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New Product Announcement From Aircraft Specialty and TS Flightlines

Aircraft Specialty

Well Known Member
Aircraft Specialty and TSFlightlines are excited to announce the availability of our exclusive Thermostasis install kit for the RV-12 Aircraft.

Extensive beta testing has allowed us to optimize the hose routings and design for the RV-12 aircraft. This kit is designed to fit with or without our Rotax 912 Fuel Hose Retrofit kit.

Some highlights of this product inlude:

  • Greatly reduced Engine Warmup Times
  • Consistent oil temperatures during all phases of flight in cold weather, including the descent
  • No mandatory 5 year hose replacement
  • Exclusive 10 year Replacement Warrranty
  • Includes ALL necessary AN fittings for Thermostasis Unit

We are offering this kit in two different configurations. If you already have purchased the Thermostasis unit in the past, we offer a hose/fittings only package which is being offered for an introductory price of $569.95. If you are interested in the complete install kit which includes all hoses, fittings, and the thermostasis unit, we are offering an introductory price of $699.95.

We also include free domestic priority mail shipping with all Rotax packages over $599.95 in value.

Please feel free to contact us for more information.

Have a great day,
Steve

http://www.aircraftspecialty.com/PDF%20Documents/Thermostasis%20Press%20Release.pdf

Thermostasis%20on%20top%20small%20res.jpg
 
Minor clarification...

Aircraft Specialty and TSFlightlines are excited to announce the availability of our exclusive Thermostasis install kit for the RV-12 Aircraft.

Extensive beta testing has allowed us to optimize the hose routings and design for the RV-12 aircraft. This kit is designed to fit with or without our Rotax 912 Fuel Hose Retrofit kit.

Some highlights of this product inlude:

  • Greatly reduced Engine Warmup Times
  • Consistent oil temperatures during all phases of flight in cold weather, including the descent
    [*]No mandatory 5 year hose replacement
  • Exclusive 10 year Replacement Warrranty
  • Includes ALL necessary AN fittings for Thermostasis Unit

The oil hoses fall under the classification of airframe components (the are not supplied by Rotax with the engine) so they don't fall under the 5 year replacement interval stipulated by Rotax. Van's does stipulated a 10 year replacement interval.
 
The oil hoses fall under the classification of airframe components (the are not supplied by Rotax with the engine) so they don't fall under the 5 year replacement interval stipulated by Rotax. Van's does stipulated a 10 year replacement interval.

Got it..... Our warranty is a 10 year replacement warranty. If anything were to fail on the hose within a 10 year time frame, we offer free complimentary replacement. Beyond that, if you choose to replace your hoses, we offer a discount on the second set of hoses.

However, there is NO time rated life on these hoses. They are inspect and replace as necessary.

Thanks for the clarification,
Steve

P.S. We will also be issuing a few more releases in the coming weeks that we have been working on for awhile. We will start a new thread for each new product line.
 
Big thank you!

I just wanted to send a big thank you to our beta testers on this project. Dave Gamble, John Peck, and in the Netherlands, Joeri Van Veen. With out these dedicated builders we would not have had the data we needed to make this package.
WE use builders like this because we dont have fuseleges of the various models in our shops to work with. I wish we did!! These gentlemen spent alot of time with us working on details to make this package as user friendly as possible. WE want to thank them for their efforts!

We have several more kit projects going on. A new flop tube is in development now. A wing root filter and hose kit is also being worked on. Some of you have purchased kits that we really havent released yet, like the RV10 tunnel fuel and brake hose package. Lots of great input have allowed us to refine these packages, and we will release some of them shortly.

Steve and I appreciate all the hard work that all of you have done.

Tom
 
Also, a big thank you to Rob Reese who was also involved in the development of this package.

As Tom mentioned, we rely heavily on other builders to help us bring these products to market. If anyone else is interested in being on our beta development teams, please feel free to contact us with any ideas you have for new product lines.

We wish we had prototypes of all fuselages here to be able to do the testing on...... We are working on some really neat things coming up over the next year....and we really appreciate the RV community and the opportunities you have given us.

Steve and Tom
 
Steve, no offense--------I totally missed that you were in a different area.

My comment was based on Tom thanking others, rather than saying "I did xxx"

Good luck with the new cooling line kit:D
 
Steve, no offense--------I totally missed that you were in a different area.

My comment was based on Tom thanking others, rather than saying "I did xxx"

Good luck with the new cooling line kit:D

Mike...

No offense taken at all! :) But I do maintain that we get grumpy when Tom calls to tell us about the beautiful southern weather!!!!! However, I get back at him when it is 100 and humid there and we are having our one nice month a year!!!! :)

Hope you are liking your -10. It's been three years since we finished ours and I still can't believe how awesome a machine they are.
 
My experience with the Thermostasis prototype installation

Shortly after I finished my RV-12 I ordered a Thermostasis thermostat after hearing about John Bender?s successful installation. But because of the uncertainties involved with measuring, ordering, and installation of custom oil hoses the unit stayed on the shelf in my hangar for the next three years. A few months ago I answered Steve?s plea for a US-based RV-12 owner to prototype their Thermostasis kit, and prepare it to hit the market. I did not know Steve or Tom before this, but after a couple of phone conversations I was convinced these were the kind of guys I would like to work with. My initial impression has been reinforced while working with them to perfect the kit. Fortunately I was able to obtain heated work space for a few days while I played with various locations and hose routings. As you know, there is not a huge amount of real-estate under the cowl of a ?12 to play with! A few iterations with cheap hardware store hoses followed, and then Steve sent me the real hoses, fabricated to the proper lengths. I found the quality of the hoses to be very high, and as a bonus they are slightly smaller in outside diameter and more flexible than the originals. After purging the air out of the oil circuit I test flew the new configuration. Graphed data from that flight is posted on Steve?s website. Warm-up to operating temperature was so fast that I essentially had no delay for run-up after taxiing to the runway. During climb-out the oil temp came up quickly to near the operating temperature of the thermostat (I have the 205 degree version) and stayed remarkably constant for the entire flight. Most surprising was the fact that the temps stayed right up during a long descent and landing. Previously in the cold OAT?s I had experienced a drop below 122 during descent and landing. All in all I couldn?t be happier with this mod. While the immediate advantage of eliminating the wait for warm-up before run-up is obvious, I believe there are more important benefits. Shock cooling of the engine has been eliminated. This has to be better for the long life of the engine. Calendar time before TBO will be extended ? remember the Hobbs is running during all those long ground warm-ups. And, by my calculations the installation will pay for itself just in fuel savings alone, over time. I can?t see any reason not to do this mod, now that the complexities of engineering and fabricating your own installation have been eliminated.
 
THANKS JOHN - -

I have never changed anything on my original setup. Along with the REIFF pre-heat, I have NO warm-up time. Start, and taxi. The hose arrangement looks fine.
 
E-LSA question

Does this change have to be made after certification or can it be done during the initial FWF build? Does it make the installation of a new install any easier?

What are the benefits of this package in Hot climates?
 
Shortly after I finished my RV-12 I ordered a Thermostasis thermostat after hearing about John Bender?s successful installation. But because of the uncertainties involved with measuring, ordering, and installation of custom oil hoses the unit stayed on the shelf in my hangar for the next three years. A few months ago I answered Steve?s plea for a US-based RV-12 owner to prototype their Thermostasis kit, and prepare it to hit the market. I did not know Steve or Tom before this, but after a couple of phone conversations I was convinced these were the kind of guys I would like to work with. My initial impression has been reinforced while working with them to perfect the kit. Fortunately I was able to obtain heated work space for a few days while I played with various locations and hose routings. As you know, there is not a huge amount of real-estate under the cowl of a ?12 to play with! A few iterations with cheap hardware store hoses followed, and then Steve sent me the real hoses, fabricated to the proper lengths. I found the quality of the hoses to be very high, and as a bonus they are slightly smaller in outside diameter and more flexible than the originals. After purging the air out of the oil circuit I test flew the new configuration. Graphed data from that flight is posted on Steve?s website. Warm-up to operating temperature was so fast that I essentially had no delay for run-up after taxiing to the runway. During climb-out the oil temp came up quickly to near the operating temperature of the thermostat (I have the 205 degree version) and stayed remarkably constant for the entire flight. Most surprising was the fact that the temps stayed right up during a long descent and landing. Previously in the cold OAT?s I had experienced a drop below 122 during descent and landing. All in all I couldn?t be happier with this mod. While the immediate advantage of eliminating the wait for warm-up before run-up is obvious, I believe there are more important benefits. Shock cooling of the engine has been eliminated. This has to be better for the long life of the engine. Calendar time before TBO will be extended ? remember the Hobbs is running during all those long ground warm-ups. And, by my calculations the installation will pay for itself just in fuel savings alone, over time. I can?t see any reason not to do this mod, now that the complexities of engineering and fabricating your own installation have been eliminated.

John.....

Thanks for the words and also all your help during this project. We really enjoy doing the R and D for new products to make installations easier. And the help/pictures/suggestions we have received from other builders has been invaluable in our quest to always improve on our product line.
 
I have never changed anything on my original setup. Along with the REIFF pre-heat, I have NO warm-up time. Start, and taxi. The hose arrangement looks fine.

John.....

Glad you like yours. You provided the idea to get started on this kit.

Thanks,
Steve
 
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Does this change have to be made after certification or can it be done during the initial FWF build? Does it make the installation of a new install any easier?

What are the benefits of this package in Hot climates?

Rick....The change needs to be made after certification for the ELSA market. However, with the detailed installation guide it is a fairly straightforward process that shouldn't take too long.

The Thermostat won't be a huge benefit in really hot climates if you are already running oil temps in the 190 range in flight. What sort of temps do you get in a descent from a cruising altitude?

The thermostat won't be able to provide additional cooling to your oil, but it will maintain a constant temperature in flight and in the descent. So, if you are flying into cooler temperatures, or up high, this will keep the temps at an optimum condition. If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]. I will be happy to look at the temps you are getting and see if this installation may benefit you.

Take care,
Steve
 
Rick----gee it sure would be nice to make this one of those installs that coul dbe done during the build process. But---since it wasnt a Van's or Rotax accessory, it gets into a gray area of reliablity upgrade or not.
Maybe Mel, or Vic or another DAR could chime in here about mods like this before AW certification.
Tom
 
I cannot say enough about the thermostat. John B. helped me with my installation.

One question.....Are the hoses to the oil cooler long enough for those of us that have moved the oil cooler forward an inch to increase the distance between the muffler and the oil cooler?
 
Hoses to cooler

I cannot say enough about the thermostat. John B. helped me with my installation.

One question.....Are the hoses to the oil cooler long enough for those of us that have moved the oil cooler forward an inch to increase the distance between the muffler and the oil cooler?

Being one of Steve's guinea pigs, my installation appears to have a comfortable amount of margin in the hose lengths to accomodate moving the cooler forward. I'm in the process of proving this out--modifying the lower cowling now. I'm operating on the theory that moving the cooler away from the radiator will help the Texas hot weather overheat problems, while the Thermostatis unit will help both the cold weather warm up and keeping the oil at the proper temperature to boil the water out of the oil.
 
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AB or LSA?

If the RV-12 is being built as an Amateur-built, then the changes are OK. If it is being built and licensed as an LSA then it needs to be built in compliance with Van's instructions prior to the Certification.

Vic
 
Floating in that picture

I can't quite see from the picture what the thermostat mounted to?
That was a picture I took with the thermostasis unit laying, along with the hoses, on top of the fuel line hoses. It's a good picture to clearly show the routing, but I found I could place the thermostasis unit lower, and route the hoses beneath the other hoses (with basically identical thermostasis unit placement, just closer to the fiberglass cooling shroud). In either case, my plan was to not "hard mount" the unit, but rather tie the hoses to other hoses/etc., and let the unit be held in place by the hoses. None of this has been added to my installation yet.

BTW, this is my first selfie--of my feet....
 
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I cannot say enough about the thermostat. John B. helped me with my installation.

One question.....Are the hoses to the oil cooler long enough for those of us that have moved the oil cooler forward an inch to increase the distance between the muffler and the oil cooler?

Marty.....

The hoses to the oil cooler should be long enough to move the cooler forward an inch. We don't have anyone who has done it officially yet. However, we did verify that the lengths work with the beta testers. If anyone purchases a kit now and then moves their cooler forward an inch, I don't see any problems. If there were any length issues, we would replace those two hoses at no charge at the time of the move.

Hope that answers your question.

Have a great day,
Steve

P.S. For anyone looking to get in on the initial batch, we are down to two units left. We should have more replacements arriving in about a week or so.
 
I can't quite see from the picture what the thermostat mounted to?

Dave....

The Thermostasis is actually "free floating" in a way. They don't recommend mounting it to any rigid engine surface. We secure the hoses to each other with adel clamps or any other method that the builder chooses. This in turn supports the thermostasis unit and gives a really nice install.

The thermostasis unit can fit either above or below the fuel lines. In the case of the stock fuel hoses, it seems to fit well above. In the case of our retrofit fuel hose kit, it fits a little cleaner below. In the picture shown, the Thermostasis isn't yet fully secured, but this picture gives a nice overview of the system.

Hope that helps and keep the questions coming,
Steve
 
Engine warm-up time comparison

Jetguy/Rdog and I compared engine warm-up times when departing Oshkosh on Friday morning. Both of our RV-12s have had similar maxillofacial surgery--moving the oil cooler about one inch further away from the muffler by doing the ducting modification described somewhere in the forum by Jetguy.

The results: From 68 Degrees (A very nice Oshkosh morning) to 120 degrees:

N73HR (with thermostasis): 4 minutes 30 seconds
N1212K (without thermostatis): 7 minutes 30 seconds
 
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