Thoughts on RX8 Engine…

[Lufthans]

For what it's worth - I'm flying behind a Subaru on my Jodel and truly love it. To the point where I am swapping the engine on my RV3 to a Subaru as well.

HOWEVER....

It has taken me three tries with three different engines, gearboxes, propellers and ECUs, at least 1500 hours of modifications, several years of spending online researching, talking to hundreds of people, filtering out the golden nuggets from the opinions, several steaming landings and enough money to buy myself two brand new O-320s to get to where I am now.

If you just want to fly, don't go here. Just don't. Really.

Me, I am too stubborn to quit anything, and so I persevered. And I would do it again (AM doing it again, actually), but that's just me. If you are up for one heck of a learning curve and want to see this through, then by all means forge ahead. This path is paved with failed projects though.

[Beejer]

I like redundancy and I guess the one engine I have along with a chute will do the trick to ease my anxiety. I know the stats say I shouldn’t worry but that’s the thing with anxiety. It’s irrational.

Still not gonna completely forget about this especially with an importer so close to home but I think this has helped me move on in my mind to better projects.

Thanks all. Great discussion.

[smokyray]

BZ, back in the Jurassic age my buddy Tracy Crook and I built our RV4s, sharing tips and ideas on DRs Yahoo group that predated this site. Tracy however being the over achiever he is, engineered a Mazda 13B rotary power plant installation when the rest of us were trying to figure out how to back rivet!

His tireless efforts, engineering prowess and perseverance created a small following and megabytes of data as well as his own fuel injection and planetary reduction. He’s since retired and still flies his now Renesis powered RV4 and 20-B powered RV8.
He once jokingly told me and several others gathered around his RV4 at a Waco TX flyin (sponsored by DR)

“Guys, you want to fly with no issues, install a Lycoming, if you like to tinker and don’t mind an occasional forced landing, install a Rotary!”


https://youtu.be/GlR4j0FTcNM

V/R
Smokey

https://www.rotaryaviation.com/aviation-history.html

[dlomheim]

[quote=smokyray;1648301]BZ, back in the Jurassic age my buddy Tracy Crook and I built our RV4s...being the over achiever he engineered a Mazda 13B rotary power plant installation...
[/i]

V/R
Smokey
*********************************
Smokey: I started following Tracy in about '96, and started building an RV-9A w/ Mazda 13B in '99. Finally retired from ACC and will now be able to finally get back to working on it and get it done; and hope for a first flight next Summer.

Doug

RV-3A renovated/flown for 50 hrs. and sold
RV-9A Mazda 13B / FWF (@400 hrs. to finish)

[srv]

IMO, unless you are one of the most skilled titanium/vibranium exhaust welders in the world, only fly over Kansas. A builder I know who worked in the milspec world tried, and tried and tried. Last I heard, he flies behind a Lyc.