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Russell Duffy wrote:
One thing my dad drilled in my head was that always have in your mind
where are you going to land when the engine quits because its not a question
of if it will happen its a question of when and that was when we were flying
certified aircraft. Hi Ken,
All true of course. The big difference in the RV world is that a Lycoming
installation is totally standardized. You can buy the FWF kit, and you
don't have to do anything creative. All the components have been tested by
about 4500 people before you. In that case, you're worried about the off
chance of an actual engine failure, which MIGHT be more likely than it is
with the rotary. Unfortunately, we're proving almost monthly that it's far more likely to
have a problem with the rest of the installation, rather than the actual
engine. That puts any alternative engine installation at a severe
disadvantage. Rusty
Weeelllll, I'm still a fence-sitter, but I can't agree that things are that automatic even with RV's. If you go to the Matronics RV list & search 'oil temp' or 'cylinder head temp' you can spend a very long time reading all the posts. Search 'oil cooler' & you'll find hundreds of posts about where to mount, how big a hose to feed it with, how big a cooler is needed (see 1st search), etc etc. You'll find discussions of cracked cylinders due to overheat from casting slag between fins, cracked heads between the spark plugs, etc. You'll find discussions on how to make the 'standard' baffling cool each cyl evenly.
Systems cause most of the problems with Lycs, just like the rotary or Subaru, or <etc>. I've got a collection of Sport Aviation mags going back to the 70's (acquired with various projects) & the early ones are littered with accounts of certified engine failures on the less 'standardized' designs guys were building before Van took over the world & helped (but did not eliminate) powerplant problems.
But you are certainly correct that statistically, a much higher percentage of Lycs fly without major problems than alternative engines. Which is one of the reasons I'm on the fence. :-(
Charlie
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