Savannah S with Viking 130

I don't know if it does make that but it shouldn't be difficult to do it.

150cc bigger engine and substantially heavier (stronger) ?

Plus modern design and engineering from Honda....

I spotted this and I'm wondering how much fuel is in the plane 261lb on the front wheel

If that is 945 lb in total we are looking at an empty weight of 429 kg. That is a lot more weight than Karl's 770 lb.

I wonder if that is correct?

Thats a zenith cruiser Hank not a savannah

Thats a zenith cruiser Hank not a savannah

I realise that the CH750 was an enlarged version of the CH701 (which forms the basis of the Savannah). The CH750 has grown in mass considerably!

The difference in material is striking. The 750 uses heavier ally everywhere. Structural stuff is bigger and there's more of it. Even some rivets are bigger.

i was more concerned about the weight over the nose wheel, its seems like a lot

Ok I’ve been busy finishing up a couple of things.  I’ll try to get your questions answered.  The cowling is a modified 701 cowling that came with the firewall forward kit from Viking.  I had to do some work on it but I think the end product will work well.  It’s very solid on the airplane now, I just have to the “pretty work” yet.  As far as the weight goes I just added the ELT and a nose wheel spacer (I was unhappy with the prop clearance) and the nose wheel weight is 238.4lbs.  The total weight is 778 even.

Oh boy, that's a heap!

My Classic Savannah weighed 143lbs and flies really well in all ops.

I believe the S model weighs more like 156 with battery in the tail.

So yours is about 80lbs more, and sounds like a real problem....

You'll definitely want to reinforce that alloy front axle. Even with the lighter weight we've found it wise to line drill it and add a 3/8" stainless bolt all the way through. Doesn't add that much strength to it but prevents breaking away those piddly little end bolts, allowing the wheel to swivel and jam and collapse the leg, with bad result for the prop.....

Not sure about the S nosewheel weight ( I will know soon enough) but my XL is 70kg which is 154lb and that is with the battery in the back and long heavier than supplied battery cables

JG is spot on...with that weight on my nosewheel the noseleg was broken off on mine...and its a costly and time consuming repair. I strengthened when I built it so I didnt get the firewall damage just the broken cowl,spinner,prop and noseleg and front floor

Ok I’ve been busy finishing up a couple of things. I’ll try to get your questions answered. The cowling is a modified 701 cowling that came with the firewall forward kit from Viking. I had to do some work on it but I think the end product will work well. It’s very solid on the airplane now, I just have to the “pretty work” yet. As far as the weight goes I just added the ELT and a nose wheel spacer (I was unhappy with the prop clearance) and the nose wheel weight is 238.4lbs. The total weight is 778 even.

Hi Karl,

Do you have a description what you had to do to the Viking-supplied CH701 cowl to adapt it for use on the Savannah S? Maybe you have some pictures as well?

Another question: do the Viking engine mounts bolt into the same place where the Rotax 912 would bolt into place?

The Viking engine is a relatively new entry to the options available to the amateur build / experimental / homebuilt / ultralight builder. Given Honda's design successes, it will be of interest to many pilots and builders. Being installed in a Savannah, the thread will be of interest to any Savannah builder - or owner . Can the thread be added (or linked) to the Savannah Recreational Aircraft Usergroup Forum?

Karl, I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing more.

CanadaDan

Well the Savannah is flying and the engine is just humming along. So far and I've on got a little over 5 hours of flight time on her, I think I've made a great choice for my engine. That viking 130 really kicks you in the butt when you add power for takeoff. The climb is unbelievable and I still don't know what the top end speed is yet. I did do some slow flight and power off stalls to verify handling characteristics before going in to do landings. She is as docile as can be. I saw 29 mph during a clean "stall" and the airplane never broke. She just kind of settled in that nose high attitude perfectly controllable. To come out of that I just ease the stick forward a tad and we were flying again. The speed may be somewhat different than what I am seeing as the pitot system cannot be very accurate with that high angle of attack. In the pattern I have done quite a number of landings with very predictable results. The airplane just handles so well. Kind of point and go. As I get some performance numbers i will post them here but so far I have to say I am very happy to have built the Savannah and to have chosen that Viking engine. Starts and shutdowns are smooth and quiet. No nasty vibration and none in flight either. Flying again in the morning, can't wait!!

Hi Karl,

I am happy to get an update on your Viking 130 and glad to hear that the performance is really good.

Some Savannah owners on this forum thought that the weight on the nose wheel may have been too heavy. You wrote that your landings had "predictable results". I was wondering how the Savannah/Viking 130 combination handles if (as people think) it is nose-heavy? Was it difficult to pull back, keep the nose up and land on the main wheels?

You should be able to hold the nose off the ground until around 18knots or even less. I regularly practice on the strip when taxiing hold full elevator and get the nosewheel off the ground and taxi with the nose up like a tail dragger but its very squirly due to the main wheels so far back but its great practice for TD practice. Keeping it straight and feathering the throttle to just maintain that noseup. The best way to see what your CG is like is trim the aircraft to fly straight and lvel at around half power then pull the power back and see how fast and hard the nose drops. The other way of course is you should be able to rest the tail on the ground just and it doesnt want to come back onto the nosewheel. If you have to hold the nose up by hand with the tail on the ground then it is going to be heavy on the nose and just how heavy you can tell by how much pressure you have to push to hold the tail down. The W&B chart will tell you of course. I will find mine when I get home I think I have the before and after when I changed the battery from the front to the back

Any updates Karl?