ughturtle

I have just read all of the input in to this blog and all I hear is one person attacking another. Its the same in all blogs not just this one. I guess you are just being human. Seems a shame that a person can't take an expressed opinion for what its worth without attacking. Opinions are like a**** and every has one.

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

Really? Watch the video. Me flying my buddy's plane for the first time. [link]http://youtu.be/tm-edJ3sQyo[/link]

hemiflyer1

My Feedback: (2)

If Zenoah is U.S.A. built, then the poster might be right. Unfortunite situation. This country used to be known for its over-engineering ( see P-47) That's a good thing. If Zenoahs are a little heavier, it might mean that its not as cheaply made. I can only hope and prey that our manufacturing comes back in this great country , for obvious reasons.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Disagree with the OP. Based on what I see at the field, we may be just in a passing fad. Lots of new cheap engines. Only a couple are still showing up. The others seem to have continous problems. The zenoahs and the other established brands soldier on. I've tried some of the cheapies cause you cant really critisize unless you have first hand experience, besides one might actually work. I have RCGF, CRRC, and DLE. Only the DLE is still running. The others work, but you have to stay on top of them. Even in the end, I think the DLE will never last as long as my zenoahs and US engines. Then again, I dont care what others think. I use what I use.
Edwin

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

No attack intended here, but this is not a blog. It is RCU, or Radio Control Universe. Specifically, it is a forum on RCU that is entitled "Gas Engines".

As one ages, time slips by ever faster. I'm 65, which is relatively young when compared to some of our esteemed colleagues. I understand that the speeding up of time increases as time progresses. Imagine how it must be for someone that is ten to fifteen years older than I.

The point being is that when one invests a good portion of their later years into learning a product, such as Zenoah engines, it is not wise to jump ship to some newer/cheaper product without investing a bit of time into makng such a judgement. Also, politically correct or not, some of our senior colleagues have fought against soldiers using Chinese produced technology in the distant past. That too can have an effect upon ones prejudices.


Ed Cregger

outacontrol41

My Feedback: (9)

The BETTER Chinese engines?.....[:-] [X(] surely you jest! When those cheap Chinese engines prove they can last as long as any Zenoah then we'll take your post more seriously. The cheap Chines engines that you claim are so superior are unproven and have a lot of problems. The DLE is the only one it seems that's worth paying for at this point ( I own a couple ). this post is opinion based and I disagree with poster. Each engine fills a niche in the RC market so what's the point of this post? Fugi failed because they had reliability issues and expensive replacement parts. Zenoah has no such problem....I predict it will stay.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

At my local flyng field the gas engine scene is overshadowed by DA engines. The next most common engine are a few DLE's, Then there are some Zenoah G-20's, BME, and Brisons that you see once and a while. There are not many glow engines because the local hobby shop wants nearly $30/gal for 10% glow fuel.

There's a few of those lessor Chinese engines that the members own but you don't see them at the flying field. There's some guys that visit the field a couple times a year with RCGF or DLA engines and they run OK but these people seem to specialize in these lessor brands?

The field where I belong has migrated to gas in more recent years so there's no old gas engines around. I have never seen a Quadra/US there. In different areas you will see different mixes of brands and sizes for it depends largely on the interest of a few local guys.

6 yrs ago I lived in another part of the country and there the engines were Zenoah, Quadra/US, & Brison in that order.

<u>Zenoah,</u>

The most recent innovation for Zenoah has been the G-20. A great engine but the AMP hungry electronic ignition over shadows it. Then DLE came out with their "20".

Zenoah has done a lot of work on their utility engines in the way of "Strato Charged" type engines. None of this has filtered down into the model scene.

The Zenoahs have been around for many years so there is a strong following. You will also see a lot of variation in them with after market changes like those that Ralph Cunningham does with his G62 lite engines. Keep an eye on the RCU market place and you will notice a wide variation of G-62 engine modifications. Even the Ralph Cunningham modified ones go back a number of years and you see an evolutionary variation in them also.

I have a G-62 and it is changed around from original with the early style short front hub and has CH ignition, with the latter Horizon straight pull carb mount block, etc.

To examine this G-62 and compare it with a DLE, you can instantly see the superior manufacturing precision compared with DLE though the DLE has a more modern layout which was more or less originally copied from DA 50. Yet the DA60 is far superior to a DLE - it costs more too.

pmerritt

My Feedback: (118)

All this proves is that everyone living in Normal, Illinois, ain't normal!</p>

on_your_six

My Feedback: (11)

The Fugi engines don't run... at least for me they did not run and left me with a couple of balsa puzzles.

On the other hand I have two Zenoah engines, they are old school and heavy in comparison to my two DLEs, but the Zenoah is a good choice for WWI and WWII scale warbirds that need the nose weight. A good solid engine or a Chinese engine and lead weight are the choices. Given those choices, I would go for the proven standard Zenoah. In my aerobatic planes, never a Zenoah... In a couple of years, my choice might change with more Chinese experience, who knows.

Let the engine choice fit the application. So you might be right, but the ZENOAH ENGINE DOES RUN GREAT...and they won't go away like something that cannot be trusted.

Antique

My Feedback: (4)

To all you disbelievers about the aerobatic capabilities of a G62..
Google Yuri Huguchi, look at the video of an airplane at a keg party in 2001...I have it on good authority that's a G62 in that plane, folks...
Doesn't hurt that Yuri is one of the best freestyle pilots on the planet

that said,28 lbs thrust on a 16 lb airplane does wonders

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The guy that I fly with all the time sold all his engines except a DL50, a DLE55, and a DA50.

- DL50 In July, he noticed the DL50 had slop in the crankshaft. We were thinking bad bearings? But it was the rear bearing pocket in the crankcase was wobbled out and too large. This engine is essentially low time and is the last DL50 version.

Last week, he had a minor landing accident with his Vision with the DA50.

- DLE55 So he got out the TOC Yak with the DLE 55 which only had probably 4 gal run through it. The DLE 55 wouldn't run right. It essentially started and quit when you gave it the throttle. We eventually got it to run by opening the needles but then it sounded like the ignition was missing. We substituted the ignition from my DLE 20 and The engine ran the same bad missing way. I got the idea that the reeds were bad and he just so happened to have a new reed block assembly on hand. That was it! He returned the needles to their original settings and the engine runs perfect. Why did the reeds go bad on an essentially new engine? It is the reed block itself is rough as the reeds are not cracked or frayed.

My point is that DLE, even though they are much better than the typical Chinese engines, still do not measure up to Zenoah, BME (Echo), Brison (Makita/Dolmar), and DA quality.

GerKonig

I think the OP must be a young 3D pilot where weight (or the lack there of) matters. Of course you have no clue about warbirds, zirolis, and never heard of Balsa USA (or owned one of these models) nor so many other models, like all WWI fighters. All these designs need weight in the nose, a lot of weight. so yes, we sill use a G62 with magneto, and Hell, we will not dream of making it lighter (are you out of your mind?) Not only do we like (need) them heavy, we add a spring starter, and also a motor mount (all metal). Why? We need weight under the cowling, not a lighter engine. On the other hand, all the new acro and 3D models are designed for lighter power plants.

To say that the market for the Zenoas will disappear is silly and completely misinformed at best.

Somebody called you a troll for the posting. I am just to nice a guy to say that, all I can say is live and learn I hope you have a lot of both ahead of you.

Gerry
PS: Said that, I always thought they were overpriced, and the Importer did rip us of for decades. Big time. But, hey, this is a market economy, where the rule of supply and remand rule.

rcdude7

My Feedback: (264)

The only problem is that there are so many thousands of zen 23's 38's and 62's out there flying already, as they last, and last, so long that most are probably crashed before they get a chance to wear out.


BTW, zenoah repair guys must be something like the old maytag repair guy. Except for a bent crank now and then, I never hear about how great zenoah repair is here in the gasser forum? Why is that? I know DA is good though, Har, har.


The DLE is a nice engine, but I don't think they will hurt zen sales enough to matter. Zenoah owners will always come back for more.

hotrodblazer

To add to this discussion ,I will inject that 90% of the gas helicopters have Zen's in them.The new 20 has stormed the gasser heli world.
Then bring in the boat guys and highly modded Zen's are setting records.
Zenoah is not in trouble,,thank you!

mbinkley

When im not flying RC im racing HPI baja b5s and zenoah is the best engine there! I went thue 3 CY engines a cheap zenoah nock off. Then bought the real thing a 4 bolt head Zenoah 2 years later it out runs all my buddys cars.

dasquirrelisme

My Feedback: (81)

All I am going to add is that my spark plug cap fits just fine on my zenoah.

Prop_Washer2

My Feedback: (26)

jmpups

My Feedback: (1)

We All Understand, Your Cheap, And know nothing about the quality of Zenoah, or anything else for that matter.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

No need to insult the other person. Doing so tells a lot more about you than it does the other person.

I still have my last NIB G23 (latest version) and my Cunningham modified G26 Lite. The G38, G45 and G62 engines have been long gone. I stopped flying the larger Zenoah engines because of their hefty weight, large bulk and high prices. Also, I backed away from larger models because of physical limitations. They sure are sweet engines, but I won't be flying any giant Focke Wulf 190s in the remainder of this lifetime, unless they are owned and maintained by someone else, which isn't likely.

The Zenoahs, BMEs, Brisons and DAs are a thing of the past for me. Certainly, I will miss them.


Ed Cregger

outacontrol41

My Feedback: (9)

Sorry to hear. Those engines are irreplaceable by anything else on the market today IMO.

Whistling Death

The only way I see Zenoah going by the waist side is because they last forever.
As long as there are scale planes and warbirds Zenoah will never go out of business.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

Well, I don't fly large, tail heavy scale models. Never did. I've always been interested in high performance/aerobatic flying. As power-to-weight ratios in models of all types have improved, I find myself moving toward ever smaller models. But only to a point. Diabetes and old age have taken their toll upon my vision, so I don't have to worry about my models shrinking much more than they have to date.

Anyway, I can still remember what it was like being very proud of my expensive gas engines. Have fun.


Ed Cregger

TimBle

famous last words....

Although they build good engine, no one is immune to a change in market requirements. In a recession buyers are price sensitive. Thats a powerful enough market force

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Well, a perfect example of what we are all talking about. My buddy with the DL50 emailed me this morning, it finally died this weekend. He's a 3D guy and was in a hover and fortunately pretty high when the engine just stopped, and he did a good dead stick. A wrist pin snap ring broke and the engine ate it. No compression, deep gouges in the cylinder wall and piston. He asked if it was worth fixing, I told him no, its disposable. I suspect he's gonna move on to a DA. He could have lost a fairly new plane. I suspect he had about 50 hours or so on it. He's had it for about 2 1/2 years. I'll find out shortly.
Edwin

Just heard back from him, only 60 hours.

jedijody

My Feedback: (1)

A complete new top end is less than $100, if you replaced the crankshaft and main bearings at the same time it would be less than $150. Would be worth it for my economics.</p>