[olderthandirt]

Wondering what the chances are that Van's will certify a fuel injected Rotax instead of carbureted version in near future, not much change in weight and balance calculations??

 

[RFSchaller]

Careful what you wish for. At the ROTAX course the instructor covered some of the 912iS. It seemed a lot more complex to troubleshoot and maintain. The diagnostic dongle that interfaces between the engine computer and a PC for troubleshooting costs about $1000.

 

[Jetguy]

Wondering what the chances are that Van's will certify a fuel injected Rotax instead of carbureted version in near future, not much change in weight and balance calculations??

Speaking off the cuff, there is no chance in the ,"Near Future" that this is going to happen. Vans has many sticks in the fire right now with the RV14 that they probably don't want to transfer the man hours to get this done right now, maybe in a few years. We have discussed this at length before on the form before. At OSH 2015 Vans What's New forum they said not right now.

 

[Dave12]

I'll keep my carbs.

 

[Tony_T]

Be careful what you wish for...

Wondering what the chances are that Van's will certify a fuel injected Rotax instead of carbureted version in near future, not much change in weight and balance calculations??

Take a look at the 912iS maintenance manual. The annual checklist requires an ECU check to download and check data. You will need a Windows laptop to do this and "Buds" software. The software for pilots and users costs $800! https://www.cps-parts.com/catalog/rtxpages/ecuready3.php?clickkey=1171659 I think there also might be a yearly license cost but I have not done complete research on that.

This new stuff is for young geeks. Carbs are older than dirt and relatively easy to maintain.

 

[J.Coles]

I was watching a video the other day about the air cam. They mounted a 912is on one side and flew 15 hours to Oshkosh (I think) The fuel burn was significantly less and the vibration was also noticeably less.
Cheers
Julian 120316

 

[RFSchaller]

Julian,

I have also heard it sips gas, but it seems very much a black box for the average schmuck like me to maintain.

Rich

 

[bruceflys]

Let's see, I would save .5 gph fuel burn or about $1.50 per hour. The injected engine costs $6K more, so I come out ahead after only 4,000 hours. Oh yes, the annual coats are higher too as noted above. Smoothness comes more from keeping the rpm's up and the prop balanced. I think that the carbs will be around for a while.