Hi ALL,
For those of you thinking of going with the Norton / Mid West Wankel, forget it
!
The fuel burn was half as much again as a 912 [ same journey, same speed ] the
nearly total loss oil lubrication system deposited huge quantities of very
expensive
oil down the belly of the aircraft, and the noise was horrific.
We struggled for nearly two years to get it to run nicely, without hicking /
popping
/ burping, [which improoved ones airmanship, because you were allways picking
into wind fields ahead, ''just in case''].
The light weight was it's only good point, but even that was a disadvantage when
we eventually removed it, if it had been heavier, we could have used it as a
boat anchor !
At this moment in time, there is no good reason to not fit a Rotax 912 / 914.
Cheers,
Nev.
>>> "Peter Zutrauen" <peterz@zutrasoft.com> 01/28/04 09:05pm >>>
Hi Ken,
The Mazda at 300lbs installed weight for a 2 rotor, it's just too heavy.
I'm keeping my eye on a single rotor variant with custom aluminum side
plates.... @ less than 200lbs - but it's still in the very early
development stages and as such is still unproven. Richard Sohn is the
fellow doing the work unicorn@gdsys.net. I have some pics I could email
you.
The Midwest Norton rotary was tried in the Europa early on by the
factory (as per the old newsletters), but they apparently had cooling
issues - there may be one or two flying in the UK. The Norton design has
now been purchased by Diamond Aircraft, and marketed out of Italy.
http://aeroshop.it/engines/
Likely very expensive, and one would still likely have the cooling and
consumption issues. Nice and light though (105Hp @ 155lbs wet with a
second alternator).
Cheers,
Pete
A239
-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth Gresham [mailto:kgresham@mtco.com]
Subject: Europa-List: Engine options
Just wondering if any builders are or will be using a Mazda rotary?
Ken Gresham , Illinois
A268
Preparing to fit wings
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