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Super Dimona Motorglider in Soaring magazine feb 2004
Interesting article. Too bad (for US pilots) it uses
the "despised in the US" rotax engine. But this is a real favorite in Europe, I'm told. CFR 61.69(a)(1) requires tow pilots to "Holds at least a private pilot certificate with a category rating for powered aircraft." Perhaps the last 7 words should be eliminated so glider only licensed PPL, self-launch endorsed pilots can use this aircraft to tow? It looks a little flimsy for daily tow work, but if one could convince the insurer to allow instruction during towing, one could make the tow flight an instruction flight too...double the customers, right? |
#2
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Why is the Rotax despised in the U.S.?
Regards, Rod |
#3
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At 19:42 10 February 2004, Mark James Boyd wrote:
Interesting article. Too bad (for US pilots) it uses the 'despised in the US' rotax engine. But this is a real favorite in Europe, I'm told. Please note Dick Johnson's article was NOT about the HK36R Super Dimona, which was issued US Type Certificate G51EU in July, 1993 and is powered by an 80-hp Rotax 912a. Dick's article regards a look-alike cousin, issued US type certificate G07CE in 1997 as an HK36TTC. This model is powered by a 115-hp turbocharged Rotax 914 F series engine. Judy |
#4
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In article , Rod wrote:
Why is the Rotax despised in the U.S.? Regards, Rod Ooops...politically correct... Ummm..."some mechanics in the US are less familiar with Rotax than the more commonly found Continental and Lycoming engines popular in many US aircraft" Or the translation (some mechanic terms may be mungled for less clarit): "What are you thinking bringing me this f****r to work on? I don' have any G*****n parts for it and it'll take six years and postage from Alaska just to get the m***********g manual. You couldn't just put in a gool Ol' Cub engine? This piece of s**t is designed by some b*********g Swiss watchmaker..." Often followed by the U.S. mechanic inquiring gently about your geneology and how your sexual preference may inhibit your prospects for children and there's probably a mechanic in Massachusets that could better help you... |
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In article ,
Judy Ruprecht wrote: At 19:42 10 February 2004, Mark James Boyd wrote: Interesting article. Too bad (for US pilots) it uses the 'despised in the US' rotax engine. But this is a real favorite in Europe, I'm told. Please note Dick Johnson's article was NOT about the HK36R Super Dimona, which was issued US Type Certificate G51EU in July, 1993 and is powered by an 80-hp Rotax 912a. Dick's article regards a look-alike cousin, issued US type certificate G07CE in 1997 as an HK36TTC. This model is powered by a 115-hp turbocharged Rotax 914 F series engine. Judy Well, the index in the front of Soaring said: 19 A Flight Test Evaluation of the HK36TTC Super Dimona Motorglider. and Dean Carswell's page 25 article starts: "The Diamond Aircraft HK 36TTC Katana Xtreme (marketed in some parts of the world as the Super Dimona) is a..." I was unaware there would be any ambiguity (I didn't know about the other Super Dimona) and thank Judy for pointing this out. |
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perhaps because previous to the Dimona Motorglider.. they were previously
used on non-certificated aircraft like ultra lights or some small experimental.. and as a previous poster noted.. most US A&Ps are not used to working on them BT "Rod" wrote in message ... Why is the Rotax despised in the U.S.? Regards, Rod |
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Mark James Boyd wrote:
In article , Rod wrote: Why is the Rotax despised in the U.S.? Regards, Rod Ooops...politically correct... Ummm..."some mechanics in the US are less familiar with Rotax than the more commonly found Continental and Lycoming engines popular in many US aircraft" Or the translation (some mechanic terms may be mungled for less clarit): "What are you thinking bringing me this f****r to work on? I don' have any G*****n parts for it and it'll take six years and postage from Alaska just to get the m***********g manual. You couldn't just put in a gool Ol' Cub engine? This piece of s**t is designed by some b*********g Swiss watchmaker..." "Despised by mechanics" is quite different from "despised in the US". Rotaxes are used on gliders like the Stemme and Ximango, and by zillions of ultralights and amateur built airplanes. Are you sure parts are hard to get? I've seen thick catalogs for Rotax parts in the US, and a thousands of hits for "rotax engine parts" on the web, plus repair station listings. -- ----- change "netto" to "net" to email me directly Eric Greenwell Washington State USA |
#8
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In article ,
Eric Greenwell wrote: Mark James Boyd wrote: In article , Rod wrote: Why is the Rotax despised in the U.S.? Regards, Rod Ooops...politically correct... Ummm..."some mechanics in the US are less familiar with Rotax than the more commonly found Continental and Lycoming engines popular in many US aircraft" Or the translation (some mechanic terms may be mungled for less clarit): "What are you thinking bringing me this f****r to work on? I don' have any G*****n parts for it and it'll take six years and postage from Alaska just to get the m***********g manual. You couldn't just put in a gool Ol' Cub engine? This piece of s**t is designed by some b*********g Swiss watchmaker..." "Despised by mechanics" is quite different from "despised in the US". Rotaxes are used on gliders like the Stemme and Ximango, and by zillions of ultralights and amateur built airplanes. Are you sure parts are hard to get? I've seen thick catalogs for Rotax parts in the US, and a thousands of hits for "rotax engine parts" on the web, plus repair station listings. -- ----- change "netto" to "net" to email me directly Eric Greenwell Washington State USA I once again retract my previous post. Nobody anywhere despises Rotax engines. This was simply wrong and golly, I'm sorry. So just cut and paste in: "Some mechanics in the US are less familiar with Rotax than the more commonly found Continental and Lycoming engines popular in many US aircraft" ....and I never said parts were hard to find. I'm sure there are lots of DISassembled Rotax engines all over the U.S... grin |
#10
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Mark James Boyd wrote:
Interesting article. Too bad (for US pilots) it uses the "despised in the US" rotax engine. But this is a real favorite in Europe, I'm told. I also despise this Rotax engine, although not being an US pilot. Since we bought our Super Dimona 5 years ago we never had a season without engine problem(s). The last season we spent 26000 euros on repairs/exchange. We had to hire another Dimona for towing during the long period we had to wait for the replacement engine. The good news is that hiring another tug was cheaper than using our own one, but this opportunity is going to stop as the owner is selling the plane. Maybe the Rotax is a very good engine for ultralights, or even for the Dimona used as a touring motor glider, but when used as a tug, the stress seems to be to high for this engine, at least in the conditions of my club (20 club gliders and 5 private owners using aerotow, we add the second tug, a Rallye, when more than the half fleet is waiting for launch). The version of the Super Dimona used as tug is model HK36 115 TTC (I think the TC means turbo charged). The maximum time during which the full power (115 HP) is allowed is 5 minutes, but during a good soaring day, each flight is a 5 minutes climb at full power followed by 1 minute descent and landing, and I can understand that the engine doesn't like that. |
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