Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:39 am
I must admit, 82hp at 2800rpm is very attractive and would allow the use of a nice prop ... maybe even CS? If I win the lottery between now and the time I need an engine, I might well be tempted
I must defend the poor old Veedub. Though "old tech" it has proven itself to be a very good and reliable engine. The problem is that in the past when fewer alternatives existed, the VW was used on airframes to which it really wasn't suited. It's been mentioned many times before, but the VW (no matter what capacity) can only sustain around 55hp due to the cooling ability of the heads. If the cowls are poorly designed on an aeroplane that needs all of that 55hp or more, and/or the aeroplane is slow flying as well, then the airflow will be insufficient to keep them within limits. Put a VW on a Turbulent, D9 or T31m ( ) and it will happily run for hundreds if not thousands of hours trouble free. Stick the same engine on a VP2 and expect it to lift two people and you'll be lucky to pass 100 hours!
The bigger VW's can give more power short term for take off and climbs between cruising, but unless water cooled, still have the head cooling issues. The case cracking is also a bit of a myth and was the result of trying to increase capacity by boring out too much. The bigger engines these days are stroked and also use aluminium cases rather than magnesium. I personall like the 1834 as it is pretty much the ideal cheap VW size. It only puts out around 55-60 hp, so if matched to a suitable aircraft (such as the CX4) it should not have cooling issues, and it's not overbored to achieve its capacity. If you go bigger with a VW then it gets more expensive as you need a stroked ally engine which is fine, but may have cooling issues if you keep full power on for too long. It is if you really need this higher power that alternative engines come in.
I would suggest that unless you want a rocket ship, the VW is more than adequate for the CX4. More power is nice, but in this aircraft it's a luxury. However, if luxury is your thing, then the UL260 certainly looks like it fits the bill!
Ivan
PS. Galaxy UL Power Engines (boy! that's a long user name) ... I see you're at wing farm? I used to occasionally fly at the Bath and Wilts gliding club, so I know just where you are (assuming it's the same Wing Farm). Any chance I could fly in some time? I'd certainly like to have a look at the UL260i even if I can't afford one
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Toyota Corolla Spacio history
I must defend the poor old Veedub. Though "old tech" it has proven itself to be a very good and reliable engine. The problem is that in the past when fewer alternatives existed, the VW was used on airframes to which it really wasn't suited. It's been mentioned many times before, but the VW (no matter what capacity) can only sustain around 55hp due to the cooling ability of the heads. If the cowls are poorly designed on an aeroplane that needs all of that 55hp or more, and/or the aeroplane is slow flying as well, then the airflow will be insufficient to keep them within limits. Put a VW on a Turbulent, D9 or T31m ( ) and it will happily run for hundreds if not thousands of hours trouble free. Stick the same engine on a VP2 and expect it to lift two people and you'll be lucky to pass 100 hours!
The bigger VW's can give more power short term for take off and climbs between cruising, but unless water cooled, still have the head cooling issues. The case cracking is also a bit of a myth and was the result of trying to increase capacity by boring out too much. The bigger engines these days are stroked and also use aluminium cases rather than magnesium. I personall like the 1834 as it is pretty much the ideal cheap VW size. It only puts out around 55-60 hp, so if matched to a suitable aircraft (such as the CX4) it should not have cooling issues, and it's not overbored to achieve its capacity. If you go bigger with a VW then it gets more expensive as you need a stroked ally engine which is fine, but may have cooling issues if you keep full power on for too long. It is if you really need this higher power that alternative engines come in.
I would suggest that unless you want a rocket ship, the VW is more than adequate for the CX4. More power is nice, but in this aircraft it's a luxury. However, if luxury is your thing, then the UL260 certainly looks like it fits the bill!
Ivan
PS. Galaxy UL Power Engines (boy! that's a long user name) ... I see you're at wing farm? I used to occasionally fly at the Bath and Wilts gliding club, so I know just where you are (assuming it's the same Wing Farm). Any chance I could fly in some time? I'd certainly like to have a look at the UL260i even if I can't afford one
________
Toyota Corolla Spacio history