Webra goes bust

[trillian]

I was just reading that Webra has ceased trading. On the one hand it's always sad to see another brand go but are there any Webra heli engines that have the performance / reliability of OS, YS etc?

I have an old Webra aero engine I have never used for anything and my memory of them from years ago was that they were considered a high quality engine. But I rarely hear anything about them these days so it doesn't seem like they're still making a competitive engine, at least not for helis anyway.

[Pitman]

WesternUK sold / used to sell them - hot news

Way back when, my first exposure to R/C models was boat racing. Webra in those days were a real force to be reckoned with in high performance marine engines. Agreed it is always sad to see another old name go

[Bart101]

alays

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[Pitman]

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[Lad]

WesternUK sold / used to sell them - hot news

Way back when, my first exposure to R/C models was boat racing. Webra in those days were a real force to be reconned with in high performance marine engines. Agreed it is always sad to see another old name go

Same here Dave ~ I raced RC boats 25 years ago, we also used Webra engines and they went like stink (can’t remember ever changing a rear bearing or piston ring either…)

The other brand we used was HP with similar results ~ Shame to see another old favourite go…

[pchristy]

Back in 1967, I bought a Webra 61 for the princely sum of £16. All my mates said I was mad, as I could have bought a Merco 61 (THE engine of the time) for £12!

They quickly shut up the first time they heard it run! It was - and still is - awesome!

I still have that engine, in good running order, some 44 years on! A couple of years later, I bought a Webra 61 Blackhead - the updated and improved version. I still have that too, and it hauled a 5 ft span biplane around like a pylon racer on a 13x6 prop!

Shortly after these magnificent engines, they moved production to Austria (the so-called Austro-Webras), and at that time reliability took a dive! They were never as good after the move, although they were considerably more powerful!

The cross-flow Webra 61 lived on for a while as the HB61 (made in Germany again) as used in the early Graupner Bell 212. Nearly all the internals are interchangeable between the HB and Webras. The smaller HB25 became THE engine for Larks and other small helis. I still have one of those in a Lark too, and it can still blow the socks off more modern engines!

I suspect that Webra's problems came about through lack of investment. When they brought out the Schnuerle-ported Austro-Webras, the power increase was matched only by the corresponding decrease in reliability! Broken cranks were common place! They never seemed to recover from that, and certainly were never developed to the same level that OS and YS managed.

A great shame though, that another of the "big names" has gone to the wall.

[NEAGRON]

I had a Webra AAR52 in a Moskito XXL and it ran perfectly,the one to ask about webra's is Bob J I am sure he ran them in his Milleniums and they where never short of power.
Marty.

[Britflyer]

I ran the Webra 91 AAR in my Milleniums. Hatori 700 Tune Pipe. 15% Coolpower. It was the 'hot setup' 6-7 years ago.

At that time nearly everyone used to use tuned pipe setups and the Webra's were quite popular.

But with the change to high nitro and mufflers, Webras kinda disappeared off the Heli Scene.

Shame really, I really like my 91 AAR, once I got it tuned right!


Paul

[BobJ]

Who? Me? :-)

They made some good engines but never quite got there with the consistency, there would be always something on a engine which would let you down before it should.
I don't know how many engines Robbe UK must have had to repair or replace under warrentee but I bet it was higher than optimal.

Cheers
Bob

I had a Webra AAR52 in a Moskito XXL and it ran perfectly,the one to ask about webra's is Bob J I am sure he ran them in his Milleniums and they where never short of power.
Marty.

[Steve]

25 years ago I had a Webra Speed 40 plane engine with the Dynamix carb - the one with the sliding (not rotating) throttle. It went like stink on a tuned pipe and pulled many of my planes at good speeds for many years. As I remember in those days, the Webra was always up against the Rossi in the power stakes with the Rossi eventually coming out on top.

Sad news.

[alfred]

25 years ago I had a Webra Speed 40 plane engine with the Dynamix carb - the one with the sliding (not rotating) throttle. It went like stink on a tuned pipe and pulled many of my planes at good speeds for many years. As I remember in those days, the Webra was always up against the Rossi in the power stakes with the Rossi eventually coming out on top.

Sad news.

yep
When I still lived in West Germany, we flew 10ccm(61) Pattern planes.
The two best brands to have were the Webra or the Rossi.
The most thought after (if you could afford it) were the rear exhaust engines with tune pipe, where the pipe was mounted in the top back of the fuselarge (engine standing up) and exiting via an extension hose at the bottom rear.
The Webras were one of the best aero engines you could get, but the Dynamixs carb was a pain in the a$$ as it used to spew out fuel through the throat and used a lot more fuel.
We replaced them with the traditional 2 needle barrel carb and the engine was a gem.
Once Webra moved to Austria, they turned rubbish.
The last time I ran into a Webra was when they brought out a 32 or 36 heli engine and despite that it made heaps of power, lots of people had crankshaft breakages right at the start of the threaded part.