Rotax announces the cease of 2 Stroke Rotax 582 UL production.

Resasi

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Many of us were sad to see the 503 go out of production, and now Rotax has announced that by the end of this year they are stopping production of the 582 UL.

Known for its reliability the 65HP 2 stroke engine has for many years been a favourite for single seat gyros, and ultralight aircraft and well regarded for its easy maintenance and robustness.

An electric start 2 stroke 2 cylinder dual carb liquid cooled engine with an integrated water pump and thermostat over 30,000 units have been sold and it has been fitted to a vast range of light sport aircraft.
 
Many of us were sad to see the 503 go out of production, and now Rotax has announced that by the end of this year they are stopping production of the 582 UL.

Known for its reliability the 65HP 2 stroke engine has for many years been a favourite for single seat gyros, and ultralight aircraft and well regarded for its easy maintenance and robustness.

An electric start 2 stroke 2 cylinder dual carb liquid cooled engine with an integrated water pump and thermostat over 30,000 units have been sold and it has been fitted to a vast range of light sport aircraft.
Was a reason given? Slow sales? Going to larger only? Global warming? ;-)
 
I suspect two-stroke engines are leaving the market because they are facing steadily-tightening EPA standards for vehicle exhaust emissions.
 
They are simply not selling too many 2 strokes in that power range. Too little demand. That's the reason. 2 strokes are now mostly in the super lite Part 103 or SSDR machines. Likes of Thor 250 and so on. Not Rotax 582
 
I was told that by far, the biggest consumer of this engine was using it as a power source for a water pump in fire-fighting equipment.
With a change from that consumer, continued production can't be justified.
 
Curious timing, what with Yamaha announcing that they are getting intonthe aviation engine market.
 
Curious timing, what with Yamaha announcing that they are getting intonthe aviation engine market.

If Yamaha really decided to produce engines for LSA market and stand behind them, they will take substantial market share from Rotax but Yamaha thinks in 100's of thousands of engines versus LSA sales worldwide are about 3800 units a year. Its simply low volume that makes everything in aviation extremely expensive. Liability is another big factor. The biggest GA airplane manufacturer (Cirrus) sold a sum total of 650 airplanes in 2019 world wide. That's just the reality. One thing you will never see in an aircraft factory is a robot. No mass production
 
I swear Yamaha had said about entering the aviation marked with the engine from the TDM850, back in the 90s. That never panned out, so I doubt Rotax took that into consideration.
 
Rotax announcement:


BRP-Rotax announced that it will stop the production of the legendary 2-stroke Rotax 582 UL aircraft engine by end of 2021. This decision has been taken considering the nearly full transition of the light and ultralight aircraft market towards 4-stroke aircraft engines.
“The Rotax 582 UL engine is the last 2-stoke aircraft engine in series production and was definitely part of our company success in the past,” said Peter Oelsinger, General Manager BRP-Rotax / Member of the Management Board, Vice President Sales, Marketing RPS-Business & Communications. “The decision however reflects the market reality. Almost 100% of the customers demand 4-stroke aircraft engines; a demand that we can definitely fulfill with our range of innovative and high-quality 4-stroke aircraft engines,” he added.
The Rotax 582 UL will still be available via the Rotax authorized distribution network worldwide as long as the existing stock at the distributors lasts. Following its excellent service standards, the company and its network will continue to provide technical service for all existing Rotax 582 UL customers and aims to provide Rotax genuine spare parts availability up to 10 years after stop of production.

With more than 190.000 aircraft engines sold and a global operating 4-stroke-fleet of more than 50.000 aircraft engines, Rotax aircraft engines lead the light sport and ultralight aircraft market. Rotax offers a worldwide network consisting of 16 Rotax authorized aircraft engine distributors and more than 220 points of sales and service supporting 270 OEMs with more than 400 Rotax powered models and customers worldwide. Therefore Rotax aircraft engines are supplied to more than 80% of all aircraft manufacturer in its segment.
 
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BRP have done the same thing with their ETec outboards.
 
Seeing as Rotax would never take responsibility for all the 582 lower rod bearing failures, I am not heartbroken. If you need a good four stroke look at the Jabiru. I hear there are other four stroke offerings coming....
 
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