Bill;
With
all due respect; I don’t disagree with what you’re saying here, but
I do take offense at you calling Tracy, myself, and others “idiots”
because we have chosen to run without an air filter. My intake is in
front of the prop and above the wing strake. Anyway, why climb on that
issue? There has not been a single aircraft incident that I am aware of
that has resulted from not using an air filter. Let’s pick an issue
which has caused a failure.
I
won’t argue that running without a filter may reduce the engine life; and
I may consider one later. And yes, the engine would eventually fail;
every engine will – filter or no filter - if you run it long enough.
Al
(I guess it’s past my bedtime)
Rusty,
and Group,
I
understand your comments Rusty, and think you are both right and wrong. I
believe it is easier, for most people, to be successful with a standard
aircraft engine. I DO NOT believe this is because the Lyc, Conti, or whatever
is inherently more reliable. I do believe that the ancillaries are better
developed for "conventional" aircraft engines.
Because
we [FlyRotary or ACRE] are rotary enthusiasts we hear about EVERY rotary problem. If we
heard about every Lyc problem caused on a daily basis we might never fly spam
again! I am not trying to offer so anecdote to soothe the rotary faithful, as all
failures are just that, failures. I would remind everyone that ALL Lyc installs
in certified aircraft now come with AIR FILTERS!
I'LL
SAY THIS FLAT OUT, IF YOU DON'T RUN A FILTER YOU WILL HAVE A FAILURE! I don't
care if your running a conventional aircraft engine or conversion. Running
unfiltered is simple idiocy.
It
should also be said that for Lycoming to be having crankshaft failures, and a
significant number of them to initiate an AD is not only sad but smacks of
reckless disregard. So saying that the aircooled aircraft engine is super
reliable is simply setting yourself up for a fall. If you look at the
statistics most of the engine failures are "certified" engines simply
because there are more of them!
ANY
ENGINE properly maintained and not operated outside it's normal limits will
work just fine thank you, provided it is not a deficient design to begin with.
The rotary requires a GOOD water and oil cooling system. If you aren't willing
to work on that, stop now and don't hurt the reputation of the rest of us and
go buy a Lycoming. The rewards for a GOOD installation are many but won't
"just happen." As Tracy said you must go in with the knowledge of the needed systems or
you will fail. If you do slipshod work, Rotary or Lycoming, YOU WILL FAIL. Someone
put the old saying on the site, "How do you eat an elephant?"
"One bite at a time!" This is the proper way of looking at the jobs
needed to be successful. You MUST do all the jobs. (eat every bite) And most
importantly you must do all the jobs well. Safety wire everything even though
it's a pain in the ass. If you can't do all the jobs yourself it's no crime.
Get HELP! Buy the redrive from Tracy. Or buy from Mistral, or buy them from Marcotte. Build your
system up and test it on the ground. If you overheat your system on the ground
don't assume it will be better in the air! (It might be, but also might not
be!) Plan for an adequate sized radiator. That would be a MINIMUM of 2 cubic
inches pre HP, and that only if you have PERFECT ducting. (3 c.i. per HP would
be a safer bet) Don't expect you are the miracle guy that can change physics
for your own project. Rusty has brought up some good points in pointing
out that if you want to fly soonest buy conventional. Bernie, you can probably
rebuild your system from all new parts for less than the cost of two Lyc
cylinders. As an older guy facing family pressures I can understand how you
might not want to though. This is no crime. Your needs are your own, though I
would prefer to see you go back to the rotary and succeed. We all need to go in
with our eyes open. When setting up race cars and motorcycles I would look at
every part from the stand point what will happen if this part breaks? If the
result would be a crash I would redesign the part until I was SURE it wouldn't
break. If you don't think a part is adequate DON'T USE IT! Your responsibility
is to find a part that IS good enough. Don't just hope that everything will be
OK. Work it out. Run your system enough to be sure of it in the
air. I hope everyone takes this in the spirit intended which is to
have us all come home safe.