The "F....." word

Please forgive a foreign modellers ignorance,but I have always been
intrigued by the total lack of reference to the FORSTER range of C/L
motors. Looking back at old 1950's magazines,I see that they seemed to be a quality made engine,if a little expensive. In a 1956 M.A.N.
the designer of the beautiful AMCO 3.5 BB (then the engine tester)
gave the FORSTER 35 a glowing report,even though no performance
figures were quoted. I have never seen any mention of FORSTER's
actually being used by aeromodellers,anywhere in the world! Was there
a reason for this,or am I just being paranoid? I note also that,any
time a FORSTER engine comes up on eBay,the buyers stay away in droves.

There was an article or two in Stunt News about them a couple of years ago, in the Sport Flying column. Never exposed to them, myself, but when the McCoy Stunt(?) and Fox .35 Stunt outpowered them, I think the price was a bit much. Old design, much like the O&R, they just went away. I think the eBuy prices are fueled by nostalgia, and not many of us ever used, or were exposed to, Forsters. Thus no nostalgia, no uncontrolable urge to posess. Steve

No, Bob, there have been Forster threads here and at Flightlines, and, most noteably, at the old Indy Forum. Also, Stunt News has had articles on Forster. I am not a Forster expert, but I recall a number of contributors arguing that one of the last models was about as strong as a Fox. There was a repro one offered a few years ago, which some Clers actually used on their OTS ships. I think a few show up in Tuscon every year too.

Well, Bob Gialdini of Olympic, Sting Ray, Eclipse fame talked about using the Foresters quite a bit on his early planes.
Bill <><

I had a Forester in my first Ares. Bad move. Switched to a Fox .35, much better. The problem was I was trying to run in 4/2/4 and it will not do this. Gialdini mentioned in an interview that he ran his strictly in pure 2 cycle for the power. Ahead of his time. Interesting fact, Duke made the lugs and holes so the Fox would drop right into a plane that had a Forester in it.

Hi Bob,
I think the primary reason the Forster engine is "dissed" so much is that folks tried to make them run like a Fox, and it can't. The Forster was originally an ignition design, and must be run in a strictly 2-stroke mode. In a 4-stroke, there is absolutely no power!

RJL still offers the .29 and .35, although they only make a few at a time and the engine is currently out of stock.

http://mecoa.com/vintage/index1.htm#forster

I ordered one four years ago for an All American Sr, and though it took a year for delivery, the engine was perfect for the model. As said above it likes a constant 2 cycle run, but is light for it's power. The repro engines from RJL are actually produced from the factory dies, and are indistinguishable from original engines. Mine even came in an original Forster box with the old instruction and price sheet!

I have two Forster .31's. One is not broken-in, the other is like new (from ebay ). Not sure if .29 or .35 parts will fit. May be up a creek when they die or break.
I understood that the later .35's were a little stronger than the Fox .35 but I have not compared them.
Mine are well made ringed engines.
I have been outbid (and sniped!) several times on ebay for Forsters.

I have an RJL Forster 29 front rotor valve spark ignition motor. It is very nicely made, and runs well. Of course, one cannot compare the Forster with any other engine. If you want a glo stunt motor, buy a Fox. If you want a really nice Old Tyme Free Flight ignition motor, then the Forster is just fine.