Deuskid said:
sounds like you favor Rotax... why?
John
1. Track Record of 100?s of thousands of hours on the field
2. Excellent factory support
3. Owner web site with AD?s and SB?s
4. Superior engine documentation (POH, Maintenance and Installation Manuals)
5. Service and parts available at several centers in the USA
6. Liquid cooled, small displacement, modern design
7. Close tolerance engine
8. Uses modern automotive and Motorcyle synthetic oils for close tolerance engines
9. Virtually carb ice free
10. No risk of shock cooling
11. Gear box allows for less wear and tear in the engine. Torque multiplier.
12. Able to use WARP drive propellers and in-flight electrical or hydraulic governors
13. Safe heat from heater core exchanger (in flight and on the ground)
14. Requires no cooling baffles
15. Distributorless Inductive electronic ignition
16. Hydraulic lifters (no mechanical adjustments)
17. No oil usage
My personal experience after 515 hours of ownership has been great with the 912S engine and everyone that owns one in my area has never had a single problem. The engines are that good and just keep on working. I have an adjustable flap on my radiators to control the airflow and manage the oil and water temps. The key is to ensure the oil and water temps stay in check. I change the plugs at 100 hours just because it seems the thing to do but they look great. They are cheap enough to change every 50 hours if I had to.
On the other hand, I know three Tornado drivers that had issues with their Jabiru 2200 engines. On resulted on a totaled airplane following an engine failure due to a valve seat failure, one resulted on a fried distributor shaft because the maintenance manual (lack of it) did not show the placement of a rubber gasket (the plane made it back to the ground safely), another one resulted in an emergency landing with a J3300 due to carb ice. The older J2200 heads had warping issues due to heat stress. The owner had the heads resurfaced and all was fine but one day he had a galled distributor shaft and he had to fly back with only one live ignition circuit.
The newer Jabs seem to have improved and work a lot better than the older head styles but carb ice is a sure thing on them engines. They are much better than the early generations but in my opinion they are not a better engine than the Rotax 912S. They are air cooled and each installation requires some fiddling to manage the temps. Also the best power is available at 3000 RPMs or more and that means short props. Many of the parts are automotive grade like the pistons, rods, and distributors.
The 912S has a certificated cousin to FAA standards the Jabiru engines do not have any. The certificated version of the 912 is identical with the exception of the ignition which has some radio noise electronics. That's a big plus in my opinion.
Most Jab owners just don?t like Rotax. Something about price and rip-off about sums it all up. The price difference makes it easy to buy the J2200 over the 912S, but in our pusher applications a wood prop can be the kiss of death if a loose bolt or nut hits the prop in flight. A Tornado driver in my area had a wood prop shatter on the grund due to a broken exahst spring that hit the prop. We thank God that did not happen in the air.
To each their own I guess but the real testament is the fact that most LSA makers are going the 912S route. The owners will have a smooth powerplant with a gearbox and will not have to deal with mixture adjustments, oil usage, fouled plugs, or the heavy repair bills typical of Lycs and Conts. The modern liquid cooled automotive-like displacememt will have the average owner of a 912 engine going to TBO or 12 years without any problems. That has been my experience so far. Everyone I know with the 912S engine has praises for it and are happy with the performance and reliability. Oh, yes everyone bitches about the price but that's expected when you coul get a brand new small sedan for that dough.
Rotax 912S engine? $11000
Titan Tornado Kit? $14,000
Flying 515 hours on my poor man's fighter without problems? Priceless.
Your mileage may vary.
JB