"Morgans" wrote in message
...
I see that two LSA aircrafts that had already been certified, crashed on
their way to SnF, when their engines failed on takeoff. Pilots are badly
injured, but alive, thank goodness. At least the slow speed, low energy
philosophy of the LSA seems to be allowing people to survive bad incidents.

Am I the only one who thinks that Rotax still leaves a lot to be desired,
even their 4 strokes?

I still will not set foot inside an aircraft that is powered by one.
Until an alternate engine is available, LSA is dead on arrival, IMHO.

Jubaru? I don't know. There are more than a few bad reports on them,
too. O-200's are still a choice, as are C-85's, I suppose, but weight and
price makes them somewhat questionable.

I hate to be the pessimist, and I am not a troll, for those who know me
here, but what is a person to do? I had to get it off my chest.
--
Jim in NC

We have a lot of U/L and Light Sport eligible aircraft at my home airfield.
The guys with the 4 stroke Rotax engines never seem to have any problems. I
also have a couple of friends who fly Sonexes (?) with both 4 and 6 cylinder
Jabirus, and they don't seem to have any problems. The guys with the 2
strokes play glider pilot a lot. One fellow a couple of hangars down
probably has a half dozen off-airport landings due to engine problems with 2
stroke engines. I'd guess he has 2,000 hours behind 2 strokes.
Fortunately, there is a lot of farmland near my field which has really
helped keep the 2 stroke guys out of big trouble.

My take on the situation is that a Light Sport aircraft with a 4 stroke
Rotax or a Jabiru is a viable flying machine with X/C ability. The aircraft
with 2 stroke engines are a far different proposition.

KB