Greg,
I echo David's thoughts on this. With the right design choices it is
easy to stay well within the electrical capacity of the standard Rotax.
Modern avionics, EFIS, LED position lights & strobes do not draw much
current. Attached is the load analysis I did for my aircraft in 2004.
I have not updated it since then but LED strobes, landing lights and low
draw current contactors make it possible to have an even lower
electrical load during cruise.
My 914 XS + Airmaster came in at 860 lb. Over the years I have taken
weight out by removing the vacuum instrument system and small tweaks in
other area's but I sure wish I had paid much more attention to this
during the build.
My favorite comment from Burt Rutan was, "If you are thinking of putting
something on your airplane, first toss it in the air. If it doesn't stay
there by itself then don't put it on."
Cheers, Paul
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