First run and flight with my DLE-60 twin!

Who likes new engines? THIS GUY!!! Valley View RC recently received 3 awesome new engines from DLE and I'm finally getting a chance to give them all a run.  The DLE-35ra has been an awesome engine so far so thought I'd give the DLE-60 twin a try. Only problem is that at 10 3/4" from cap to cap it's too big for most 50cc planes on the market. In the quest to just get this engine bolted up to anything and see how it flies, we paired it up with the 75cc Aeroworks Extra 260. At a 96" w.s. and roughly 20# it's definitely larger than the intended application but figured if I kept it light and simple I could be a nice setup. When it was all done I got lucky and didn't have to add weight and somehow got CG within the recommended range.

  

After it was all bolted up it was time to let her rip! I tried a 23x8 and 24x8 Xoar prop and had amazing results with both! Low idle was still smooth at around 1400 with both props and high was around 7k with the 23x8. The 24x8 swung around 6500 but didn't touch the needles, could have probably tuned more out of it, but for the first 10 minutes of run time I'm thoroughly impressed! BTW the ignition on the 60 has the 90 deg caps and saw no interference issues.

  

After one big final push I finally got the big bird wrapped up and ready for the maiden. With the cowl on I had to richen both needles almost half a turn but apparently they needed it. Low idle could have remained the same but I set it at a 1700rpm flight idle just in case. At that speed it ticks like a swiss clock! Definitely smoother than a 55 at the same rpm's and has a unique purr to it like it's on cans? I logged 5 10 minute flights today and they each got better and better. Due to the size and weight of the plane power felt just right, a lot like a 42%'r on a 150 rather than a 170. Throttle was snappy in all attitudes and the motor pulled it out of heavily loaded turns with ease. Once I knew she was running like a champ I hung on the prop just above half throttle and pulled straight up til eventually it was a speck in the sky! Wasn't ballistic like a DA-60 but for a twin it was as smooth and graceful as you could hope. Sun went down quick but had a buddy snap just a quick vid of the sunset flight.

Is it another great DLE, YES! Would it be great on a 50cc plane, HELL YEAH! Is it great on a 85cc plane, YOU BET! (as long as you aren't looking for rag doll performance.) Looking forward to putting more time in on her and getting her broken in ASAP so I can swing the bigger wood!