A while ago one of the UK columnists wrote that there was no such thing as a bad engine these days. I took issue with him on this (think of a certain Russian engine). He stuck to his assertion and was very dismissive of my view, so I wrote to Brian Winch concerning the matter.

I received a long detailed reply from Brian, the essence of which was that there were some shocking engines on the market. What he told me was that, due to the legal position, rather than publish the truth he would publish nothing at all. This means that if you read an engine review by him, you can be sure that he considers it to be a good engine.

Which brings me to the question of why was I stupid enough to buy a cheap engine in the first place? OK, I saved a few quid, but was forever having to repair my trusty Galaxy Domino biplane due to the engine stopping at inconvenient moments – it had a glide like a brick. I’m not going to make the same mistake again. With so many ‘good’ engines about – Super Tigre, Irvine, Saito and OS (with a couple of dodgy exceptions) spring to mind but there are others - what’s the point of saving twenty quid and buying a dog? I certainly shan’t – ever again.

Another of my hobbyhorses, why do we see so few Lasers at the site? They are good quiet engines, run on cheap no-nitro fuel, they’re British and appear to last forever. They might cost a bit more than the Japanese equivalent, but you’ll save that over the years with the lower cost of fuel and not having them wear out. If you should have any trouble Neil Tidey is always available at the end of the phone to sort it out. It doesn’t have to go back to Japan! My 70 has now run for over sixty hours is totally reliable and always starts first time. Little Toot with an inverted Laser 80 has survived for four years. This is because the engine has never stopped in the air. I bought a Laser 100 because it is supposed to be very quiet on a big prop. It is, and it ticks over like a Swiss Watch. I like Lasers so much that I am negotiating to buy an old 45 to power a grandson trainer – if we ever get the weather to do any training that is. So, next time you are cursing your cheap Chinese bargain, think about it – chuck it in the bin and buy something decent!

John Miller