run a Rotax 9xx engine or are considering running a Rotax 9xx engine.
Subject: Lockwood Aviation's Rotax 9xx Class
Gentlemen & women:
If you are flying (or planning to fly) with a Rotax 9xx engine you
MUST attend Lockwood's Rotax 9xx class or a similar class provided by
some other qualified Rotax shop. I'd advise and highly recommend
that you attend this class BEFORE you ever try to start your engine.
I just returned from 2 day of very intense classes at Lockwood. The
class is taught by Dean Vogel. This gentleman has some very serious
credentials and experience to qualify him to teach the class. He
knows his poop and if there's some bit he is unsure of, there's an
excellent staff of some of the most experienced and qualified A&Ps
down stairs or in the next room to whom he can go for the definitive
answer. We covered:
Day One
Introduction & Documentation
Oil & Lube
Lots on Oil & Lube because "The Rotax 9xx Engine Hates Oil
Starvation!"
Coolant & Cooling System
Fuels & Fuel System
The Bing Carb
Ignition & Electrical Systems
Day Two
Maintenance
Lots of hands-on work tearing things apart and putting them back
together
Carb Sync/Balance
Oil System care & feeding
Locking the engine for maintenance.
Checking the slipper clutch
Checking the dog friction
And lots more...
The Rotax 9xx engine is a masterpiece of technology and has
absolutely nothing in common with any other aero engine other than a
crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, cylinders, camshaft & valves.
And ALL those pieces on the Rotax are very different from the same
parts on a Conti-Lycosarus.
There is so much B.S. running about the web concerning the Rotax. If
you believe and follow half of what sounds good, you will ruin your
engine. And Dean has lots of examples of what happens when well-
intentioned folks follow well-intentioned advice. And none of them
are pretty. And all of them are EXPENSIVE.
There are also lots of excellent tips and tricks provided to help you
keep your little high-tech power source contented and purring along.
For instance, do you "burp" your engine on every preflight? If you
aren't doing it, you are asking for trouble.
Has your engine ever been turned backwards (A BIG NO-NO)? How can
you tell if it has and what should you do about it? What happens if
it has been turned backwards and you don't do the right thing? Clue:
It's ugly and expensive.
I will be posting all the pics I took during the class on my build
web-site under a new album at the beginning. (Probably do that on
Sunday, Texas time) There will be some explanation with some of the
pics, but I don't have the time to do a complete write-up. Nor do I
want to try to reproduce the class on my web-site. That wouldn't be
right. You need to attend the class to get full benefit of the
decades of experience of the Lockwood people.
BTW, look for an article in an upcoming Kit Planes. Tim Kearn,
Engine Beat Column, was also attending with the assignment of a
future article for his column.
Another point of interest, a gentleman from Cessna, Light Sport
Aircraft Division, was also in attendance.
Call Lockwood and schedule a class.
Good building and great flying,
Bob Borger
Europa Kit #A221 N914XL, XS Mono, Intercooled 914, Airmaster C/S
http://www.europaowners.org/N914XL
(85%) tail kit done, wings closed, cockpit module installed, pitch
system in, landing gear frame in, rudder system in, outrigger mod in,
Fuselage Top on, lift/drag/flap pins in, wing incidence set, tie bar
in, flap drive in, Mod 70 done. Baggage bay in. Flaps & Main Gear
complete. Working in - 24 Instrument Panel, 25 Electrical, 30 Fuel
System, 32 Tail, 34 Door Latches & 35 Doors, 37 Finishing. Airmaster
arrived 29 Sep 05. Seat arrived from Oregon Aero. E04 interior kit
has arrived. Preparing for ROTAX 914 installation.
3705 Lynchburg Dr.
Corinth, TX 76208
Home: 940-497-2123
Cel: 817-992-1117
|