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 ...

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 Work (physics), 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 (locomotive), cyl ...

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 ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

-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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 In a diesel engine, a glow plug (also spelled glowplug) is a heating device used to aid starting of the engine in cold weather. This device is a pencil-shaped piece of metal with an electric heating element at the tip. A glowplug system consis ...

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 A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed s ...

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 power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

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 Radial is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Mathematics and Direction * Vector (geometric), a line * Radius, adjective form of * Radial distance (geometry), a directional coordinate in a polar coordinate system * Radial set * A ...

. 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

glow plugs In a diesel engine, a glow plug (also spelled glowplug) is a heating device used to aid starting of the engine in cold weather. This device is a pencil-shaped piece of metal with an electric heating element at the tip. A glowplug system consis ...

exhaust Exhaust, exhaustive, or exhaustion may refer to: Law * Exhaustion of intellectual property rights, limits to intellectual property rights in patent and copyright law ** Exhaustion doctrine, in patent law ** Exhaustion doctrine under U.S. law, i ...

muffler A muffler (North American and Australian English) or silencer (British English) is a device for reducing the noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine—especially a noise-deadening device forming part of the exhaust syst ...

s and

air filter A particulate air filter is a device composed of fibrous, or porous materials which removes particulates such as smoke, dust, pollen, mold, viruses and bacteria from the air. Filters containing an adsorbent or catalyst such as charcoal (carbo ...

s. 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 Rope start (also called ripcord , ''pull start'', or ''rewind start'') is a method of starting an internal combustion engine, usually on small machines, such as lawn mowers, chainsaws, grass trimmers, ultralight aircraft, small outboard mo ...

. O.S. Engines' main competitor for both two- and four-stroke model engines is

Yamada Engines 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 ...

(YS), also designed and produced in Japan, with the

Saito Seisakusho 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 (model aircraft), free flight, control line aircraft, or ground-running tether c ...

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, but has stopped production on 31st March, 2021.

References

{{Reflist

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