Simple home built?

FormerHangie said:
I'm thoroughly convinced that any VW based powerplant won't generate enough thrust to adequately power a two seat airplane. Maybe the Revmaster can, maybe.
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Funny. My aerovee powered Sonex didn't have any problem flying me and my dad from Connecticut to Oshkosh this year. Would I have preferred a Jabiru 3300? Sure. I would also prefer to be driving a corvette instead of a Honda civic but the Honda and the aerovee is alot cheaper and still gets the job done.

Keith
 
kmacht said:
Funny. My aerovee powered Sonex didn't have any problem flying me and my dad from Connecticut to Oshkosh this year. Would I have preferred a Jabiru 3300? Sure. I would also prefer to be driving a corvette instead of a Honda civic but the Honda and the aerovee is alot cheaper and still gets the job done.

Keith
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You make a good point.
 
Number7 said:
I a not familiar with the hirth engine. Does anyone use one? Know about them? Flown one?
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Not heard good things about them. Strike that, I've heard bad things about them. Could be that I just heard them from the 10 people who had major problems.

I think this same thread is on AOPA. Sonex is your acrobatic choice and they're suggesting the Aerovee Turbo VW now to overcome the power issue. A standard VW, even the 2276cc is underpowered for this airplane. But give up on the idea that it's 30k. The airframe is 17,500 with no options, the engine is 11,000, so you're at 28,500 and you have none of those little extras that you're going to want. Things like an ASI, a tachometer or a carburetor. I've worked at pricing a sonex, my figuring puts the price between 35 and 40k and you're looking at something like 2000+ hours to build it.

If you can live without an acrobatic airplane, I'll recommend one of the Airdrome Aeroplanes two seaters. http://www.airdromeaeroplanes.com/. Because of construction techniques (riveted aluminum tubing + fabric), this is legitimately a 600 hour build for a first time builder. Pricing should be well under 30k. If you've seen a WWI flying movie in the past 5 years, odds are these guys built the airplanes for them.
 
X3 Skier said:
Two stroke engines made in Germany. They could be considered a replacement for the small Rotax engines no longer manufactured. http://www.recpower.com/hirth.htm

Cheers
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They have a very mixed and rather bad reputation in Germany. While their older, more basic engines seemed to be OK, particularly the newer, more powerful, fuel injected ones were and maybe still are apparently plagued with catastrophic failures. LSA are extremely popular in Germany, AFAIK all larger manufacturers however either dropped Hirth or decided against them after some testing. Customer service also seems to be non existing.

While I have no personal experience with them, multiple discussion in Internet forums and used engines, with only a few dozend hours showing up on the market, were however enough to keep me away from them.

Now, I don't want to say that one should stay away from them at all cost, I however suggest that anybody who is interested in a Hirth engine should do some serious research before taking the plunge.
 
bflynn said:
Not heard good things about them. Strike that, I've heard bad things about them. Could be that I just heard them from the 10 people who had major problems. [...]
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You beat me by a few minutes. ;)

This is exactly what I heard in German forums, where many people installed the newer Hirths, only to be disappointed. On paper, they sound like the perfect Rotax replacement, even for the 912. Some pilots however reported that their excitement reached unknown heights, when their engines would either not start or, even worse, fail in midair. To make things worse, Hirth apparently blamed in all cases the pilot. :mad:

I guess the reliability varies between the different models, the customer service however probably stays the the same.
 
I wonder??? Is this a case of the squeaky wheel is the only one heard?
 
The UL Power engines are a great choice for a Rotax replacement. Air cooled, direct drive and weighs less than a Rotax because there is no radiator or gearbox. Electronic fuel injection with aoutomatic mixture control. I'm flying a Zenith 750 with a UL 350Is and it is very smooth and starts instantly. Also they cost less than a Rotax. Don
 
I have no experience with Hirth, or Rotax for that matter, but I won't have a two cycle engine in a flying machine. I only note both Rotax and Hirth are recommended choices for Airdrome Aeroplanes on the website and by Robert Baslee, the owner and President when I talked to him about engine choices. YMMV

Cheers
 
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I built a Sonex when I retired. Took 9 months working on it pretty much like a full time job. Plans are pretty straight forward.

RT
 
RogerT said:
I built a Sonex when I retired. Took 9 months working on it pretty much like a full time job. Plans are pretty straight forward.

RT
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Was it a one man job?
What were the greatest challenges?
Any photos of the work as it progressed?

Thanks in advance.
 
Also, was that a kit, any quickbuild options, or was it plans built?
 
I recently talked to a guy who built an O200-powered 750 in about 9 months. Sounded like a nice plane, the cruzer even more so.

The ulpower engines look neat but the lack of hydraulic tappets and low TBO give me pause.

yakdriver said:
The UL Power engines are a great choice for a Rotax replacement. Air cooled, direct drive and weighs less than a Rotax because there is no radiator or gearbox. Electronic fuel injection with aoutomatic mixture control. I'm flying a Zenith 750 with a UL 350Is and it is very smooth and starts instantly. Also they cost less than a Rotax. Don
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GeorgeC said:
I recently talked to a guy who built an O200-powered 750 in about 9 months. Sounded like a nice plane, the cruzer even more so.

The ulpower engines look neat but the lack of hydraulic tappets and low TBO give me pause.
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That's a really fast time for a build. That's probably 30-40 hours/week building. Maybe a little less for a quick build.
 
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