mond-EZ

I know. There are many versions 0540s. It’s still a considerable weight difference.

Well my friends, I talked to Labala, he was in a hurry, so gave me his email address and said will tell me everything about it by email. BUT I did get the data everyone was skeptical about. YES… fuel burning, and as I said, I didn’t know the numbers but wasn’t bad; I was right. The C182 was flying with 15.8 Gallons per hour, because it didn’t even need 200hp, remember O540=440lbs GFL2000=120bls As I get more data, I’ll post the updates.

No. Last time I saw him was at that air show in Rodriguez EAA Argentina, then I moved to Ft. Worth, TX. But I found his phone number on the internet. If it’s current I’ll let you know. I'm as anxious as many others to know what happened.

That’s right. Maybe he just was dreaming about making enormous profits, since he always said that the success of his design was based on its simplicity, only 33 parts. So, why should it be expensive?

To give you a better idea of how Labala was pricing this power plant, in an article I read, he said that 400 shp certified engines are close to the million dollars, so if his engine can deliver 300 shp his price would be a bargain, some how he was right, BUT… I think that as a beginner he can not stand next to P&W or Rolls-Royce:rolleyes: .

Yes, you are right; $60,000 (USD) was the estimated sale price by that time 2001. But there is something you don’t know. From 1990 to 2001 Argentina was living a great financial lie, the Argentine Peso vs. Dollar exchange rate was 1/1 by law, no by free exchange market, this was real for a few months but the lie started to grow to the point that in 2001 the country economy collapsed and the exchange rate went from 1/1 to 1/3 in a week:scared: , It was a chaos, loans were pact in USD, people savings were arranged in USD, so then banks didn’t want to return savings (they didn’t by the way), and people didn’t want pay loans back. Because of this the country was to expensive to export anything, after the collapse all values went down about 3 times. So we could say that 60K would be 20K, considering inflation let’s say today, 25K. I think that it wouldn’t be bad for those in the market for 0hr engines;) .

One more pic Thank you all very much

I’m looking for assistance in the Houston, TX area to look at a Variese for sale that I’m intending to purchase. Or if nobody is available in the area, I’ll appreciate the best any of you can tell me by looking at the add and pictures I got. What to look for. Critical areas and how they should look. Opinions on the price. This is the link to the add http://www.barnstormers.com/cat.php?mode=search&PHPSESSID=108493939743dc38168cfb2e1a6b0848 and these are the pics I got

I don’t know about that. This engine was first developed by Gustavo Labala as a requirement of The Bariloche Atomic Center in Argentina, they needed it for a urine enrichment process for energy generation, then Labala saw the potential for aviation use and, on his own, changed the course of the design, he also tested it with different fuels like, JP1, regular kerosene, diesel and propane and the little machine responded pretty well. The operation is also easier than the reciprocating engine, since there is no prop adjustment, the prop adjust automatically to the delivered power. I’m sorry that I can’t help you with sources of information in English, everything is in Spanish. All I’m telling you, Labala told me and I got it from this link: http://www.aeroespacio.com.ar/site/anteriores/538-550/541/site/_turboh%E9lice.htm I also saw on youtube a 660lbs of thrust turbofan designed by the same guy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypoyRLDdBsg&feature=related PS: my mistake, the C182 was elongated by 8”, not 18

GFL 2000 Turboprop It can deliver 330 shp:D , but was electronically limited to 230 shp to be installed on a C182, this airplane was elongated 18” to compensate weight, gear box reduction is 25-1, prop RPM 2560, engine weight 132 lbs:envy: , 5000hrs to overhaul:banana: . Fuel burning rate wasn’t bad but I don’t remember numbers. Really a dream come true for any Rutan design. Gustavo Labala the designer, built 3 prototypes, I’ve seen two of them running in The Rodriguez EAA Chapter in Argentina, in 2001, one on a bench and the other on the Cessna. WATCH this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ecdDhqA1Z8&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coHg1jfiJI4 Again a dream come true, but a shame that today, 8 years later it hasn’t prosper to a series production. It is really a mystery. All data you can find on the web is from back then. I know he didn’t want to move from the country, he had several offers from the US and Europe, and his country wasn’t supporting him much. Maybe because of that he left everything on at that stage. As soon as I find any updates I’ll let you know. Luis

Hi guys After what you all have said, I’ve come to the conclusion that a Vari project would be my best option, based on budget and time. Now I’m in need of your opinions again. I’m looking at a 1981 VE that it’s been in a hard landing in 1994 and then it’s been stored inside for 15 years, a new main gear has been fitted and it has some work done on the nose, (nose gear still the old one), there was no prop strike and the wings did not touch the ground. It has no engine, no instruments. What do you all think about this? Could it be an easy or a hard one to make it safe to fly again? What should I look for? And, what would it be a fair price to pay? I’ll appreciate all you can say. Thank you all very much Luis

Hey Have you done any reaserch on the BD-5 jet engines? I think thay have about the same thrust, but don't know about the fuel burning rate. Good luck

Summarizing all this I think I can make a better informed decision. I should get an already started VE to get the parts availability issue solved and only think about trailering the plane on summer and winter time. I’m sure that if I had a more comfortable budget I would pick the LE, it’s an amazing airplane.

Rglos So, that plane has been outside for more than 20 years, that's quite of a durability test, even more for the canopy. I think I should check the tie down rates in my area. Luis

Well… First of all thank you for welcoming me and for all the answers I got, and, Waiter I’m sorry if maybe I didn’t act the best way in naming you here when actually I talked to you in a private email, I apologize, I just though that maybe here they know you better and would explain your thoughts differently, but finally you did, thanks a lot. Second, here is my story. I was trying to get a Falcon XP (I don’t know who of you guys know it, but is a totally different machine, canard pusher but ultra light, very nice for an ultra light, it doesn’t look like a kite) as those are very hard to find, I got tired of waiting and searching the web and started to look at different options. Then, I found Varieze very interesting and by the way a big jump in performance and look, keeping a good feature for someone who find hanger expenses very expensive, this feature is trailer ability. So, what still pulls me to Varieze is that (trailer), fuel efficiency (very good), size (a vari would perfectly fit in my two car garage with my wife’s SUV), building cost even though is not that much and the fact that some folks out there are buying plans on ebay and building them (will they know all this we are talking about). But… as every body everywhere says, safety come first and we are not the exception, and before the minimum indication of a safety issue with variezes I will have to make a different decision. So, I need to find out how serious the wing attach concern is. I’m open to read what you guys can add to this Thanks again

Hi everyone My name is Luis, my goal is to build a Varieze, I feel that is right for my right now and I like it better than others designs. So I’m looking for plans. But … in this process I’ve been in touch with Waiter (Iflyez.com) and Tait (Terf.com), and they told me nothing but discouraging things about the Varieze, trying to make me change my mind to the LongEZ, basing their advices on the support, parts availability, performance, superior safety and superior design of the LongEZ. I find it hard to believe that Varieze is a bad choice, there are a lot of them flying and all the owners seem to be happy. What can anyone tell me about this? Thanks a lot Luis