Re: Engines

[David Doshay <ddoshay@cisco.com>]

So far everything I've read on this thread has been very good, and I
wondered what more I can really add. But I have taken first steps (spending
$$$$) on a truely experimental engine, so I thought I might mumble about
why I have at least started down this road.

I have purchased a 3 rotor Mazda 20b engine. It was removed from a car in
Japan, most probably at 50,000 km when all cars there are required to
remove and replace the engine. I've been out to Ross Aero in Tucson and
discussed their PSRU and which ratios might work best, but I have not
bought a PSRU yet.

There is no doubt in my mind that this engine is the most uncertain part of
this Velocity-to-be. 

Considering all the changes this engine will cause has brought my project
to a complete halt. I was not moving all that fast before the engine got
here, but now no building at all is going on. It is probably not all the
engine's fault ... ;^)

So, why did I get into this at all? Well, I guess it all plays into the
time when I was a teen and decided that building a plane was something I
knew I would want to do someday. About that same time Mercedes had a
research car called the C-111. It was powered by a 3-rotor Wankel engine,
and I was quite struck by the car and the technology. When Mazda began
mass-producing rotories and they started ending up in airplanes it just
"seemed right." Other folks have gone on for years about these engines, and
there is no point in my repeating it.

Right now my attitude is that I bought the engine because I've always
wanted to have a 3-rotor Wankel engine, and when I had the chance to get
one I did not want to let it slip away. Right now I am not sure if it will
power the Velocity I am building or not. I hope so, but I am not about to
underestimate the quantity of work which will be required to make
everything work correctly. 

I am glad that I will have some time before I have to make a 'final'
decision. I'm prepared to change back to a certificated engine if it all
gets to be too much with this engine. But I intend to give it a fair try.

Cheers,
David