Nathan Gifford

In most auto engines lead can do two things: Coat sensor components and alter their performance; render the catalytic converter inoperative. The old lead acted like a lubricant and octane enhancer in bygone years. Over all, if the stuff does not kill the seals or instrumentation I believe the engine will do just fine.

And fresh paint may be there to obscure other problems.

David, Thanks for the concise explanation and everyone else on fuel mix. I can now see why people remove the oiler. My other question is what does Jon Slade use? Also, how do you add the oil? A little at a time or just dump it in and fill?

Does the oil seperate out if it is left in the fuel too long? Also, how hard is it to get 2-stroke oil at an airfield? Do you carry a bunch with you?

Well, I did have a conversation with my auto mechanic. He's not a run-of-the-mill shade tree mechanic. He is (and his son) one of the finest, skilled, knowledgable technicians I have ever met. Better still he is cheap. I did ask him about rotary reliability. He says they are reliable powerplants today and should have little problem running over 250K miles. Of course he is still using cars as a reference, I do not know how he would feel about them in airplanes. I think one of the pluses about some of the certified wankels being developed, is that the core of the wankel engine technology is the same (maybe not materials or workmanship). Whatever technology is put on these certified engines are probably worthwhile on conversions. What would be really interesting is to see just how much maintenance is actually performed and if someone can give service intervals on beasts.

Well I come from the old school of process control. Through very expensive problems I learned a lot about what is redundant and what was thought to be redundant (even during the last 24 hours). After reading much about rotaries the reliability seems technically plausible. However, this may not apply in real world situations. In the world of redundancy, 2 engine control computers are not really redundant: one of them is merely a backup to the primary. I like the idea of two engine computers, I just hope when one fails the other can take over without waking the passengars in the airplane! From the comments I have read thus far, maybe Kitplanes overstated Greg's comments about rotary maintenance. I am sure the T58 is great engine except for its next overhaul. I think if I build a Cozy, I would probably want to do a turbo 13B installation. By that time there should be a lot more flying and with more hours some real data may exist to see how reliable these powerplants are. If I were building a Defiant, I would be trying to locate a pair of 13Bs right now.

DO you think a forum devoted to getting approval for your project would be in order. In particular things like powerplant design (would be bad if the DAR did not approve your Subaru installation).

You could get Wonderware and either a small PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) or Moore Industries 'brick'. I forget the exact name for these but they are analog input modules that talk Modbus protocol (either TCP or serial--try to get TCP as it is much faster). You can load Wonderware on your computer and hookup the Ethernet to the brick and collect and analyze all kinds of data.

Hello all, I live in Louisiana near New Orleans. Are there any projects in the area that would welcome a visit? Also, I will be headed over to San Antonio around Thanksgiving week. That means I will be travelling along I-10, so if anyone along that area is open, please let me know. A look would be great but like everyone else here I would love a ride...and it can be our secret too. Thanks

Maybe I just don't understand this, but what good is not in flight for your Velocity? Is your Velocity under construction and not ready for flight yet? Thanks,

I am curious about the automatic oiler just like Levansic is about the oiler. Thanks

Hello, First post here. I have been following developments on rotaries with great interest. I read one line in Kitplanes that said one of the reasons Greg went to turbine was the maintenance on his rotary. From what I have read so far, rotaries may require somewhat more maintenance than certified engines, but they are not maintenance hogs. What does the group think?