Wilksch WAM-120 flying in RV-9A

On the UK RV squadron yahoo group today:

Hi All

G.CDCD took to the air for the first time today under Wilksch Power and performed exactly as it says on the tin! Apart from a slightly heavy left wing and the tick over being a bit high it was faultless.

Two flights were conducted from Wellesbourne the first by Wilksch Engineer Kerry Ashcroft and the second by yours truly. Numbers appear to be:


Take off in about 350 ft
Climb 1200 ft/min at 100 mph with 580lb on board
Cruise about 120 kts at 85% power at 2000ft

All the T,s and P,s were good.

Yes, I am still grinning!!

Regards
Steve


G-CDCD is the second RV-9a fitted with a WAM-120 to fly. The first used different radiator / intercooler positions & has some cooling issues being resolved.

Tick over?

What might that be in American terms?

Congratulations and the other question is what did you see for fuel flow numbers?

Congrats! Keep us up to speed on flight testing and performance.

Tick over = idle.

As far as the speed goes, this is turbocharged- Hello engine room, need more manifold pressure. It will take at bit for this to perform like an O-320 but the fuel flow should be very impressive.

120 knots = 138 mph

Engine is 120 hp

Empty weight is 1050 lbs - Steve hopes to lose between 5 & 10 lbs when he swaps his prototype cowl for a "production standard" one

Same info from Wilksch engineer

As I was gathering info in the final planning stage of my soon-to-come Rv-9A project, I received this from Kerry Ashcroft:

Hello Daniel

We have recently had the second RV-9A flying here in the UK. Just to
give you some figures, although they are only some rough initial ones.
It has a 700lb useful load, climbs at 1200fpm, cruises at 120kts easily
using approx 16ltrs/hr of JET A-1 all on a WAM-120.
The RV-9A is certainly an impressive performer.

I will certainly put you on the mailing list.

We were trying to launch a new website but have had some problems with
it which has left the old one running and is now very much out of date.
I have been asking that they at least update the old site, even if it is
only a temporary measure until the new one is ready.

If you would like any further information then please let me know.

Best Regards

Kerry Ashcroft
Installations and Customer Support Engineer
Wilksch Airmotive Ltd
mobile: 07944 739234
tel: 0870 170 9670
fax: 0870 170 9678
e-mail: [email protected]



Sounds interesting to me

16 litres / hour is 4.22 US Gallons / hr

Jet-A much cheaper than even mogas in the UK

Keep in mind that Jet-A is about half the price of even mogas in the UK. This makes this diesel engine *very* attractive. Kudos to all involved - I'm looking forward to seeing it fly!

More from the UK RV Squadron Yahoo group

More from the UK RV Squadron Yahoo group.

Sat Dec 2, 2006 5:53 pm

Having completed another flight with her I agree that 100mph is an excellent climb speed.

I climbed out at 90 today and the nose was so high almost all forward vision was lost, I was using an operating manual written by an American owner who gives VY at 86 and VY AT 74MPH. Quite where the nose would be at 74 worries me. Your 1400 foot is probably nearer the mark.

What was good today was that we got 160mph in the cruise........ don't they fly nice!

Steve

More About Steve Arnold's Wilksch installation.

Steve has just posted some more details about his installation on the PFA bulletin board.

Dave


Steve Arnold posted 17 December, 2006 08:58 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi

I refilled the tanks yesterday 55 litres was used for 40mins taxying (including fast taxy), and 2 hours 45 minutes of flight ( hasn't the weather been ****!) A fair amount of this has been in the climb on full power, 7 take offs and one climb at full power for 5 mins...... max permitted time. So 3hrs 25ish for 55litres....

I make that 16 litres per hour which is excactly what Wilksch quote for an economy cruise.

I think my estimate of 25l was because the aeroplane has Vans fuel guages which are calibrated in US gallons.

So there you have it folks 16l/hour which I think is really good considering the size of te aeroplane, a 140 to 160 mph cruise. I just hope I can get some more test flying in in the next few weeks.

RV/Wilksch grin!!

[ 17. December 2006, 09:01 PM: Message edited by: Steve Arnold ]

Update on WAM120 / WAM160 !?

Since additional Avgas Taxes are being proposed by the USA authorities , the discussions on the use of cheaper fuels for GA have now also started in the USA (see other threads on this forum). It looks like expensive Avgas is no longer a sole European problem anymore .

From the start of my project I have been looking at an alternative for Avgas and the Lycosaurus. My fuselage is now well on the way and I will have to start making decisions soon (what parts from the finish kit to leave out, what engine mount to order if any, where to install the fuel pump(s), CG-issues, etc.).

I have put the, very light and interesting Mogas alternative, 160 BHP Limbach Turbo engine (@ 3.000 RPM), in the fridge at this moment. The specified propeller (MT electric CS) is limited to 2.700 RPM, which reduces the max power output to 140 BHP. An other problem is that it runs anti clockwise. Therefore the rudder and engine offsets would have to be changed, causing all sorts of problems with fairings and cowl, etc .

My initial choice was the WAM160. But even after the reports of two flying RV's with WAM120 diesels, it has all gone quiet again in the Wilksch camp. I have e-mailed Kerry Ashcroft from Wilksch several times lately, but got no reply. Also the fact that I was "added to the lmailing ist" did not cause any messages to appear, nor did their web site change over the last 2 years. I did not see any performance data or heared anything about the WAM120 powered planes after the last post on this thread.

Has anybody got any news??

Regards, PilotTonny

Tony

I am installing a WAM-120 in my RV-9a at the moment & hope to fly later this year I am in regualr contact with Wilksch, and although they have drawn back from production they are still supporting their initial customers.

Kerry Ashcroft has left Wilksch for a post in the Popular Flying Association's Engineering Team. Enquiries are probably best directed to Julie Robinson - Wilksch's office manager.

This post was on the UK RV squadron today http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rvsqn/ .


There has been a problem with the precombustion chambers which the company is trying to sort out. They are currently running the latest spec ones on the dyno. While this is being sorted they have only filled existing orders and will only progress work on the 160HP engine when this issue is resolved.

They are now talking about upping the power output of the 3 cylinger to 140HP and the 4 cylinder to 180HP when it is in production.

Our RV9 performs very well on the 120HP motor...... 350ft take off roll, 1200 fpm climb and 160 mph cruise.

I have forwarded your mail to Martin Long one of their designers who I am in contact with almost daily. People at the factory are hard to contact because they have scaled down temporarily but I will update you when I have more news.

Production stop?

Dave,

Did they already supply your engine or will you receive a new one, ones the problem with the precombustion chambers has been solved?

So, now, after Mark Wilksch has left, also Terry Ashcroft has left the company? What might be the reason for that? I remember that Mark ones said he wanted to produce 1.000 engines a year in 2007 !

What would be the reason for upping the power output to 140 bhp instead of upping the TBO from 1000 hrs to 2000 hrs (as anticipated)? Or are they going to do both? OK, sure it would be nice to have the 140 bhp engine with the weight of the WAM120. I always thought that the WAM160 was a bit heavy and 140 bhp would be enough for the RV9 (especially with the turbo).

Anyway, if you already have your engine, can you post some pictures and let us know some more about how you are going to do the installation. Will the Vans engine mount fit, or will you have to make a new one? Are you going to modify the Vans cowling or make a complete new one? Are you also going to mount the Radiator up front (looks ugly!) or are you considering a different setup?

Regards, PilotTonny

Tony

The precombustion chambers are simple to replace. A Wilksch engineer will come to me & replace them.

the post I sent you is the first I've heard about increasing the power output to 140 hp, but more is always better! The increase in TBO will be based on service experience (as it is with all new engines) so will take some time to come through.

I attach a picture of the rough plug on the fuselage. We are making a complete new cowl and are using the Wilksch cooling pack with the radiator up front. We don't think it looks ugly - but then I've never met a parent who tells me their child is ugly. More pictures here: www.andyelson.com/RV-9a.htm

sorry - I can't get this picture to post - you'll have to click the link!