Russell Duffy wrote:
Dick wasn't excited about the engine choice I made with his liable hat
on. But off the record he told me that Tracy Crook was on to something
and that he enjoyed flying a rotary powered motor glider. He just couldn't
condone it with his agreement with the Lycosaurus people in his back pocket.
I understood. He said that he didn't want to have my aircraft associated
with his line of Kits. Well I told him that I wouldn't call it an RV-6.
That's
interesting Doug. I've never known Van's to care about what engine
you use, but maybe that has all changed since you went through this.
They were only too happy to sell me parts, including a new set of gear
legs that were shipped directly to Fred, for use on the rotary engine mount.
Everyone I talked to at Van's seemed interested in the rotary engine, but
maybe just because it wasn't the same old conversation they had with builders
all day.
One
thing you might want to consider is insurance. It's hard enough to
get for a rotary engine plane that's on the insurance list of approved
models, but when you present them with a one-off model name, you may be
out of luck. I wouldn't personally change the name just because you
changed the engine. It's still an RV-6 unless you made some major
structural changes.
I've
been in insurance hell for the last week or so. Avemco is the only
company who will insure the single rotor powered Kolb Slingshot, but their
crappy $100k sub-limits won't satisfy the county's $300k hanger lease requirement.
Some companies will happily insure the engine, but they don't insure light
pusher type planes like the Kolb. Other companies are happy to insure
the Kolb, but not with a one-off engine. I'm going to ask some questions
about "premise" coverage today, and then decide it it's worth having two
policies for close to $2k per year, just to put the single rotor on the
Kolb. With the HKS, I can get one better policy, and only pay about
$500/yr. I could easily insure the single rotor on something like
a Zenith CH601XL. Just maddening.
Cheers,
Rusty
(Philip's loves conference calls, off to one now)
Hey Rusty, those were the exact sentiments 6 years ago, Of coarse
things change. Dick was adamant back then. My RV is in the long build process.
I started this project in the early 90's unfortunately. The insurance companies
changed their mind on insuring alternative engines just after the Turbine
homebuilts came out.
My hangar tenant has a Lancair IVP with a Walther 601 Turbine in it.
I am very aware of the insurance industry. I have been flying it for sometime
and all knowing that a $900K homebuilt couldn't be insured till the rules
changed again last year. Now at least the owner has liability now. Business
always changes for customer demand or when the customer changes their mind.
A good example is Boeing.
As for your single Kolb policy concerns and airport insurance requirements,
I have a question. Is the Kolb a US registered aircraft?
If it is, than is easy. Just get a letter from Avemco stating the policy
availability and that those are the available limits and submit it to the
Counties airport authority. The County cannot deny you hangar because of
lack of coverage. Especially if it receives federal funding through the
AIP. I am very familiar with these type of regs as I have gone through
this at my local airport (61B) Boulder City, Nevada. Please contact me
off newsletter at rotaryrx6@cox.net if you have more questions. Thanks,
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