Quote:
Originally Posted by RFSchaller
Supposedly there is a 20% fuel saving over the ULS. Hard To believe, but I really don't have any personal knowledge.
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I think the word supposedly is a correct word to use at this point. There is not enough real world experience to yet validate the new fuel economy claims. I don't doubt that it is better than the carbed engine, but I am not yet convinced it is 20% better.
Case in point...
If you fly an RV-12 with the carbed engine, at max continuous cruise power, you will not get the fuel economy that was typically published 6 years ago when Van's first started playing with the 912 in the yellow prototype.
Sure, you can match the claimed numbers, but at a reduced cruise speed.
So, is the 20% fuel flow claim, a reduction from what we know a carbed engine burns at max. cruise power, or a 20% reduction on what it was always claimed to burn?
As for the rumor? It is not true. There is no work being done to adapt the 912iS to the RV-12. Van's is still concentrating on trying to re coupe all of the $ spent during 5 + years of development (I say 5 years plus because there is still work going on developing improvements etc).
It may be true that eventually Rotax will force it to happen. If it does, it will require a lot more engineering (probably more than most people realize). Until then, Van's will likely soldier on selling more Rotax 912 engines in the USA per year than any other company (not making that claim, but I think it is pretty likely).