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Posted for "Douglas Pohl"

At this point in time, I believe the engine is as reliable as others
currently
sold in the aviation market, including Continentals and Lycomings.


Well I didn't want to get into the middle of this the last time it came up
on the list, but feel statements such as the above beg a further look.  I
have flown behind Lycomings with 2,300 hours on them since new that haven't
been cracked open.  I have flown behind other certificated engines that were
on their 2nd or even 3rd rebuild after reaching TBO each time.  NO
experimental engine can make either of those claims. Period.  (Originally
certificated engines without data plates don't count)

Certificated piston engines are noisy, vibrate far too much, cost too much,
take far too much maintenance, are inefficient, and unreliable.
Unfortunately they are the best we have at this point.  There is no doubt in
my mind, with all the intellect in the aviation community and beyond, that
an alternative will be found.   It HAS NOT been found yet.  Sure, the
Engineair and others like it show some promise, but they are not proven.  As
far as I know, none of them has even hit TBO, much less to TBO, rebuilt and
back to TBO the 2nd time.  As far as customer owned and operated engines,
the 150 hour mark has even been breached.  In addition they weigh as much,
if not more than already overweight certificated engines.

Porsche, Honda, and Toyota, with all their capital and engineering expertise
have all went through the hoops of certificating a piston aircraft engine.
One would think that they could perfect something seemingly so simple.
Raise your hand if you are flying behind one of these on a regular basis.
Should we think that private individuals have outsmarted them?

The answer is probably out there, it simply hasn't been found.

Merry Christmas,


Micah Froese

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