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1. cjd (cjd@pkteerium.xyz)'s status on Monday, 05-Aug-2024 07:27:23 JST cjd
   No cylinder hold-down bolts, that looks like a one-piece casting for each half of the engine. It also looks like it's probably a 2-stroke. I wasn't able to find that exact engine on Alibaba.
   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Monday, 05-Aug-2024 07:27:20 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     • Santa Noodle ☦️

     @BowsacNoodle @cjd From what I hear they're quite good, if it's the chink brand Zongshen (I may be wrong, it's been a while since hearing it, but that's how I remember the chink name). There's a company importing them in the US now, they've been putting out feelers this year trying to sell experimental builders on them. I haven't heard from anyone IRL about how they work, but I trust Rotax stuff quite highly as long as the owner takes care of it. Power:weight on the new ones are awesome, if the chinks can get you something that's as good as the OEM Rotax gear then we might as well enjoy it while it lasts. I'll dig up their email if they're selling publicly, gimme a bit

     I don't know the provenance, though. If I had to guess then they're probably build on Rotax tooling sent over to china when everybody thought they could send all their LSA production there. That only lasted a few years, and Cessna ended up cancelling it all, and shredding a few dozen brand-new Skycatchers. I'm just guessing, but these were probably handed over to the chinks as a "licensed" engine, and now the west is learning just how much they respect the white man's IP arrangements..

   • Santa Noodle ☦️ (bowsacnoodle@poa.st)'s status on Monday, 05-Aug-2024 07:27:21 JST Santa Noodle ☦️

     in reply to

     • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks
     @cjd @WashedOutGundamPilot any experience with these knockoffs?
   • cjd (cjd@pkteerium.xyz)'s status on Monday, 05-Aug-2024 07:27:22 JST cjd

     in reply to
     The American Predator drone uses a Rotax engine, which has:
     * Electronic fuel injection (rare for aviation engines)
     * Able to run on unleaded fuel
     * Liquid cooled heads
     * A gearbox to allow the engine to run faster than the propeller (propellers typically redline at about 2500rpm)
     
     Rotax is the best selling engine maker in general aviation.
     
     Interestingly, Alibaba has a Rotax ... knockoff (?):
     https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/QLY-912iS-Engine-Four-stroke-motor_1601062539068.html
     
     Except it is priced identically to the real thing:
     https://www.flyrotax.com/dis/rotechmotor/p/sales
     
     I wonder if they're selling grey market engines to sanctioned countries...
   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Monday, 05-Aug-2024 07:36:48 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     • Santa Noodle ☦️

     @BowsacNoodle @cjd This was it! All the boomers were floored they just listed these engines like they're selling T-shirts. It's refreshing, really. No "request quote", no "email Brandon@hotmail.net for sales", just a checkout process and a flat price.

     It's all pretty fresh though, I'll ask around, but I can only think of the booth guy at fly-ins talking them up. For a normie it's a bad idea, but they won't be approved for S-LSA or TC aircraft so the only guys who would buy them will be the kinds of old guy who can pore over every detail - basically doing his own quality control. If he knows how it all works, and he checks it over thoroughly, it should be fine, since he'll be tearing it down frequently enough to catch failures before they occur. Hopefully, maybe. Really depends on whether it's worth the hassle just to save money....the 145-hp here is within spitting distance of a 915 and 916, so who knows if it's really worth it. When they were announcing it I got the impression they'd be half the cost of a rotax, but that doesn't seem to be the cost street.

     But the basic rotax design is great, after hearing so many haughty naysayers as a kid the system has proven itself quite well. I can't really think of a big problematic bird with a 912, all the downtime is for other stuff, and we've helped out w/ a couple training operations that ran nothing but rotaxes. They do require some TLC though, fairly frequent oil changes, and you have to get someone who really knows carbs, but that's not too different from standard Lycomings and Contis

     The company does have a fun little thing though, a wannabe balsa wood LSA with a pusher rotax in the rear. You'd think it's gay but IRL.....it's actually cool in a cringe fun way. https://shop.ckd.aero/collections/zonsen-aero-engine

   • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks (washedoutgundampilot@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 07:55:57 JST Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks

     in reply to

     • Santa Noodle ☦️

     @cjd @BowsacNoodle Maybe, the boomers I know are VERY cagey about viking, hard to tell how much of it is down to the actual reliability of the engine, and how much is down to good old forum bloodfeuds. I'd be a little cagey about their sourcing, since they get their engines from junked cars. Ideally the engine is fine, it's just bodyshop write-offs, but the engine comes out of a salvage hulk in the end...bad juju to some. I'd be undescided, overall I'd stay away just out of the resale hole.

     I tell buyers to expect to sell their plane in a few years, they'll invariably outgrow it or find it's just not worth the money of upkeep if they only use it once a quarter. It's not all that fun when you think about the smiles per mile for most planes

   • cjd (cjd@pkteerium.xyz)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 07:55:58 JST cjd

     in reply to

     • Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks
     • Santa Noodle ☦️
     Oh, that's a much better price than what I was seeing from the other company on Alibaba. But thing is it's about twice the price of a Viking, and I would be generally inclined to trust the Viking a bit more than a China Rotax, since it is after all, a Honda...
     
     https://www.vikingaircraftengines.com/new-products/viking-150
     Woggy's Zeonic Frolicks likes this.