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Mike,
I can't see a response from Bill yet, but from my knowledge Powersport is
gone with all assets sold.
I believe the products being developed are parts only and variations and in
some cases improvements on the Powersport products. I'm not saying that there
were anything wrong with the previous Powersport products, but I think talking
to Bill, they might be more generic in nature to suit a broader range of 13B
engines, no as previously, for the Powersport - at least that's my feeling
on things. The small Powersport engine was almost unrecognizable as a
Mazda rotary engine.
I'm with you on prices and I believe Bill is of the same opinion. I do like
the idea of straight cut gears and the pendulum type damper that Bill spoke
about - that's all been done before by many others for different applications -
no IP there. The brazed side housings have the benefit of Steel wear surfaces
and light weight housing - perfect in my opinion. Not as light ( it would seem)
as Al housings but without any of the previous problems of Al housings. Again no
IP ( intellectual property) issues that I can see, using proven technology
copying the Mazda housings,
I stand to be corrected though, this is just my opinion.
George ( down under)
Bill,
I didn’t mean to imply that Alan built the FWF
stuff - I know that was all Powersport. The entire airplane was a work of art
with a completely aluminum cowl with an annular inlet. They wouldn’t make a
claim for FWF weight, but they did say the entire airplane was well under 700
pounds. A typical RV-3 is in the 730 pound range.
I met Alan and Everett at the Copperstate
fly-in in the mid 90s and talked their ears off.
So what does this your effort mean for the
current Powersport company? Are they dead and gone? Should we anticipate some
sort of legal battle over IP issues?
At the time that I talked with Alan and Everett
they still were not selling anything. The current owners of Powersport priced
themselves out of business (at least my business). For all of its warts, at
least when you pay 25K for a Lycosaur you know exactly what you are getting. A
FWF package such as the most recent Powersport, Eggenfellner, etc... that
costs as much as or more than the Lyc with relatively no track record is a
dead end in my book.
If you guys can come out with the pieces-parts
to duplicate that original engine or a complete engine, without a price tag
that breaks the bank, I'd think you'll have a winner. If the end result is in
the same ballpark as a Lyc, I'd stick with my $3200 Turrentine built
13B.
Mike
Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2010 11:56 PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: PP Housings
Mike,
The original PowerSport RV-3 was piloted by Alan. All
of the FWF systems were built by Everett and Steve. That airplane was a test
bed for the "Superlite" engine, which used Mazda rotors and housings but was
so modified that you couldn't recognize anything. The plane had the world
record for time to climb for prop driven small displacement aircraft for some
time. That plane was a screamer, both literally and figuratively. It had
two straight pipes dumping at the stock cowl exit. It would wake the dead.
They had to brace the cockpit floor to prevent trouble from the pulses
loosening rivets. Need I say a good muffler is in the works too? OK
I am going to check with Steve to see when we might be able to build some for
the public. As to the side plates, you can build them from aluminum, but
there is another solution that PS tried. They did a lightweight
machined and welded steel end plate only about 1-2 pounds heaver than the
aluminum plate and nitrideable just like the stocker. You would have to be
running P-ports though as there was no provision for side ports in these
housings. Once I have some quotes on the machining I'll give you
some kind of price ideas. I'm modeling the system and producing drawings for
proper produceability.
Bill
Bill,
So do you have an estimate on when these
might be available and at what price?
On a somewhat related note, anyone have any
experience with any aftermarket aluminum end/intermediate housings? I'd love
to build an all aluminum P-Port engine. The first rotary airplane I ever saw
was the original Powersport RV-3 that Alan Tolle built. That engine was all
aluminum and the airplane was so nice and light it was a rocket ship. Sign
me up!
Mike Wills
Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2010 11:44 AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: PP Housings
In a message dated 2/14/2010 7:40:41 AM Pacific Standard Time, keltro@att.net
writes:
George,
Do you have any contact info for the
ex "Powersport" type PP housings ??.............
--
Kelly Troyer
"Dyke Delta"_13B
ROTARY Engine
"RWS"_RD1C/EC2/EM2
"Mistral"_Backplate/Oil Manifold
Kelly,
Not to butt in but I am working with one of the original PowerSport
guys and we are going to work out the layouts so we can have the P-ports
done CNC. These P-ports are properly sealed, using o-rings, no goo, not
welded to the internal steel. Everett Hatch and Steve Beckham work this out
years ago and they don't leak. We plan to change just slightly from the
original design putting the butterfly outside of the port, but still at the
housing face to allow good throttle response. This needs to be available to
the guys running in aircraft. We want to make a safe and robust
system.
Bill Jepson
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