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klinefelter.kevin(at)gmai
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 Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:42 pm Post subject: Viking Aircraft engine |
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Super nice looking cowl. Put some paint on that thing and let's go fly!
Kevin
On Jan 27, 2012, at 12:58 PM, Robert Borger <rlborger(at)mac.com> wrote:
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Fred,
There's plenty of room in the Europa (and total OBAM) community for you wild and crazy guys. You are out there on the pointy end of this whole Experimental thing. God bless you for all your efforts, failures and successes. I hope to see you at RR this year.
BTW, nice looking cowl!
Blue skies & tailwinds,
Bob Borger
Europa XS Tri, Rotax 914, Airmaster C/S Prop.
Little Toot Sport Biplane, Lycoming Thunderbolt AEIO-320 EXP
3705 Lynchburg Dr.
Corinth, TX 76208-5331
Cel: 817-992-1117
rlborger(at)mac.com
On Jan 27, 2012, at 1:15 PM, Fred Klein wrote:
> On Jan 27, 2012, at 4:27 AM, William Daniell wrote:
>
>> I think the base Honda fit engine is a very interesting powerplant and the
>> volume and quality control is unlikely to have the manufacturing problems
>> that the aviation manufacturers have like dodgy cranks but I am personally
>> am not up for the experimentation process required to get it flying.
>>
>> There was a chap flying in Canada whose name escapes me with a Honda/CAM100.
>
> Will...that would be Alex Bowman who flies out of Nanaimo, BC...he has the CAM125 which is built around (I believe) a mid-80s Honda Civic engine...and he's been quite satisfied w/ performance, ops, and maintenance. He flew it to the EAA show at Arlington, WA back in 2004 or 5, and I've seen it at a fly-in at Pemberton, BC alongside Peter Timm's Classic. Alex is now in his late 80s and has had some medical issues which, I believe, have been the sole reason for why he has not been burning holes in the sky w/ his Europa...it remains a low-time aircraft, but I much admire what he has achieved. Incidentally, he built his plane where he lives on a small island "off the grid", and true to form, the manufacturers of the CAM engines have evaporated.
>
> Though the success rate for auto engine conversions for aircraft use may be low, Alex's CAM125 installation along w/ his Airmaster CS prop has been one of the success stories...of course, it would be more convincing to be able to point to say 10 Europas thus powered, each w/ a thousand hours and still going strong. Some listers may recall that w/ the demise of the original Europa company, I attempted to assemble a group of FWF'less builders to utilize Alex's production cowl molds and experience w/ mating the CAM125 to the Europa, but alas, that never happened.
>
> Of course, auto engine conversions are a subset of the question of whether or not one may choose to deviate from orthodoxy...anyone so interested can do some web searches and find any number of scholarly papers and descriptive narratives on the pros and cons of doing so.
>
> For myself...as I continue my XS mono powered w/ a derivative of a Subaru (the RAM Performance 140 hp, MPEFIed engine w/ an Autoflight helical-geared PSRU)...I spent about 15 months molding the cowls, designing and fabricating the mounting frame, ditto for cooling and tuned exhaust systems, plus temp & pressure sensors...176# "wet" but excluding cooling & exhaust systems.
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> I find that a high tolerance for ambiguity has been essential...
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> I will post test/performance data when available.
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> I trust that there's a place in the Europa community for the occasional deviant,
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> Fred
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bill mcclellan
Joined: 28 Jan 2010
Posts: 43
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 11:17 am Post subject: Re: Viking Aircraft engine |
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Thanks for the many replies and good points. One point, Peter, can you elaborate and/or direct me to further explanation regarding the supposition that the Viking Honda rubber coupler/dampener doesn’t do what it is supposed to do?
I am in the final stages of my build and (as it is my way) I am now reviewing and making the decision on which path I will take to finish my fwf. I certainly am no stranger to making build changes and won’t fool myself by under estimating the extra work that can be created. For me the design and development of a new cowling, an engine mount, cooling configuration, etc., though time and thought consuming are within my scope and very doable tasks. I would just have to decide what I would outsource and what I would do myself. I do confess, I am in the camp that Fred and Paul refer to. (And gratefully my Europa build has not kept me from flying...only kept me from flying my Europa.) I think/hope these fwf decisions are my final sidetrack.
Notwithstanding the fact that Europa is built to mate to the Rotax, the cost of a Rotax is very hard for me to stomach. The cost now is $35k+ for FWF with a 914, and then afterwards the cost of replacement parts are just as objectionable. I do feel the experimental airplane and LSA environment will provide increasingly better alternatives. No one really likes being in a situation with few alternatives. Eventually someone will demonstrate there is a good or better alternative and I wouldn’t mind making such contribution.
It is not only the Viking Honda I am looking at. I was aware of (and even more aware of now) Jon Eggenfellner's history with Subaru engines. It just makes the point that one has to do ones own due diligence. Many of us remember…it wasn't a happy day when Europa went out of business, especially if you, like me, still had some parts undelivered.
Getting past my displeasure with the cost of the Rotax - probably the most restrictive imperative and priority is keeping the engine weight within limits (ideally below 200 lbs). But from there, if it’s not too much ask for, here's my engine wish list: Fuel injection, electronic ignition, turbo-charging, the consistency of full engine liquid cooling, all allowing a constant speed prop and good fuel economy. At this, the 914 scores pretty well, so some would argue, just go spend the money...but, I haven't given in just yet.
Bill McClellan
A164 XS
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