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A whimsical look at the cost of Rotax engines

M

Mark Henderson

Well Known Member
From time to time I hear gripes about the price of the Rotax engine. On the Van's site it is $28730. For that you get a hundred horsepower engine with a 2000 hour TBO and and the basic weight is around 125 lbs. I was at an antique book faire this week end and bought the 1928 catalog from the Nicholas Beazley Airplane Co. Inc. Beazley ran a flight school, sold new aviation parts, and war surplus engines and aircraft.

You could buy anything from a Curtis OX5 to a Wright Whirlwind. Of the 11 different engines they sold, none had the combination of horsepower and weight as the Rotax. Neither was the price any better. The Warner Scarab 110 hp weighed 270 lbs and cost $31656 adjusted to 2014 dollars.The lightest engine was the Anzani 3 cyl radial, at 115 lbs but only 35 hp. The LeBlond ninety ($17310) and the Kinner 100 hp ($25258) were both over 250 lbs and were around 350 cubic inches. At rated power the Lebond burned 8.25 gal/hour and 2.7 lbs/hr of oil. I guess some serious redesign would be require to fit one of these on an RV-12. Boy would it look cool though!

In looking through the catalog, aviation wasn't cheap then, nor is it now. But it sure is a lot of fun. Here is a link to a later version of the catalog. http://collections.lib.uwm.edu/cdm/ref/collection/hardie/id/174 You can find anything you need to build an airplane. No avionics though.
 
Mark Henderson said:
From time to time I hear gripes about the price of the Rotax engine. On the Van's site it is $28730.
Click to expand...

To help make more of an apples to apples comparison, the price quoted above is for a power-plant and installation kit. That means besides the engine, it also includes propeller, exhaust system, oil and coolant radiators, engine mount, ducting, hoses, engine controls, etc., etc.,
A lot more than what you get if you just purchase a new Rotax 912 engine.
 
My point exactly. The Vans kits have everything, and the price is comparable to an engine from the "Golden Age" of aviation. The price of a Ford model A Tudor in 1928 according to Wikipedia was less than a third the cost of the Kinner. In fairness to the Kinner, it did come with straight stack exhaust pipes, but no starter or electrical system at all.
 
I wonder when we will see the drop of 25% in the value of the Euro VS Dollar over the last year reflected on the price of the Rotax 912 ULS in the US. The current price on Lockwood catalog is $19,437. A 25% discount would bring it at $14,577, pretty good deal! Don't hold your breath though... or if you do, make sure you can hold it for a couple of years!
 
Chubby's law of Probability

WingedFrog said:
I wonder when we will see the drop of 25% in the value of the Euro VS Dollar over the last year reflected on the price of the Rotax 912 ULS in the US. The current price on Lockwood catalog is $19,437. A 25% discount would bring it at $14,577, pretty good deal! Don't hold your breath though... or if you do, make sure you can hold it for a couple of years!
Click to expand...

Chubby's Law of Probability"

FAT CHANCE
 
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