O.S. Engines is a Japanese

model engine A model engine is a small internal combustion engine typically used to power a radio-controlled aircraft, radio-controlled car, radio-controlled boat, free flight, control line aircraft, or ground-running tether car model. Because of the squ ...

manufacturer. The company was founded in 1936 by machinist Shigeo Ogawa ("Ogawa Shigeo" in the Japanese surname-first tradition) for the production of model

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

s. The name of the firm could have either originated from the traditional Japanese family-name-first tradition being the source of the "OS" name, or from the firm's actual Japanese name, "Ogawa Seisakusho". At the suggestion of American buyer Paul Houghton, Ogawa tooled up for his first

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

-powered engine, the 1.6 cc O.S. Type-1 of which 200 units were produced and exported under the brand name, "Pixie." After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Ogawa Seisakusho expanded to produce the MAX line of engines, which won acclaim for their performance and durability. In 1976, OS pioneered the field of modern four-stroke

glow plug A glowplug (alternatively spelled as glow plug or glow-plug) is a heating device used to aid in starting diesel engines. In cold weather, high-speed diesel engines can be difficult to start because the mass of the cylinder block and cylinder he ...

ignition model engines with the "FS-60" 10 cm³ displacement exposed valve gear engine, and has been one of the top producers of four-stroke glow-plug-ignition model engines worldwide ever since. O.S. Engines produces a much larger line of engines that included the only available Wankel rotary aircraft engine], which was first introduced in 1970, in cooperation with Graupner (company), Graupner of Germany. Since Graupner's demise in 2012, O.S. continued to makes this 4.9 cm³ displacement engine on their own, still under license from NSU. The 1980s brought increasing competition, which increased across the 1990s and into the 21st century. O.S. is now a leading manufacturer of single- and multi-cylinder model aircraft engines ranging from the small .10 LA

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

to the FF-320

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

"giant-scale" flat four-cylinder and the FR7-420 Sirius7 7-Cylinder Radial Engine "giant-scale" radial. O.S. engines in current production include the .21 TM, the .18 TZ, the .46 AX and many others. O.S. also makes required accessories for their engines including

s, exhausts/ mufflers and air filters. O.S. has also extended their expertise to model cars, offering many reliable and powerful engines for these vehicles. Typical engines include OS 18 CV-R and OS 30VG. Four-strokes include FS26-C-S (0.26 ci displacement, meant to replace 0.12-0.15 two-strokes) and FS40-C-S (0.40 ci displacement, meant to replace 0.21-and-up two-strokes), with an updated FS26-C-S II currently out of production. It is very easy to decode some facts from the engine name. In the above-mentioned four-stroke models, the C means car. This is to avoid confusing them with the aircraft engines they are based on. Additionally, an X in the name denotes a recoil start. O.S. Engines' main competitor for both two- and four-stroke model engines is Yamada Engines (YS), also designed and produced in Japan, with the Saito Seisakusho firm being a stronger rival than the YS firm, in volume production of popular four-stroke model engines. O.S. has also produced model steam locomotives.

References

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External links

O.S. Engines Mfg. Co. Ltd. Japan.
(in English)
O.S Engines Home PageSaito EnginesTechnopower Engines
Radial Engines

Wankel engines Engineering companies of Japan Japanese brands Radio control Model engines

See also

References

External links