NORDO Industries LLC
Member
I recently took the first 2 levels of the manufacturer-authorized classes at Motive Aero up in Petaluma, CA. I recommend taking at least the Service course, as you get to learn a lot about the theory of how the engine is designed, get practice of the tasks you'll be doing regularly, along with learning about many of the finer points which sometimes get lost in the translation of the manuals from German to English. You'll also then be able to officially perform part replacements under warranty, and depending on the situation, also get reimbursed for your labor.
The Service course covers fundamentals on the engine and gets you to the level of doing 100-hour inspections and basic troubleshooting. In the Maintenance course, you get to learn how to remove/install the major components such as the gearbox and cylinder heads.
Beyond that there's the Heavy Maintenance course, which requires having held the Maintenance level for 2 years. All of the certifications are valid for 2 years, after which you need to do a 4-hour refresher course.
Our instructor Michael has been working with Rotax engines for 20 years at this point, and was really good at dispelling the myths about 9-series engines, and what A&Ps used to legacy power plants frequently get wrong. We got to take apart a 912ULS which was at TBO (which of course looked pristine inside), and a 912is that had been submerged in saltwater (whose ECU had a power-on timer at 167 hours). No worries about breaking something, as those engines weren't going to be run again. I mentioned that I was having some issue with my carb floats specifically and the instructor pulled out a float bowl with bent pins and illustrated exactly how to avoid that situation, and how to make sure not to damage it like that person had.
The Maintenance course is going to be more useful if you’re an A&P or otherwise working on Rotax engines regularly. We got to pull/reinstall the gearbox, cylinder heads, water pump and oil pump. It's easier than I would've expected, and now I'm ready for my 5-year rubber replacement.
That being said, I don’t regret taking the maintenance course, but I probably won’t ever really need the skills from it (I'll probably sell my engine and just get a new one when I hit the 1000-hour mark for the gearbox inspection).
At the end of it, I'm now way more confident in my ability to service my engine, plus I have even more facts to be a Rotax evangelist sitting smug in the corner while everyone else talks about leaning strategies.
The Service course covers fundamentals on the engine and gets you to the level of doing 100-hour inspections and basic troubleshooting. In the Maintenance course, you get to learn how to remove/install the major components such as the gearbox and cylinder heads.
Beyond that there's the Heavy Maintenance course, which requires having held the Maintenance level for 2 years. All of the certifications are valid for 2 years, after which you need to do a 4-hour refresher course.
Our instructor Michael has been working with Rotax engines for 20 years at this point, and was really good at dispelling the myths about 9-series engines, and what A&Ps used to legacy power plants frequently get wrong. We got to take apart a 912ULS which was at TBO (which of course looked pristine inside), and a 912is that had been submerged in saltwater (whose ECU had a power-on timer at 167 hours). No worries about breaking something, as those engines weren't going to be run again. I mentioned that I was having some issue with my carb floats specifically and the instructor pulled out a float bowl with bent pins and illustrated exactly how to avoid that situation, and how to make sure not to damage it like that person had.
The Maintenance course is going to be more useful if you’re an A&P or otherwise working on Rotax engines regularly. We got to pull/reinstall the gearbox, cylinder heads, water pump and oil pump. It's easier than I would've expected, and now I'm ready for my 5-year rubber replacement.
That being said, I don’t regret taking the maintenance course, but I probably won’t ever really need the skills from it (I'll probably sell my engine and just get a new one when I hit the 1000-hour mark for the gearbox inspection).
At the end of it, I'm now way more confident in my ability to service my engine, plus I have even more facts to be a Rotax evangelist sitting smug in the corner while everyone else talks about leaning strategies.
