Dave,
I will give you some of my experiences with the 914 engine
We have the 914 installed in a monowheel, N398JB. We first flew in April
2000 and since then, we have accumulated 350. plus hours.
On our trip to Arlington Wa to attend the EAA fly-in, along with the
factory demo airplane N914EA we spent a lot of time in the 15 to 17000
ft
altitudes, with no problems on that long cross country. We put 56 hr. on
the hobbs on that trip from Fl to the west coast and our return to Fl.
This engine was an early 914 as we purchased it in December 1998.
We have had some problems, some were self induced, and some were
component problems
We have learned that this engine likes auto fuel, we were using avgas
and with the high lead content we were having some starting problems. We
learned that the lead had accumulated in the needle jets in the carbs.
Once they were cleaned the starting problems went away.
Our solution, on a cross country we carry some TCP and add one ounce per
10 gal of av-gas
We have replaced one ignition module. The module is mounted on top of
the engine and I suspect that when the engine is shut down after a
flight these modules get heat soaked. Our solution, open the access
hatches on top of the cowing after the flight ,where you check the oil
and water. This was about 100 hr. ago, so I do not know if I am right or
wrong.
We are having to replace plugs on about a 100 hour interval. The turbo
is hard on plugs...
You can operate the engine as a "normalized" engine on take off, The
turbo only comes "on" approximately the last 1 inch of throttle travel,
on take off, so if you stay below that point you just have a normal
engine. If you go full throttle at take off, you will get 40 inches of
manifold pressure. There is a time limit for a full throttle takeoff of
5 minutes and forty inches MP. At which time the throttle must be
pulled back to 5500 RPM and 35 Inches MP. The Rotax manual says you can
operate continuously at 5500 RPM and 35 inches MP
For me, the turbo allows me to go "high" on cross country's, get out of
short strips, with a safety factor I would not have with the 912S. For
me the advantages of the Turbo outweighs the extra care and handling the
914 requires.
Regards
Jim Brown
N398JB
DJA727@aol.com wrote:
> A question for the group:
>
> I am about to start building a motorglider monowheel and have just
> spoken to another person with an airplane powered by a rotax engine.
> He has the 80 HP 912 and sings the praises of how good it is. For me,
> the mission of the glider plane will be to fly high for maximum glide
> options should the engine fail and I also live at higher elevation -
> 4700 MSL. For this reason, I have been planning on the 914 for the
> turbo power and higher cruise power at the very high cruise altitudes
> I am planning . I have, in the past, always avoided turbo engines,
> opting for more reliable no turbo engines (such as my twin Comanche
> with IO320's). I want to break that trend with the Europa. The bad
> news is this person informed me that the 914 is a "temperamental"
> engine and some people he has spoken with have been glad to change
> from the 914 to 912 for more reliability. Now my engine selection is
> beginning to waver. So my question:
>
> What is the experience of actual 914 operators out there that are
> reading this email? If there are problems with the engine, what sort
> of problems are they and can they be avoided by proper operation and
> maintenance? I am wondering if the engine can be operated as a
> "normalized" engine by not using full power for takeoff and only
> boosting it back to sea level power.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave Anderson
> Gardnerville,
> Nevada
> A227
> starting the kit on about 10 Oct, 2001.
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