I'm picking up a Brodak Smoothie for my son for Christmas, and I am looking for some engine recommendations. Was the Smoothie designed for the Fox 35? Or would something else work better?
Thanks
Tom in NEPA

         Hello Tom, one of my club members flies a Smoothie using the Fox.35 and it flies remarkably well. I'm a big Fox fan to begin with but I noted how smooth it ran in this plane. Over this past summer at a few of the contests , a young flyer coached by his father was using a OS MAx-s.35 in their Smoothie. It surely ran very well. One thing I need to add here though. In the case of either engine is the castor mess they both produce. This will cause the covering to surely come off. Precautions are extremely necessary to avoid this. The Brodak .40 would certainly be a less messy engine but will do the same if the precautions aren't taken. Sealing the seams is a must and I've seen some of their planes scuffed and painted with clear in the nose area with some of the overlaps gone over with dope of the same color as the covering. Ken

Tom,
If you plan on using the 40, I would look into finding a tongue muffler for it as it weighs quite a bit more than the 35 Stunt.  You may have to tweak the gear a bit to get some ground clearance as well for the larger propeller.
John

Thanks all, sorry I think I may have confused you. I only meant that I was very happy with the Fox 40, but I will be using the 35 for the Smoothie.
Thanks again,
Tom in NEPA

To answer the question in the strict sense, no, the Smoothie was "designed" for a Veco engine because that's who was supplying engines for Bob Palmer in those days, up through the T-Bird era. But a more useful answer is, use a modern reliable engine that runs smooth and burns fuel with synthetic/castor mix that doesn't make such a gawdawful mess on the plane. The extremely short snout on the Fox also mandates a very far forward mounting position, not the best idea.

I built a Brodak kit Smoothie and also an ARF Smoothie, with an LA40 in both. An even better choice is the LA46, which seems to produce a better stunt run than the 40 (and is still available new, which the 40 is not). The rather compact Enya 40 (new design version) would be a good choice. An APC 11.5-4 is a good prop choice and gives a bit more ground clearance than the 12.25-3.75 that also works very will. If you can get your hands on one, a Brodak 40 would be a really great motor, light and reliable. May be available used or by posting on this forum that you want one.

The Smoothie is a great-flying design and is good in windy conditions. Legal in OTS, Classic, and modern.

Hi all, mine will be pulled by a recently run nin Merco 35 Red Head.......the old British Bulldog......

Just another different option.

Kind regards from Spain.

Manuel

Hi all, mine will be pulled by a recently run nin Merco 35 Red Head.......the old British Bulldog......

Just another different option.

Kind regards from Spain.

Manuel

You have a 'recently' run in red head? You lucky, lucky devil!

You have a 'recently' run in red head? You lucky, lucky devil!

I have a Red Head Merco .35 that needs running in.   Plus a new sleeve/piston.....  Gonna build Ken Taylor's Centuar from 1956.  It looks much newer than that! (plus it's an upright engine)

Bill