Back in the air?

[Monocock]

Chargerbill,

Something tells me you aren't a fan of the Rotax!!

[chargerbill]

Update:
I flew an Evektor today. Equipped with the Rotax 912s. Wow, I am shocked at the performance!
An update for the Rotax Mafia out there!
http://www.evektor.com/sportstar/

[chargerbill]

Monocock,
I didn't have an opinion one way or the other, until today. I was truly impressed with Rotax!
I'm going to explore a Jab as well. Although, I really do like the appearance of the Rotec...
Simplicity is what I'm really looking for. Of the three I'm considering (Rotec, Rotex, Jab) The Rotex is the most complex.
When its all said and done, I'll probably get the Rotec 2800. It makes a damn good looking airplane!

[chargerbill]

C5Engineer,
A friend (Jessup) was a C-5 FE, I believe he transferred to Travis after leaving Altus...what a cool plane to!
My ole KC-10 was transferred to Travis (6031) from Seymour-Johnson in the 90's...and I went to McGuire. The plane definately recieved the better assignment!

[HighWing]

Like Dorsal, this is just some observations on "simpliciity". First, the Rotec is fairly new especially as far as factory support. I think the guys that go that route, will be beta testers on the engine and that is never simple. The Rotax 912 series have been around since the early 90s and on Kitfoxes since about that time. With the Rotax, there is really nothing new under the sun and tons of experience and help in this forum and elsewere. In my opinion, there can be nothing simpler than the water cooled Rotax. I just installed the cooling system on a Series V and it took a day. It took that long because I changed out the SS straps for the radiator mount to 4130 and paint needed to dry. Three years ago, I put in the baffeling on an IO-540 in a Lancair-IV, and that is a several day challenge if you want nutplates for easier removeal for annuals. Then you get to replace baffles from time to time as they wear and crack. The Jab has fiberglass baffling which I understand is pretty nice, but still you have to remove it for annuals and I have no idea if the installation would beat the cooling sytem in the Rotax.

flying? With the Kitfox, no problem diving down the canyon to the river side strip - shock cooling not an issue. With the Rotec, it is new and you will have to decide if it is the engine for you for the long haul. I guess my prejudice is showing, but my guess is that there is in excess of a half million hours in Rotax engines pulling Kitfoxes, likely less than 1,000 with Rotec (maybe less than 500) and probably 10-15,000 in Jabaru.

What ever it is, Go for it!