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Pre-buy for RV-12 near Arlington, Wa.

rtlongdon

Active Member
I'm looking at an RV-12, but so far can't find a mechanic that is comfortable inspecting an LSA with a Rotax. I'm finding most A&P's almost hangup when I mention the RRRRR... Rotax word!

Anybody know somebody in NW Washington State that might be able to competently inspect the airframe and motor?

I contacted Terry Burch at KAWO, what a great guy. He humbly declined as he hasn't spent much time with Rotax although he could help out with the airframe inspection.

I'd like to get it all done in one place.

Cheers! :)
 
Thanks, Jon.

I tried to call and nothing.

I might be in that area tomorrow. If I do I'll stop by and scout it out...
 
Savvy Aviation has a pre-buy service and a network of A&Ps to perform the work. You might try and reach out to them.
 
If the plane has been run on Mogas most of it's life, run on Shell AeroSport 10-40w oil or Mobil 1 4T Racing full synthetic motor oil, and had the oil and filters changed at 40 to 50 hrs Hobbs regularly, had the air filters cleaned, had the carbs synched regularly, and the plugs changed within every 150 to 200 hrs, and the motor has 400 or less hours on it, it's probably in very, very good shape.

If it's been run on 100LL a lot, the gearbox will probably need inspection and parts replaced at 600 hours.

Keep the engine at as close to 2500 rpm once you start it up until your oil temp reachs 120F and then you do your 4000 rpm ignition check run up, to minimize wear on the gearbox.

For the most part, these are almost always low time engines and air frames, if you are buying a E-LSA version. With that in mind, get someone that knows RV air frames to inspect the build quality of the aluminum bits, check the engine service logs for the inspection annuals to note what was done when. The whole engine block and oiled areas are sealed from the external atmosphere, it's a closed system, and the bores of the engine are aluminum ceramic, so corrosion problems like in Lycs or Conti's is almost unheard of.

If correct oil, oil filters, air filters and such have been changed out annually or every 40 to 50 hours, I'd have high confidence that the engine is in very good shape. Check the prop too.

At Vy of 75 kts after takeoff, flaps completely up, you should see 5150 to 5200 rpms on climb out at full rich throttle, going straight out, if the pitch of the prop is optimized per Van's Specifications. You might see 5200 to 5250 with climb out at XC rate at 85- 90 kts, straight out, full rich throttle. You will burn about 6 + gals / hr at that throttle setting.

Rotax designs these to run on Premium 91 octane unleaded Mogas, not 100LL, which gums things up in the gear box and allows lead deposits everywhere. It's suggested you turn Mogas over regularly, NOT letting it get stale, by running the plane. If you must run 100LL on a longer trip, get some Decalin fuel additive to scavenge the lead out the exhaust system, instead of ending up inside the gear box and the crank case.
 
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Thanks for the replies!

NinerBikes, thanks so much for the comprehensive reply.

I'm going to go check out the plane on Wednesday. The owner seems to be completely open about things and I'll dig around in the logs and such. It is an E-LSA with about 184 hours TTAE, born in 2016, one owner but not the builder. He bought it directly from a professional builder (whatever that means ;) ) upon its completion.

Always hangered. The owner is a many-years-ago, retired Navy aircraft maintenance tech.

Your suggestions on the engine are very helpful and provide great guidance.

These are a lot different than the Lycomings, Continentals, round engines and turbines I flew and helped maintain years ago! BUT, in the end, they are engines, I just need to learn their peculiarities and care and feeding.
 
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Jim Scott closed the business as he was moving back east. At least that's what I was told.

I took a class from him in Florida a few weeks ago. He DID close his shop.. He still does freelance work from time to time I believe.. I don't have his contact info, but the folks at Rainbow Aviation do..

Speaking of Rainbow, have you tried contacting some of the LSRMs in NW Wash. shown on the Rainbow map?

https://rainbowaviation.com/?page_id=4854

Also, one of the best things you could do right now is see if the Seller will send you scanned copies of the log books. Compare what's in the logbooks to the issued Service Bulletins and Service Directives issued by Vans and Rotax. Here is the list from Van's. https://www.vansaircraft.com/servic...ns/?aircraft=rv-12&doctype=all&sort=undefined

Also, the 912ULS is due for rubber replacement 5 years after put into service. In addition to hoses, it includes fuel pump and carb overhaul.

To give you an idea if prior A&P's that did work on the airplane knew what the were really doing concerning a Light Sport SLSA or ELSA, just look at how they signed of the yearly Condition Inspections. Did the sign offs mention following the Van's Maintenance Manual? Did they mention the aircraft being "airworthy" (wrong) or does it mention it being in a condition for safe operation (correct). Did the prior sign offs say all SB's and SD's were up to date, yet you easily find some that aren't in the logbooks? Have all of the recurring SB's been signed off each year, or were they followed once and then ignored during following years? To me, when you find discrepancies like that, it sort of makes you wonder what corners they cut while actually working on the plane.

Yes, a lot of the above is based on personal experience. I really wish I could track down a few A&Ps that worked on my plane for prior owners and ask "what the hell?"
 
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Another quick way to tell if the inspections were done by someone who is familiar with Rotax engines (or at least will read the manuals) is to look at the compressions in the engine logbook. If they were done at 87PSI, they are aware of the rotax procedures.
 
I have learned from the owner that Jim and Scott at Aircore did the condition inspections on this particular aircraft and trained him as well (repairman light sport - inspection).

That is certainly worth something in my book.

The plane is so close, no need to bother with scanned logs, I'm going to go look at it- but that's a good idea. Sure beats the good old days of fedexing crappy photo copies of the logs!

Cheers!
 
Another quick way to tell if the inspections were done by someone who is familiar with Rotax engines (or at least will read the manuals) is to look at the compressions in the engine logbook. If they were done at 87PSI, they are aware of the rotax procedures.

The current Rotax manual gives a range, 5.5-6 bar / 80-87 psi.. I did mine at 80, since prior mechanics used 80.. I think they changed the manual to make things easier for the mechanics that use PSI readings.. Rounded it down to 80 psi (5.5 bar) but can also continue to use 87 psi (6 bar) or anything in between.
 

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I am an LSRM and IRMT in Eastern Wa. Not super close. But if you can’t find anyone closer I may be able to help.
 
I have learned from the owner that Jim and Scott at Aircore did the condition inspections on this particular aircraft and trained him as well (repairman light sport - inspection).

That is certainly worth something in my book.

The plane is so close, no need to bother with scanned logs, I'm going to go look at it- but that's a good idea. Sure beats the good old days of fedexing crappy photo copies of the logs!

Cheers!

That’s good news, especially since Jim has already looked at the rigging and construction that was done by the builder..
 
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