Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterk
...snip... The only thing to keep in mind is the weight of the engine...anything heavier than a Rotax will make it nose heavy.
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PeterK is right on. Although I am not building yet - I followed the development closely and have flown the RV-12. With the seating forward of the spar... it is really designed around the Rotax. Any alternate to that would really have to be as light as the Rotax. I don't think there would be much room to shorten up the engine mount to bring the weight rearward. I think you'd have insurmountable problems if you went with anything heavier.

BUT... this is experimental aviation. My hat's off to those experimenters braver than I! Whoever ventures from Van's plans will certainly be blazing their own trail. I like the simplicity of the Jabiru... and would like to see it gain more acceptance. Unfortunately... I don't think they aggressively market and price it like they could as this would also feed other aircraft manufacturers which would then compete with their own Jabiru aircraft. IMHO anyway...
My 2 Cents... and worth every penny!
DJ