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Rotax engines banned from use in military drones


JG3

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I would.  I’ve had a 912 seize and poke bits on inside outside at fewer than 700hrs and my trike has a landing speed around 30knts so landing followed without injury to me.    At under 75% of a 912 I would take a Chinese copy.  

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RFguy, what possible benefit would it be to China or Australia to go to war?

 

Clearly China is the next boogyman in the sad and endless list of US boogymen used to maintain the necessary national paranoia, so justifying their defence spending and foreign policies....but that don't mean the rest of us have to buy into it............

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IBob I'm no proponent of any war.

 

actually I'm more concerned the very fancy silicon chips I use that come out of Taiwan would be interrupted, and I'd rather there wasn't a conflict, it would be bad for business...

 

Kasper, your 912... was it one of the generation that fretted crankcases?

 

 

 

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No. It was one of tho ones that snapped its crank in half and ate itself.  Mine was not the only one I’m aware of but Mr. Rotax was not interested.

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9 hours ago, IBob said:

RFguy, what possible benefit would it be to China or Australia to go to war?

 

Clearly China is the next boogyman in the sad and endless list of US boogymen used to maintain the necessary national paranoia, so justifying their defence spending and foreign policies....but that don't mean the rest of us have to buy into it............

The return of the great China famine ‘59 to  ‘61  when 30mil died…….it will be worse next time around 😞.  I am waiting…….

 

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I wonder if the ZS engine is a physical copy (at least in dimensions, dunno about materials), or is a undisclosed Rotax license ? That's also possible.  If anyone is interested :

http://en.zsaeroengine.com/

 

Superior engines are a similar comparison. Though one could argue the Lycoming design is long older than the Rotax. (in terms of what is fair game) . 

I wonder if the Brumbys that are sold into China use them.  I will ask. The new Australian Brumbys certainly have genuine Rotax . (I see them).

 

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1 minute ago, RFguy said:

I wonder if the ZS engine is a physical copy (at least in dimensions, dunno about materials), or is a undisclosed Rotax license ? That's also possible.  If anyone is interested :

http://en.zsaeroengine.com/

 

Superior engines are a similar comparison. Though one could argue the Lycoming design is long older than the Rotax. (in terms of what is fair game) . 

I wonder if the Brumbys that are sold into China use them.  I will ask. The new Australian Brumbys certainly have genuine Rotax . (I see them).

 

On principle I won’t buy the ZS engine, not to mention there are becoming more alternatives as time goes on.   Reliability will only be seen when many thousands of ZS engines are in service.

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The 'new' lightweight 89kg O200-D is another option in that power range.  (although water cooled engine solves many cowling, ducting difficulties) ....similar money to an 100hp rotax. clutch on rotax is the plus if you have a prop strike. that's a worthy feature if you need to land in paddock. 

 

I can understand Kasper's comment if he had a rotax throw a crankshaft. Yes, one of very few, to be sure.

 

Edited by RFguy
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I don't think giving you  a new one (engine) for the first 500 hours, cuts it in aviation. It's the way they work in Bunnings  but your life usually doesn't depend on your drill.. Nev

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Badly put. 500 hours may be 10 years. The usual cover is 12 months elapsed. If you buy a lot from Bunnings it would PAY to keep your receipts.. The point it it's cheaper for them to just replace than UP the Quality Control. which is not appropriate for aircraft. (I would argue). SOME engine designs are more critical on fits and materials specs than others. Nev

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really depends what they set out to do.  The chinese can make good stuff if they really  want to . sometimes brands are established (where the reputation matters) and once a company has a good reputation, they can let the quality go a bit. Goes for all fields. 

We'll see how my cooling solutions go for my Jab. I have a couple of axial compressor-blowers to install , will pump that in at the far end of the cooling plenums. Maybe oil flood flow the rocker compartments etc. 
 

 

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QC is incorporated into the machining  and materials conforming to specs/ inspection process Samples and testing. You either have it or you don't. Outsourcing can cause deviations that prove fatal to QC. Look at BOEING.  Nev 

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Rf guy, please do only one thing at once on your Jabiru cooling mission. I can't talk though, I did several things at once and now I don't know what worked and what did not. Mind you, the engine ran nice and cool but I should have been more scientific.

Ian, is there a thread on the other site where we can discuss the war with china stuff?

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2 minutes ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Ian, is there a thread on the other site where we can discuss the war with china stuff?

If there isn't one you can always create one

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Hi Bruce

a litre of  oil through the rocker COMPARTMENT  per minute can pull about 500W out, which is about 1/2 idle dissipation. That would fix getting hot sitting on the apron. it might be useful to cool valve stems also, but I am unsure of the effect of having flooded rockers area with no valve guide seals. However it wouldnt be under pressure, , just overflow into a can and then back into the cracnkcase.

The axial blowers are quite effective. 120CFM into 3" of water  !!! only 3" diameter but they'd need to be mounted  in a place not too hot and some scat into the rear of the plenums which needs some 3d printers and glassing.... those blowers would give the rear very cool. 
 

 

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Kasper, can you confirm that the Rotax crankshaft is made up of pressed-together bits? Just like a lawnmower?

If so, I am surprised that it was ever certified but I have to say that you don't hear of them failing often.

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Bruce the axial blowers are about 80W each at full smoke. 14000 RPM.... they each have TWO counter rotating motors.  Lose one motor and you are still at ~ 40% of max if the other still moves,  depending on the type of stoppage of the other .

 

 

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  • 3 months later...
On 25/10/2020 at 5:32 AM, cscotthendry said:

If you truly believe that is how UAVs are used, you need to do some reading.

 

”drones” are piloted by professional fighter pilots and targets are studied for months before a strike. Even then, a strike is only authorized at the highest level. After a strike, the pilot and/or weapons officer are counselled and debriefed for the psychological impacts of carrying out an assassination.

Your characterization of computer geeks running rampant and frivolously firing off Hellfire missles at people who've annoyed them is as ignorant as it is offensive.

Interesting.

 

Are drones operated by  'fighter pilots'? In my recollection teams launching drones didn't  seem to include aviators. But not saying there weren't other controllers in other parts of the world who could assume control at different stages of flight and operations. I have no idea... Never asked. 

 

But I find it hard to believe 'targets are studied for months before a strike'.  Maybe some were but many were targets of opportunity in fast evolving situations... 

 

Never drive a white Toyota Corolla 'erratically'. Apparently that's grounds for vaporisation.

 

Nasty business

 

Alan

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On 25/10/2020 at 5:32 AM, cscotthendry said:

If you truly believe that is how UAVs are used, you need to do some reading.

 

”drones” are piloted by professional fighter pilots and targets are studied for months before a strike. Even then, a strike is only authorized at the highest level. After a strike, the pilot and/or weapons officer are counselled and debriefed for the psychological impacts of carrying out an assassination.

Your characterization of computer geeks running rampant and frivolously firing off Hellfire missles at people who've annoyed them is as ignorant as it is offensive.

Interesting.

 

Are drones operated by  'fighter pilots'? In my recollection teams launching drones didn't  seem to include aviators. But not saying there weren't other controllers in other parts of the world who could assume control at different stages of flight and operations. I have no idea... Never asked. 

 

But I find it hard to believe 'targets are studied for months before a strike'.  Maybe some were but many were targets of opportunity in fast evolving situations... 

 

Never drive a white Toyota Corolla 'erratically'. Apparently that's grounds for vaporisation.

 

Nasty business

 

Alan

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