IT ALL BEGAN
The first .30 with
the ‘antler’ rocker
assembly. A popular
engine that ran at
very high RPM.
The Mark 2 Saito .30
- forerunner of all
following engines
that had not much
more than rocker
covers fitted.
Get it right first time.
Gen Saito (dec.) was the founder of the Saito company in the late 40’s when he experimented with steam engines that bore a remarkable resemblance to some later internal combustion engines he manufactured. I consider that these steam engine styles
led to the style of some of the first internal combustion engines he produced, namely
the .80 and.90 horizontal twins - no resemblance to later Saito engines. As radio control
for model aircraft was extremely rare and rather crude in those early days, he appears
to have concentrated on i.c. engines suitable for model boats as a large free flight aircraft could have presented problems due to a lack of suitably large open areas. One of
his first production engines, the DA-63 in 1953 was a two stroke petrol engine with a
rear fan in a shroud (the engine was not water cooled) and a considerable sized flywheel
on the crankshaft. This engine had a left hand exhaust manifold (looking from the rear)
which was swapped over to the right hand side in 1956 when he produced an almost
identical engine, the DB-63 with glow plug ignition. In 1975 he produced the G-60FV
two stroke with an R/C controlled carburettor that appears to have been suitable for aircraft. Between 1976 and 1980 he produced another two marine engines, the G-60WRV
(rear intake) and the G-60WFV (front intake) and both of these were petrol engines.
The dedicated aircraft engines - four stroke - first appeared in 1979 and that was the
open rocker FA-30 with the ‘antlers’, so described due to the long rockers brackets on
top of the engine as can be seen in the photo. The Mark 2 version had a much lower
rocker assembly with the new style rockers that with the rest of the general engine design, set the pattern for many years to come as the style for all Saito engines with the
only variation being the rocker covers for enclosed rocker assemblies.
The design remained unchanged until after the passing of Gen Saito when Ken
Saito (current CEO) took over the reigns. The first new style was the FA-100 with a
less complex design for the lower maincase and the familiar high domed cam case
cover gave way to an integral cam box with a low profile top cover incorporating the
cam follower bushes and internal pillars for the camshaft. There was a very mild cosmetic change on the FA-125 where the front web of the cam box gave way to a rounded
section and the side web to two pseudo ribs in the form of cast in slots. The only departure from the almost standard design was the two gems - the FA-60T and FA-90T.
The only parts on these engine to suggest ‘Saito’ marque are the familiar rubber boots
on the pushrod covers - other than those, there is nothing to identify the engine as
Saito other than the actual performance of the engines - easy starting, very smooth
operation and a magnificent exhaust sound. If you haven’t seen or used one of these
twins you are really missing out on a pleasant experience. Every owner of one I know
has nothing but the highest praise for them for both the running qualities and the scale
type appearance.
The first radial produced was the (still current) FA-325R5D - a 5 cylinder radial of
53.1cc displacement. Many of these engines are in use worldwide and, to the onlooker,
the sound of them running is pure music. Another aspect of their appeal is the way
they can be startednothing more than a mere touch of the propeller has them humming
their fine song. When you consider the 20 inch propeller is to suit the 53cc capacity, its
flywheel motion spins the engine over on starting quite smoothly and one, at least,
cylinder will always catch (fire) having the engine up and running instantly. Obviously
an engine of this style is more expensive than a common style sport engine, but the
appeal of round engines is quite apparent amongst modellers in general, so the lower
cost 3 cylinder radials were produced. With these we have a range of sizes (capacities)
to suit most needs. Obviously, there is a limit to the minimum size of a practical radial
Ken Anderson (CEO of The Hobby Headquarters), Gen Saito
(CEO of Saito Seisakusho) and Mr Sakaguchi (Export Manager) enjoying a
Japanese lunch in the factory at Chiba-Ken. The full size Pratt & Whitney
R2800 at the far end was the basis for the design of all Saito engines.
Ken Anderson and Mr Sakaguchi in late 1980 watching the
assembly of one of the first 5 cylinder radial engines. After assembly it was
taken to the test run shed, fired up, tuned to 7,500 RPM and left to run which it
continued to do until the fuel tank ran dry.
Airborne
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