Engine Reliability?

[EdW]

Although I was initially disappointed with some of the replies to my inquiry, this discussion was informative, enlightening, and, overall, answered most of my questions. The replies showed me that we have a reasonably sound motor with some vagaries with accessories, plumbing and overall maintenance. And, more importantly, a passionate, vocal group of flyers.

I want to thank alLwho responded, both negatively and positively. Upon reflection, this has given me the name of my new Onex: KWICHERBICHEN".


Ed

Just east of Graceland

[Stogie6]

Sounds like a good name Ed.
After reading and following this thread, I will be re-evaluating my “exposed” fuel lines and filter for additional heat insulation. Looks like a great weekend to be at the hangar after all this rain in our area.

[daleandee]

Although I was initially disappointed with some of the replies to my inquiry, this discussion was informative, enlightening, and, overall, answered most of my questions. The replies showed me that we have a reasonably sound motor with some vagaries with accessories, plumbing and overall maintenance. And, more importantly, a passionate, vocal group of flyers.

I want to thank alLwho responded, both negatively and positively. Upon reflection, this has given me the name of my new Onex: KWICHERBICHEN".

Hi Ed,

Again I hope that the results of this thread are seen by others to be worthy of the stress it may have caused some to have. We all become alarmed every time a Sonex goes down and the trust in our particular aircraft wanes a bit and we wonder how much of this the company can tolerate before there is a noticeable effect. So it is in everyone's best interest to assist in figuring out the cause of these accidents and fixing it. Are the "burps' to blame? I have no idea but I do know that many see them as "normal" in the operation of their airplanes and that needs to stop. Was that the reason that this pilot continued to take off in his Sonex from ASA?

https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20121016X51944&AKey=1&RType=Summary&IType=LA

In witness statements it was reported that the engine had quit twice during taxi when leaving another airport on the way to ASA. This pilot & his wife survived this crash that occurred shortly after I left that morning. I asked another member here (in an off line post) if he was aware of this crash. I know that he is as he was there that morning. Many on this list have talked of "burps" during take-off and engine stumbles or quitting during taxi either heading to or from the runway. We can be smarter than that and it appears that a few are now considering upgrading their fuel systems as a result of this thread.

I mentioned to another member (in an off line message) the fact that I'm aware that I bring a certain amount of toxicity to this group. If the group desires they can "vote me off the island" so to speak. But the cost of being silent is too great. Live & let live is a great philosophy but I'm weary with live & let die. If we can find a fix then it is our responsibility to have an adult conversation and do so even if that means a few of us get our feelings hurt. Trust me ... I've had my share of being excoriated by the group and I've also had my share of being wrong.

William Wynne echos my thoughts in an article on his web site when he says:

I don’t care if people are offensive, it isn’t a crime in my book. However, if you advocate things that I know from experience stand a good chance of harming somebody else, I’m going to talk about it, even if this leads to some people thinking of me as a bastard. I am not really smart, nor am I particularly self-aware, but I have absolutely learned in life that I am far better off having people dislike me for my tone or my approach than I am hating myself for something I should have done or said.

That full article is found here: https://flycorvair.net/2012/02/20/effective-risk-management-2898-words/

Respectfully,

Dale Williams
N319WF @ 6J2
Myunn - "daughter of Cleanex"
120 HP - 3.0 Corvair
Tail Wheel - Center Stick
Signature Finish 2200 Paint Job
171.9 hours / Status - Flying
Member # 109 - Florida Sonex Association
Latest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VP7UYEqQ-g

[surfly]

Powerplant reliability is directly proportional to the amount of time spent in performing continual maintenance on any engine. Anyone expecting to operate any choice of powerplant without keeping a close eye through continual maintenance should always have a place to land during every second of their flight.
Blue Side Up!
Sherm

[Onex107]

This is a late post, but, those of us that are using the Aerovee successfully are mostly silent. Those of you that are bad mouthing Aerovee are usually pushing another engine that has it's own problems. No engine is problem free. If you want someone else to build your engine and "accept the responsibility" for it's performance. Pay the price, but when, not if, that engine fails who are you going to call. I built my engine and I'm responsible for it's performance. The buck stops here. This is the Experimental Aircraft builders group. There are no guarantees. If you are not able to accept the responsibility of building and flying and experimental airplane you are in the wrong business. An inexpensive, home built airplane requires much more than a thousand hours or more of home building. You will eventually become a test pilot. Not for just a few hours, but for as long as you fly your home built. Eventually I hope you become comfortable with it's repeatable performance and can depend on it to perform as expected. 250 Aerovee hours and counting.

[dirkverdonck]

Hello All,

I built Onex 117 and it's Aerovee engine myself and have so far put nearly 50 hrs on the clock since the first flight 5 months ago. I have spent more time on the build than average, about 1750 hrs and have tried to do the build as meticulously as possible which resulted in "no major problems so far", only tweaking.
I paid special attention to the engine build, about 80 hrs and this resulted in nearly 50 hrs of troublefree operation except for initial cooling problems that were resolved by tweaking the "inlet and outlet" of air through the cowling.
The Aeroinjector was set as per Manual and performed perfectly so far, the only issue is that after landing during taxi, the engine sometimes cuts out due to vaporbubbles in the fuel line to the Aeroinjector. This only happened in very hot weather and only on the ground and I can live with that as it restarts up immediately after hitting the starter button.

I fully endorse Onex 107 statement that an experimental aircraft remains an experimental aircraft all it's life and requires proper maintenance and regular checks to deliver troublefree performance and that you cannot expect "type certificated aircraft reliability" from an inexpensive homebuilt project.

I do admit that I pay more attention to the landscape below me flying my Onex than when I fly a certificated aircraft iot find a suitable spot to put the airplane down in case of a malfunction but I enjoy every minute in the air so much more in my Onex......

To all prospective builders: You will hardly ever hear from pilots that are happy with their homebuilt project, the voice of the complainers will always be much stronger and might give you a distorted view about the performance of certain aircraft and their systems.

Enjoy your builds and expect some fantastic flying after finishing,