Info needed for Rotec radial install in Model 4

[Esser]

Glad you are safe and sound Lynn. Any communication with Jabiru?

[Lynn Matteson]

Not much point in talking to Jabiru, as I've got 1698 hours on the engine, and this is WAY beyond the point where any help would be forthcoming from them. I'm just going to chalk this up to experience, and move on. Hell, they were of no help when I broke a timing gear at 500-some hours.
Lynn

[avidflyer]

Glad things went well for you Lynn with the engine out. At least you have a plane to hang an engine on to. I'll bet a 80 HP 912 would do wonders on you Fox, but that of course is up to you. Jim Chuk

[DesertFox4]

Great save Lynn.

Best of luck on the Rotec install.
Here is some visual insperation.

image.jpg

[efwd]

Yeh, Thanks Desertfox4. Man, the Kitfox never looks better than when a Rotec is up front. Im jealous Lynn. Glad to hear your safe. The Kitfox with the Rotec on the Kitfox website is what provoked my Kitfox purchase however Im trying to keep it inside the LSA parameters so Im spending more but going Rotax 912is. I wish the Rotec were lighter. I know I will be doing a lot of solo flying but I would certainly be over 1320# with someone along for the ride and that beautiful engine up front.
Eddie

[Lynn Matteson]

[QUOTE=DesertFox4;58221]Great save Lynn.

Best of luck on the Rotec install.
Here is some visual insperation.

Thanks...what I'm looking for is engine mount dimensions for the Model 4. I live about 4 miles from an under-construction Model 7, with a Rotec 2800. But the mount dimensions are different between the 4 and the 7, and I'm not sure just how much stuff will get in the way down near the footwells. I could tell the mount-maker to space the engine out a bit, but that's not a good approach from a CG point of view. Also, I'm not sure how low to mount the engine from a thrust-line point of view. Was hoping to hear from somebody who has a Model 4, like Joe Meyers. Maybe I need to give John McBean a call, and ask if he has any advice.

Lynn

[cubtractor]

Glad you got down safe Lynn. The radial will be awesome.

[avidflyer]

I have no experience with the radial engine. Was just emailing back and forth a week or so ago about someone who wanted to put a radial on their Kitfox. That prompted me to go look at some videos on utube of the radial in Kitfoxes. Just out of curiosity I counted how many seconds it took to get off the ground in these videos, and some were around 12 seconds. That did not seem impressive to me at all. I don't know the what the weight or density altitude was and that would make lots of difference, but I was surprised it didn't do better. One video is the Kitfox factory plane when it had the radial on the nose. Wonder what the John Mcbean's comments would be. Great sound no doubt, I wonder about the performance. Aren't they supposed to be making 130 HP? Not trying to sound critical, I was just surprised by what I saw. If you're flying floats, all the more reason to be concerned about takeoff performance. Jim Chuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97dO-pq03Qs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL1kVB7e7FE

PS did a bit more checking and see there is a 110 HP model radial engine. That is probably what is being used on these planes. I looked here:
http://www.rotecradialengines.com/0RotecR2800/R2800.htm
it says the engine is 224 lbs dry (almost 100 more than the Jabiru) fuel burn is 5.82 gph, although it doesn't say what the rpm is for that fuel burn. Again I'll say this, I'm not trying to bash this engine, just mentioning what I found out. YMMV

[Lynn Matteson]

[QUOTE=DesertFox4;58221]Great save Lynn.


Thanks.....I used to hear that all the time when playing goalie on an ice hockey team....now I hear it too often while flying....


Best of luck on the Rotec install.
Here is some visual insperation.

[jmodguy]

Lynn
Go for it! There will always be naysayers and some that say this or that. It is known that the Kitfox will fly with the radial. That should be enough. If you like the sound of a radial then go for it! I was considering a Rotec until I decided on an IO-340. Got some negative feedback here and then Kitfox posted some pretty neat info on their website... An O-340 on a Kitfox SS.
Hmmmm
DO IT! I triple dog dare you!!
Jeff