Viking engine in Kitfox?

[AeroBuilders]

I like what I see so far from the Viking engine and I would not have a problem running a Viking engine in a new build. I have a lot of experience with tuning Honda 4 cyl engines in the motorsport world and that is one reason I have some faith in this new direction from Jan.

I give Jan some credit too, he knows he had failures in the past with his Subaru conversions but he did not give up. I like that he regrouped, did some research, and set out on a new endeavor, with fresh memories of what not to do from his past Subaru failures. This guy had some guts to get right back in the ring with a new product for the sport aviation marketplace.

Between UL Power and Viking Aircraft Engines, it is great to see some recent competition challenging the Rotax dominance in sport aviation. We all know what the trend is when one company gets too much of the market share....not good.

[rogerh12]

AEROBUILDER. You said that "I give Jan some credit too, he knows he had failures in the past with his Subaru conversions but he did not give up" But he did give up!!! But not just gave up, he ran out and left all his former Subaru customers hanging.

Why would he NOT do this again with the Honda engine customers?
Roger

[AeroBuilders]

The way I see it.....this is no different than most of the small businesses throughout our country. How many of those owners had "perfect" success in their first ventures? Most all my really good friends are all small/medium business owners, and ALL of them had many failures on their way to real success....this is just a natural part of business building imo. How many small/medium/large corporations that you deal with on a daily basis had store closings, product failures, or bad customer service, before they finally achieved a level of business competence (that was finally to your satisfaction)?

If I buy an engine from Jan, it is very very obvious to me I am not buying an engine from Rotax.....I should know that at the start and accept that reality. I am not saying that I should expect to be ripped off (buying an engine from Jan) but I should realize he is not capitalized or as well established (in many levels....engineering, support, experience, etc) like Rotax is. These facts though do not automatically mean Jan will fail again with the Viking engine line....he may actually have a very strong and sound engine offering in his new line.

For a good point of reference....go see what Soichiro Honda had to go through as he built and failed, and built and failed, many times before he grew a large company with great success. Buying products from a new company has inherent risks that people must accept imo, or they are just not being realistic in their overall due diligence.

[AtlasEast]

Well said Aerobuilders.