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Marv:
Do I inderstand that you are using a Mazda engine in your airplane?
Since i found that exhaust valves for an O290 cost $290.00 and a magneto
drive gear costs $486.00 I think it is time to abandon Lycoming and
Continental.
I am considering a Mazda for my 235.
Where did you get your engine mount and what prop are you using?
Hank - San Mateo, Ca. LNC2
[Hank, early on in my project I too looked at not only the purchase cost
of a certified powerplant, but the attendant maintenance costs that I would
have to look forward to and decided that there had to be a better way.
(Please remember, the costs attendant with engineering and the bringing to
fruition of an alternative powerplant can outweigh the cost of the recommended
certified engine... ask Brent Regan, he had some very insightful comments
to share in this regard back when the subject first came up.) Anyway, I
started looking around for an alternate engine for my kit and after
assessing the various engine choices available at the time, the decision to
go with a Mazda rotary seemed the most logical to me. Tracy Crook was doing
quite a bit of pioneering work with this engine in his RV4, Dave Atkins in
Puyallup, WA had one in an RV6 and was offering new engines at a reasonable
price, Neil Kruiswyck was already flying one in his Lancair 235, and
since then I've found quite a number of people who are also installing these
engines in their various aircraft.
Given the operating regime that an
alternative powerplant would be subjected to, and considering that
the average automobile engine out there is really only designed to
deliver full HP in short bursts, it seemed to me that asking a recip engine
to run non-stop at 5000-6000 RPMs (as opposed to the 2500-3000 required
to power a vehicle down the highway at a sustained 75mph, maybe 40HP) was
too much and so the rotary seemed the only logical choice. Its reliability is
legendary, its fuel burn is really no more than what one sees from a
similarly horsepowered aircraft engine, it has no exhaust valves to burn
up, the apex seals are the only parts that stop and change directions
thousands of times each minute but present materials technologies have
taken the worry out of them, it weighs less than a Lycoming, its cooling
requirements are actually managable in an airframe installation, and the
three main moving parts that is does have are built like tank components,
with none of them ever having failed in service.
But enough proselytizing <g>, to answer your question, I built my own
mount, and if someone ever comes up with a viable cuff for the root ends
of the blades to eliminate the hi-speed drag-wall that current IVO-
props seem to be hitting, I'm planning on an electrically inflight-adustable
IVOProp Magnum for my project. Needless to say, if you'd like more
info about mounting a Mazda rotary in your airplane, I'd be happy to welcome
you to participate in another mail list I started about a year ago that's
devoted to just that subject. You can subscribe to it at:
http://olsusa.com/guest/RemoteListSummary/PlugsUP
Neil is pretty much the guru there, although we have quite an intelligent
group that is always pleased to help other list members bring their
installations to fruition. Feel free to contact me via private email
anytime as well. I hope this helps. <Marv> ]
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LML website: http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html
Builders' Bookstore: http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair
Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.
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