amazing value and very powerful for its size . It powers my Galaxy Mystic but has been in a number of models over the years. It’s had a few repairs and new bearings but still runs  perfectly despite quite a hard life. The exhaust adapter makes it able to fit in quite a few models. It has an incredibly reliable idle and excellent throttle response and very easy starting. 
 

Im also a Laser engine enthusiast and have an old 200v,  3x 180s , 155, 100 and 2x80s which are all very good . Probably the 180 and the 100 might be my favourite Laser engines….but on reflection l like them all! 

[Chris Freeman 3]

I still like and use the big Super Tigre engines, 2000, 2300, 2500, 3000, 3250 and 4500. all good reliable motors that are cheap to run with 12% oil and no nitro. I have been given quite a few of them as duds but found they were fine if the right fuel was used, the 25 and 30cc motors appeared to be more allergic to nitro than the others.   

[J D 8 - Moderator]

   I like many of those Makes named in posts above and have some of them but will name just one particular engine my IRVINE 46😁 which was one of the first RED Irvines from the 90's, From year 2,000 has seen use in my ARC Jupiter which is still a regular hack. Pictured on test stand after fix up with new bearings and prop driver [ it split] and clean up a couple of years ago.

[Jon H]

This could take a while...

 

To keep it simple my Laser picks are the ones i always enjoyed test running the most:

 

The 80, almost a match for many 91's and solid as a rock. It was the most underestimated of the laser range in my view. 

The 100 and 180 just worked, no matter what, they just worked. 

240v...16x8, 10000rpm...Loved it. 

360v, 20x8 over 8000. so much grunt but so easy to handle. 

200 and 310 flats, the 200 inline and the very rare 310v were also great fun. I am yet to fly a 310 flat as i dont have one, but seeing Ron's at Buckminster was very impressive. 

And i cant forget the 155. My first design for the company and they always seem to run well. 

 

Oh and frankensteins flat twin prototype. The most hilarious heap of trash i ever put together but it ran perfectly anyway. 

 

OS now. 

 

OS FP series was brilliant and just got on with life without any fuss. I had 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35's over the years. All worked very well. 

My OS91 surpass was my first 4 stroke and it too is fuss free. 

Never owned one but in my brief time testing one the OS155 impressed me

My OS26 surpass is just too cute not to like

My utterly trashed FS40 (see thread on the forum somewhere) that was nearly scrapped but i was able to save. 

The big hitters for me though are the 300 super gemini, and my FF240 and 320 pegasus flat 4's. I have plenty of time on the 240 in my acrowot xl and its just faultless. A bit oily yes, but i dont care, its a wonderful engine. I keep looking out for an IL300, but they are rare as hens teeth and have a price to match. 

 

Saito. 

 

Only 1 here, and that is the trusty 45 in my flair nieuport. Its probably as old as me, massively over propped (15x5!!) but it cares not and is quieter in flight that some electric models. Just a perfect match for the model. 

 

ASP

 

The 36 and 52 2 stroke really stood out to me and were great engines. I enjoy my FT160 as well although i have tinkered with it. 

 

Magnum (The british one)

 

Left field entry is my magnum 240v. Its an unbalanced, unrefined, underpowered and generally hopeless heap of an engine, but it love it.

It shakes, it rattles, and oil pours from every part of it, but its reliable (ish, i have to work my voodoo at times) and i just enjoy the ludicrous theatre of the thing. 

 

Enya

 

My 120-4c was bullet proof and great engine. I am a huge fan of the VT240 as well. I also have a 155, which is so savage i cant keep it running for long as it has destroyed every exhaust i ever fitted!

 

I am sure i have missed a bunch, might be a round 2 later. 

 

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Impossible to name just one, had Webra, Enya, Irvine, SC, YS, OS and enjoyed them all, one that got most use, OS 52 Surpass, for 2T would be OS 46AX.

[Paul Marsh]

Mine are: top 3...

 

1. OS120FS Pumper

2. OS40FP

3. Thunder Tiger GP 42

 

Most exotic top 3

 

1. OS FR5-300 Sirius

2. OS 320Pegasus flat 4

3. OS 60 mk1 open rocker

 

most special 

 

1. OS 120FS Supercharged.

 

Edited October 1 by Paul Marsh

[Ariel]

PAW 1.49. It was the first engine I ever owned and took me ages to even get it to start but the sheer joy when it did was everything a 13 year old could want.

Still got it although it hasn't been used in over 50 years.  I wonder if it would run again?

[Ariel]

Just read the title again and realised it's not a glow plug engine but you get the drift. 

More on topic, OS 30 which made a similar impression at the time because it was so easy to start and set up.

[payneib]

2 hours ago, Ariel said:

PAW 1.49. It was the first engine I ever owned and took me ages to even get it to start but the sheer joy when it did was everything a 13 year old could want.

Still got it although it hasn't been used in over 50 years.  I wonder if it would run again?

The bruised part of my finger nail is nearly grown out from my "Introduction to PAW Diesels" over a month ago. Very much looking forward to adding one of those to my collection and building a Mini Goodyear racer for it. 

 

 

As for glow engines, I'm a Saito snob. They're pretty and they sound nice. 

 

But I have recently been enjoying some smaller two strokes from OS, with a 10, 15 and 19 in the stable. 

Edited October 2 by payneib
Missed a bit.