The Engine Shop
The main culprit is inflation. That's raised the cost of just about everything in modeling, except for radio control equipment. But there's a paradox at work here. The "engine price picture" isn't quite as it appears to be on the surface. It isn't so much that small-engine prices have gone up; it's that larger-engine costs have dropped quite a bit, and narrowed the gap between the prices of 1/2A-sized engines and those of their "bigger brothers." That shouldn't be surprising, however. Regardless of size, just about all two-stroke model airplane engines contain approximately the same number of parts. For example, two of my favorite engines-the PAW .03 RC diesel and K&B's .45 Sportster-retailed for about the same price. There's an immense difference in their sizes, but the K&B contains more parts, only because of the several screws that hold it together, plus its muffler. (The little PAW's cylinder and backplate thread into its crankcase.)
