Brodak .25. How good are they?

[frank mccune]

     How good is the Brodak .25 for sport C/L flying?  How does it compare with a Fox, Enya,  O.S.and Norvel engines?
                                                                                                                            Tia,

                                                                                                                            Frank

[peabody]

The Brodak has a little "softer" run than an LA 25......and much more so than the Norvel.
I thought mine was terrific...used a 9 X 4 APC and found the characteristics similar to the OS 20

Have fun!

[Balsa Butcher]

Dominant engine in Super Slow Rat after oversized venturi is installed. For sport flying, probably not necessary.

[john e. holliday]

They make great little engines if broken in right and put on the right planes.

[Mike Greb]

I think with a stock venturi they are choked down a little bit.    Also, they are made with the clearances on the low side, some take a while for the lower end to free up.  I had one that seemed to be a bit substandard, and after about two or three old time stunt contests it started to come around.  It really ran good when I ran 30% nitro helicopter fuel in it.

[Mike Griffin]

In past years I used them on my Ringmasters and they did great.  No complaints...

Mike

[scott matthews]

I have a B25 on a Brodak  magican and it runs really well with a 9x5 prop. I broke it in per instructions with lots of short heat cycles. What I find nice about this engine verses the LA 25 is that the lap time is a little slower and it gives you a little more reaction time to work on your stunts. I use Sigs 10% champion fuel for my best runs ,  I tried the recommended amount of adding castor to bring the amount up to 22% as suggested on this site but it just seems to bog my engine down. This may shorten its life a little but then I will just have to get an other one.

[Dan McEntee]

  Do a search here under my name and look for several threads about my experiences with them. Mine didn't have the power to pull your hat off your head at first. Tom Hampshire set me up with a modified exhaust that is opened up to breath better. The stock exhaust is pretty restrictive. It is the same muffler as the .40 but still was restrictive. I tried the new muffler on a Brodak .40 and it had a break like it was shot out of a cannon, but would always settl;e back down. I just went bak to the stock muffler on the .40. The .25 in my opinion is OK but not as desirable as the OS LA.25 because of availability of the engines and parts. If I have a choice, I would go OS LA.25 unless you get a smoking good deal on the Brodak .25, but be ready to have to work with it just a bit.
   Type at you later,
     Dan McEntee

[Bill Little]

I do not own one, just speaking of things heard from some knowledgeable people.  It seems to be a bit down on power compared to the OS .25 LA or FP.  In the designing of the engine it seems to have been to give a more traditional, close to a 4-2 style run versus the OS (and others) run in the high rpm/low pitch mode.

They are well made engines and work fine when, as said, they are matched up well with a model of correct size and weight.

BIG Bear

[Dennis Moritz]

For a while it looked like the B25 was the power champ in Foxberg. LA25, Fox 35, B25 where the engines typically flown in that event.

[Phil Spillman]

Hi Frank, Break in your B-25 as instructed and once you get 30 runs or so on it add another head gasket and enjoy a superior running engine for smaller ships like the Sterling series and the Super Clown or a Barnstormer. Mine run well with 9 X 5's, 9 X 4's and 10 X 4's. You will enjoy very much.