Lw-4

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Well, the wheels are in motion for my new Little Wing LW-4 project. The airframe should be ready sometime in December or January.

I should be recieving the engine in late December or early January. I know Ron is dying to know what engine I went with. So, without any further introduction,

http://www.greatplainsas.com/llc1.html

I ordered it yesturday with a 1.6:1 re-drive. 120hp @4200rpm less than 215lbs with all accessories. 100hp continuous @3400rpm.

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[CLS447]

John, I like it ! What is the delivery time?

What prop are you thinking about?

[GyroRon]

I look forwards to seeing how the engine holds up. I can tell you that the Little bing carb is going to be a bitch to get set up properly. the air intake going into the carb has to be just right to avoid getting false pressures in the carb which will automatically adjust to the wrong mixture setting. That carb is standard on the jabiru engines and the most popular mod to the jabirus is to trash that carb and use a throttle body type carb.

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Chris, delivery should be a little before or after Christmas. The prop is gonna be a big wood 72/46 I think. I'm waiting on a prop recommendation Tennessee Prop.

Ron, I'm having the engine assembled and test ran. The carb should be set when I get it. Thanks for the support.

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[MattPearson]

John,
That's the engine that myself and James McNeilly are looking at getting as well. If you would have waited, we could have bought them together and received a nice discount... Oh well...

[Harry_S.]

John, I posted or rather typed an appropriate reply... but my ISP crashed just as I pushed the button. Right now the only thing I remember is... whatever.
I know it was in your favor.

When I recall what it was, I will re-post.

Damn...old age and a few beers really messes with your mind.


Cheers :)

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Easy Harry, try liquor. Works faster.

Matt, who said I didn't get a discount. This is my second engine from him and I'm a former car dealer :D Besides, how was to know that all of you firmly decided on this engine and what date you were planning to purchase?

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[Cobra Doc]

John keep us posted. A few fixed-wing guys I know have ordered this engine for Sonex applications. Specs and price look like it might kick the 912 right in the cajones.

[MattPearson]

Cool! Glad you got a deal!

[GyroRon]

John it is not a matter of setting up the carb at the factory, or test running it. The airflow into the carb has to be just right or the carb will act up. This is hard to make happen on a test stand. Once in the aircraft and in a cowling and in flight, that is where there is problems. Go to the jabiru yahoo group and read all the posts there about the bing carbs. They use the Exact same carb. The trick is in making a intake box of the proper size and shape to go between the airfilter and the carb. On alot of installations there isn't much room to make a box so there is a product sold called a Cobras head intake that helps there.

there is a chance that the engine will run fine since you might not have a fancy cowling and also since your not going to be flying at high speeds which seems to be part of the problem with the Jabiru installations on the Sonex sportplanes.

[Rick Whittridge]

John, What happened to that High dollar round engine you ordered?

[scottessex]

I think the round engine went right here.









Sorry John. ;)

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After the loss of the business, I couldn't complete the transaction on the radial. even though I got the engine at a great price of $12,500, by the time you got all of the accessories, it would have been over 17k for a 115hp engine that starts at 215lbs before accessories.

I'm in discussions with Rotec on deposit refund. I may be out the deposit, maybe not, but added to the cost of the new engine is still way cheaper than the radial with accessories.

Sometimes you have to pay the price of being hasty, but I try to even things out in the negotiations iether in products bought or sold so it all works out in the end.

Remember that the strongest leverage you have when negotiating is the ability to write a check. What good does it do going to a car lot to get a price, if you aren't ready to buy, or can't buy.

When I negotiated a deal with Rotec, I had to be able to put down a deposit. So I did. It was never mentioned or brought up as to whether or not it was refundable. I also had no idea things would turn out the way they did, and not be able to complete the transaction. So, like you, I am curious as to how they will conduct business. I put the ball in their court, and I will be the first to let all of you know how it went.

I kinda expect that they will keep a portion as a penalty for not completing the transaction, but I suspect I will get most of it back. we'll see.

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[Cobra Doc]

Want to turn a really big prop with 160hp? http://www.deltahawkengines.com :D

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Just a little update.

The VeeDubb on steriods is paid for and I'm making arrangements to have the engine shipped to Ron so that the motor mount can be attached to the frame. ETA on the engine should be the end of the month.

Hopefully, I'll be able to pick up the frame in January for powdercoating and completion.

Rotec was very pleasant to work with, and I was refunded my deposit less wiring fees both ways.

[mcbirdman]

That is great John !

Hey - don't take all his VW's..........

[MattPearson]

John,
Are you going to lower the engine and who is making your mount?
Thanks

[mcbirdman]

hey matt - which Ron do you think? (see two posts up ) lol....

But excellent question.......

[mcbirdman]

this will affect the cowling enclosure and the firewall size for fitting depending on how much lower the motor will go..... Guess I won't work on that til I hear more..... good one Matt.

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Diel or Deil makes a tube motor mount to fit the Deil backplate on the VW. I think it's about $200.00. As it's my understanding, the mount is set up taking the re-drive into account. I'm sending the engine to Ron Herron who has the airframe and mount to verify proper alignment. Ron will then Attach the mount to the airframe, and I'll go and pick it up engine and airframe from AR.

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[mcbirdman]

If you are going to use the vw cowling from preceptor it has the jug holes already incorporated IF I remember right. Anyway, if you lower the engine the jugs go lower and the hole for the jugs just gets bigger at the top since the engine would sit lower. The top cowling 1/2 is also made with the prop shaft area preconfigured. If we have to lower the engine 4 inches or so the holes on jugs,prop shaft and the firewall size could be affected. Not that big a deal doing fiberglass but I think something is going to have to be modified a bit..... (that is ok though..... what is a little more work?)

[Brent_Brown]

John if that is the case I can help you get the glass done. When you get it all to look at let me know.

[MattPearson]

In order to get the thrust line back close to within 1/2" of CLT the engine must be lowered 6 inches assuming the CG of the engine itself is similar to a direct drive VW.
John, I was not aware that they had a ready to go engine mount for the re-drive engines. That's cool. I assume got it from Great Plains?

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James, I was wondering where I could get a cowl or if I had to get one fabricated.

Brent, You know I'd love your help on the cowl issue. I love your work, and happy to pay for it.

Matt, the motor mount came from Diel, and Ron Herron got it for me. Drop Ron Herron a line or contact diel on motor mount availabilities.

As I mentioned before, I'm not a builder. I'm an assembler. Because of this, I pay others for thier knowledge and skill. May take me a year or so, but I'll have a solid ship. Still having trouble settling on paint scheme. These airframes look great in Yellow, but everyone seems to have a yellow LittleWing.

I've had the pleasure or seeing Brent Browns craftsmanship with his tall tail, and when I need glass work done, he's the man I'm calling.

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[GyroRon]

I thought the paint scheme had already been decided and settled on?

[MattPearson]

After nearly getting run down by a Bonanza a few weeks ago, I am definitely going with YELLOW!

[donshoebridge]

After nearly getting run down by a Bonanza a few weeks ago, I am definitely going with YELLOW!

Camouflage and machine guns would also be a good option. :D

[mcbirdman]

Hi John,

Contact Duwayne at preceptor aircraft. If you do a search on preceptor you will see their super pup and others that are basically the same airframe. His phone number is 828 286 1926. I will tell you that we are having a hard time getting returned calls. Not sure if it is a small operation or what BUT. .... when I did have a problem with the leaky tank we talked about....... he did send me a replacement n/c so I know he does come through, even if it takes a while. I can't remember the price of the cowling but it is still worth it to get it and then modify from there instead of scratch building. It is going to have to be modified more than usual. take care, jtm

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Here are some ideas I had about the paint scheme when I was planning the radial. Now, how would it look with a cowl?

Here's a blank if anyone want to try out some paint schemes and post your ideas. I looking for fresh. My gyro will be "DaScrew-Driver II"

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I can't believe no one any other paint scheme ideas.

I got an email from Ron Herron today. He seemed excited about recieving the new engine and thinks the powerplant will work out just fine.

I still have no idea about props though. Steve at Great Plains thinks I should use a large wood prop. The thing is I'm limited to 72-76 inches. To get max thrust out of the 2 blade wood, Steve recommended an 80 inch or larger. He said if I had to go with a 3 blade, to go with the Power Fin. Something about Warp Drive being too heavy. Warp drive, of course, recommends a 70 inch 3 blade.

Anyone have any experiance with Powerfin? I don't know if I wanna go with a 76inch 2 blade wood, or try a 72 inch 3 blade powerfin. I'm just lost on the prop issue.

BTW, Powerfin recommended a 4inch bolt pattern rather than the 75mm that I'm recieving. What to do? What to Do?

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