aerovee vs revmaster

[rxcited]

I doubt Sonex will sell you the turbo kit for a non-Aerovee engine. Of course if you own an Aerovee AND a Revmaster, there would be little to stop you from buying the turbo kit (when available) and sticking it on your Revmaster.

I am proud Onex kit owner #45, due for shipping in October. I won't have to worry about the engine question for some time. But the knowledge that there are options out there is great. The Revmaster seems like a pretty good deal (especially at the old price) with many advantages including being already built and test-run. And I don't deny that it will be a very reliable powerplant. But I do like the Aerovee simplicity and elegance more. Based on my research (not any experience or direct evidence), I think the Aeroinjector is better - again a more simple and elegant solution. I don't see all the "proprietary" parts and design in the Revmaster as an advantage (other than any real performance or reliability improvement, the later of which is hard to quantify) - it just means you can only ever count on that one company for parts and support. On the other hand, I would probably only ever go to Sonex/Aeroconversions for Aerovee parts and support, so this restriction isn't a real decision point for me. However if your engine manufacturer of choice ever goes belly up in the future, it would be nice to know you can fall back on more standard aftermarket VW parts to rebuild your motor. I am not afraid of building the engine myself though it has been thirty years since I last rebuilt a VW engine! I do feel the knowledge that comes with building it yourself is a plus, but I guess you can order the Revmaster that way too. Honestly if the Aerovee had a pre-built option available and that was the engine I decided on, I would probably buy it that way.

In the end I am thinking I will go with Aerovee because:
1. Factory support for engine/aircraft combination should be best.
2. Simplicity/elegance and integration (e.g. buy baffle kit and it fits, buy turbo upgrade and it fits, etc.)
3. Aeroinjector
4. Supported bolt on turbo upgrade some day

P.S. Assuming Aerovee, I probably will go with the factory installed hub for peace of mind and probably go for Nikasil cylinders to save weight.

PP.S. Until and if I see some factual evidence suggesting the Aerovee prop hub or standard sized bearing up front are more likely to fail, I don't see these differences as factors in my decision.

PPP.S. I did notice the discussion about valve seat erosion in the Revmaster article. Can someone confirm this is also addressed in the Aerovee?

-- James

[Andy Walker]

Hmm...I'd be surprised if Aeroconversions would not sell you a kit without an Aerovee. After all, this is a dirt simple installation: turbo, mechanical wastegate, and some oil lines and exhaust piping. If they won't sell you one you can part it together yourself (probably cheaper).

[rxcited]

Maybe you're right. Just seems like a "hey I bought your turbo for my non-Areovee and it blew up" nightmare situation for them. I guess we'll find out how they feel about it (some day).

[rizzz]

They'll happily sell you a aeroinjector to use on any engine, including a revmaster, why would they not allow this for the turbo?

[rxcited]

You guys almost had me convinced I was just a pessimist. But I just went back and reviewed the EAA webinar on the turbo upgrade that John Monnett personally presented on June 24, 2011. At time index 54:00 during the question and answer period, he clearly states and I quote:

Um, it'll only be available for the AeroVee, just like all our parts. So, that doesn't mean it has to go on a Sonex. Um, I mean, it can be on any number of airplanes. [...snip...] But, it's part of our system. It's like, you know you wouldn't... Well we, we're just not selling a turbo package to fit on anybody's VW conversion.

You can review the webinar yourself here:
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=1021202823001

I did tune into that seminar originally and I guess this quote was clanking around in the back of my brain. This philosophy is consistent with their policy on the rest of the engine: they will not sell you just the conversion parts for an AeroVee (the red anodized pieces like the accessory case, intake manifolds, or even the crank/hub assembly). You can only obtain these parts as part of an AeroVee kit. I guess they don't feel the Aeroinjector (and a handful of other parts they will sell separately) is directly part of the engine, which for their reputation they desire to control the core parts used in the build.

So to return to the brunt of my point - the likelihood of an affordable, factory supported, bolt-on turbo upgrade for your VW conversion, one that will be ready to go and fit in your Sonex airframe, DOES weigh in favor of selecting the AeroVee.

--James

[bhassel]

I had talked with the factory prior to the webinar and they said that it would be avialable only for the AeroVee. Seems a shame since it's limiting their market.

I liked the idea of the Revmaster already being put together and tested. The idea of grinding on engine parts to get them to fit is alot different than putting together an engine. I've rebuilt engines and never had to do that before.

Bob

[rxcited]

Are you talking about the AeroVee pushrods Bill? If anybody has more info on that issue, i'd like to hear it. I got the impression it was just the edges of the ends that needed chamfering so they would clear some feature during installation. Agreed it would be comforting to not need this. But if it is just a chamfer not affecting the mechanical length or the contact surface, it doesn't sound that scary to me.

[bhassel]

Checkout both the sonex forum and aerovee forum on Yahoo. There are cases of removing material from the connecting rods, etc. to get things to fit.

I'm not saying its necessarily a bad thing, it's just not something I would consider normal engine building unless you were modifying for performance, etc. I wouldnt' necessarily be bothered by doing any of those things, its just that I may not want to. I might feel better about having an already running and tested engine than doing those things myself.

I also think that in this day of modern engineering, machining and QA it's not impossible to believe that major components should fit.

Bob

[Mike53]

When I started this thread I made the mistake of only including the revmaster as the competition.I should have labeled it Aerovee vs Revmaster and Great Plains http://www.greatplainsas.com/sclgblock.html.
From my web site a quick comparison of the three http://onexmike.weebly.com/quick-comparison.html
You will note from the great Plains web site that they will also put it together for you for the paltry sum of $550 including crating.It is also the lightest with the Nicasil cylinder upgrade.Great plains also has a 2300cc,for the same price if you just have to have 80HP.
Choice is good :D
Mike

[Dan]

Right now I plan on using the recommended Aerovee on the Onex. BUT it really bothers me to think that nothing has been done by Aeroconversions to solve a known problem requiring the connecting rods having to be ground down for clearance. While it may be no big deal filing down these areas it just seems to me Aeroconversions should solve this issue.