Experimenter

January 2014

Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.

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Zenith Flies With New Rotax 912iS A STOL CH 750 has become the first Zenith kit aircraft in North America to fly with the new Rotax 912iS engine. The flight was the result of a collaborative efort involving Zenith Aircraft Company, which supplied the aircraft kit; Rotech Research Canada Ltd., which installed the engine; and Skytek Aircraft Services, which assembled the airframe. Skytek also developed the firewall-forward package for completing the engine installation. "Both the aircraft and the engine performed flawlessly," said Sebastien Heintz, president of Zenith Aircraft. "We put 7.5 hours on the CH 750 on the first day and had no squawks. Rotax has done it right." Heintz said the installation of the fuel-injected 912iS is considerably more complicated than the standard, carbureted 912ULS engine. However, the new model has considerably more redundancy, increased efciency, and reduced pilot workload and is certifiable. It operates without primers, carb heat, or mixture controls. The engine and accessories are monitored constantly by a built-in computer that alerts pilots to any issues that arise on the ground or in the air. The end result is a higher level of reliability and enhanced safety. The Rotax 912iS is a four-cylinder, four-stroke engine with opposed cylinders that is cooled by air and liquid. A dry sump features lubrication from a separate .8-gallon oil tank. Hydraulic valve tappets provide automatic adjustment. There are two redundant electronic fuel-injection systems, an engine management system, dual electronic ignition, electric starter, and integrated reduction gear. The 912iS has a 2,000-hour TBO. Zenith Aircraft is now ofering the 912iS as an engine choice from a list of powerplants that includes the 100-hp 912ULS, the turbo Rotax 914, the fuelinjected ULPower and Viking engines, as well as the Continental O-200 and the Lycoming O-235/233 engines. Each of these engines is suitable for the high-wing CH 750 series or low-wing CH 650 designs. For a video clip showing the first flight with the 912iS, visit www.Zenith.aero/video/ch70-912. For more information on the CH 750 kit aircraft, visit www.ZenithAir.com. First Quicksilver S-LSA Awaits FAA Approval QUICKSILVER AERONAUTICS has completed the flight-test regimen required to comply with ASTM industry consensus standards for a special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA) with its strutted Sport 2S. With an FAA audit expected to occur in late 2013, Quicksilver hopes to gain FAA approval for the 2S as an S-LSA in early 2014. Quicksilver has produced more than 15,000 kit-built aircraft since the early 1970s; this will be the company's first S-LSA. "We completed an entire ASTM design and performance standard test matrix that demands more than 100 hours of test flying," said Daniel Perez, chief operations officer for the California company. Those flight hours involved 236 takeoffs and landings. These results follow a long period of other detailed testing and significant document preparation and arranging the factory for repeatable, quality-controlled production of readyto-fly aircraft. The Sport 2S, a strutted, open-cockpit, side-by-side two-seater, is the first Quicksilver aircraft to complete the entire compliance package. The company is also progressing with S-LSA testing for its GT 500 aircraft, which was the first aircraft to win FAA Primary Category approval in 1993. For more information about Quicksilver Aeronautics, visit www.QuicksilverAircraft.com. EAA Experimenter 9

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