Advice needed on buying used experimental..

[Uncle Sparky]

Oil analysis on a 2-cycle engine??? Where do you pull the sample from? The oil injection tank? Or wipe it off of the fuselage and wring it into the sample jar? Sorry, I don't mean to be belligerent,

'Sled

Hokay.....first things first........I was speaking in general terms re: engine inspection guidelines or the perceived lack of. And for argument sake, if it has an oil bathed PSRU, I would want a sample.

Most mechanics dont' own eddy current testers and aren't qualified to use one. Splitting an engine case as part of a prebuy inspection? Insanity. You're planning to split a case and then test the crankshaft of an engine with an eddy current tester and d

I'll try and state it as nicely as possible. There is no need to split cases to check endplay. I'm not talking about Plastigauge and main' clearances, I'm talking about grabbing the end of the crankshaft while a dial indicator is attached and going "ker-THUNK!...ker-THUNK!....ker-THUNK!".....or hopefully(for the sake of the potential buyer)there won't be any "ker-THUNK"ing or other obvious cold tolerance problems. ....same goes for the dye or eddy.... The exposed end of the VW crankshaft(the VW being the most notorious for c/s failure) is where breakage occurs. Again, no need to split cases, just make sure the mounting end isn't about to become an ex-mounting end! You would have to split the cases to check crankshaft wear and tolerances(as Sled pointed out, a 2-stroke is a dry-sump motor), that may be a bigger concern than drive attachment point wear or failure(as jbDC9 was making reference to I believe). I've talked to a lot of experimental owners and the general consensus is "the money that you save by using the cheaper engine will just be spent at the other end via modification attempts or more frequent breakage". The majority seem to to think that a certified engine is still the best route.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. All of Oshkosh's CFR trucks are powered by Caterpillar diesel engines.

.....the 3208 Cat is a two-stroke diesel.

 

[Uncle Sparky]

Doesn't being an A & P make owning a plane a helluva lot cheaper though? If you work on a plane yourself it can't be that expensive.

If you think pilot's pay stinks, you should see what mechanics make! The physical maintenance costs IMO aren't as big a factor as parts, fuel, insurance and storage. At any rate it's only 1/5th of the equation and doesn't take away a big enough "dent" for my paltry wallet to afford it.

 

[RightPedal]

A friend of mine has been flying a kitfox for many years. He loves the thing.
I wouldn't worry about the rotax, it just sounds funny because it's a two-stroke engine, but from what I'm told they are very good engines.
I wouldn't want one myself but that's just me. The good thing is (I think, may be wrong) that if you're mechanically inclined, you do the work yourself, no A&P required. It would be a good idea to have a mechanic to help though.
For $16,500 you could find yourself a good C152. A buddy of mine got a nice one for less than that.
The key to aircraft ownership is to get an A&P/IA to supervise and you do the work. I've owned two airplanes and if it weren't for my friend being an IA, I couldn't have owned one. You take your plane into any old shop for an annual and they will eat your lunch. I was working on the side for a guy to help pay for fuel. I had to let him do the annual on my maule because I was to busy at work to take a week off and do the usual way. He ask me for $3800 up front because He said I had to have a longeron (SP?) replaced. I looked at it and said bull. I closed it up, got a ferry permit and took it elsewhere. That was the most expensive annual I ever had. It cost me $875 to fix the fabric where they cut it open to expose light surface rust and mud on the lower longeron tubes.
Owning an aircraft required one of two things. Be rich, or be smart. If you're going to fly, being paid to do it is the best way but owning is the second best. The rental game is a pain in the a$$.

 

[Uncle Sparky]

Sorry, I don't mean to be belligerent,

'Sled

That's okay......if anybody is due for a hit-n-run from the Karma bus, with a back-over for good measure , it's me!
My boss said the same thing(re: 2-strokes and oil), when he read it!

 

[avbug]

Not all two stroke engines are dry sump engines.


Checking crankshaft endplay describes the final bearing wear to a slight degree, and a bent crankshaft, nothing more. It does little to diagnose the health of the engine that to address an already severe, obvious problem.

 

[Uncle Sparky]

You would have to split the cases to check crankshaft wear and tolerances(as Sled pointed out, a 2-stroke is a dry-sump motor), that may be a bigger concern than drive attachment point wear or failure.

Thanks for restating what I've already pointed out Sorry.........MOST two-strokes are dry-sump engines......the aformentioned Caterpillar is one wet-sump example. I think he was referring to the subject engine not the entire range of engines every conceived. The engine in question, I believe is dry though. Geez......wait a second while I don my asbestos suit!