D-Motor

[JoeDallas]

Is there any one that is flying behind a D-motor and can compare it to the Rotax, UL, or Jabiru.

 

I am building a RV12 and need a engine by the end of this year.

 

Any help will be appreciated.

 

Joe D

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Joe, may I suggest you contact Ross Farnham at http://www.sdsefi.com/

 

There's not many people on the planet who are more light aircraft engine savvy and know the ins and outs of most of them and he's extremely helpful and unbiased - flys an RV7.

 

 

[Skee]

I have one,, but im still bulding.. Number 69

 

 

Got any questions ill answer them if i can.

 

 

[Deskpilot]

Seem that the ancillary equipment takes up more room than the engine. Neat set-up all the same.

 

 

[Guernsey]

Seem that the ancillary equipment takes up more room than the engine. Neat set-up all the same.

That sounds like my wife when she goes shopping.

 

Alan.

 

 

[gandalph]

Living on the ragged edge there Guernsey!

 

 

[eckertwa]

Skee,

 

Do you have an update on your D-motor installation?

 

I am considering a 6-cylinder D-motor for my Jabiru J230 project. Have you had any negative issues? Any reason I shouldn't consider the engine?

 

 

[Skee]

Skee,Do you have an update on your D-motor installation?

I am considering a 6-cylinder D-motor for my Jabiru J230 project. Have you had any negative issues? Any reason I shouldn't consider the engine?

My installation is ready for start and my two friends has already started thiers, works like a charm. (4cyl)

The manufacturer has been very supportive, what is still lacking is a good users manual, he let a school do it for him in exchange for an engine long time ago, still nothing, you have to email but he responds directly same day, even on weekends.

 

The 1 bulletin that has been issued was a change to a more powerful alternator.

 

What works against the 6 cyl is that its still an very unproven engine compared to the 4cyl, and every aviation geek will talk about how they only trust proven engines, im so tired at that shit.

 

So far all ok for me but i havent started it yet,

 

 

[eckertwa]

Thanks for your reply Skee.

 

So far I haven't heard any negatives on the engine or the company. I am a little nervous about dealing with my local distributor; he is not as responsive as I would like.

 

I am also a little nervous about buying an engine that has a 12 month warranty. I'm sure it will be 3 years before it will be ready to fly. Without a detailed installation manual, I will need to purchase the engine early to build the plane around it.

 

When I built my Rans S-14 with an HKS, the 12 month warranty clock didn't start until after my plane started flying. 13 months later the timing gear slipped. Just a few dozen serial numbers after my engine, the design was changed to incorporate a key to prevent slipping. The distributor at the time, Hpower, warranted the labor while the manufacturer covered the cost of the parts. It didn't cost me a dime but it did cost me a lot of time. It is painful to stare at your freshly built plane while waiting months for the warranty work to be completed. ...Then FedEx drops the crate, cracks the engine case, and I wait a few more months for insurance to replace the engine. Total down time was 12 months. ☹️

 

If D-motor will start the warranty clock at my first start up, I would be much more comfortable. I think I will ask them directly and see what they say.

 

 

[Skee]

Thanks for your reply Skee.If D-motor will start the warranty clock at my first start up, I would be much more comfortable. I think I will ask them directly and see what they say.

The manufacturer can do that, i did ask him,, he will just not send you the ECU, was one more option i dont remeber.

But in this case with such a new manufacturer i have a feeling he will extend his warranty to not get a bad rep, a bad rep in this industry will hurt you.

 

 

[JEM]

What happened to the Jabiru (LSA55?) which was on ground display at Avalon and fitted with a D Motor? Have a photo of it somewhere.

 

More info here

 

See http://www.d-motor.eu/nl/jabiru-138.htm

 

 

[Spooks]

http://www.d-motor.eu/nl/update-09-july-2015-136.htm

 

Hope that helps. accidentally came across it while looking at other Jab related things!

 

 

[flyvulcan]

[eightyknots]

 

This could be the way forward for some Jabiru owners.

 

What is the landed cost in Australia for a D Motor?

 

 

[Skee]

First run of D-motor on my aircraft.

 

 

 

[xair1159]

Joe,

 

I have an Xair Hawk (H or Hanuman to you) which was built with a hydraulic tappet Jabiru 2200 and flew this combo for 370 hrs.

 

That setup had a reputation for being slow off the ground, but when an 80hp 912 version came along it was obvious that it wasn't an airframe problem but lack of power from the engine.

 

Among other things my Jab required a top end job at 350 hrs and this along with other niggles persuaded me to change to the D-Motor which is a direct fit on the engine mount.

 

I collected my engine from the factory in Belgium and saw it run on the dyno - freshly built it was giving around 90hp, so I am sure once loosened up the claimed 92-94hp is genuine.

 

There was a fairly startling difference in the aircraft performance with much shorter t/o, very good climb and considerably faster cruise, all for the same fuel burn as the Jab of typically 14l/hr.

 

I now have 225 hrs on the D-Motor with only a couple of minor snags which were quickly fixed be the factory. Support has been very good, infinitely better than Jabiru, although I agree about the manuals.

 

It is apparent now that my Jab 2200 was giving closer to 70-75 hp on a good day rather tha the claimed 80hp, not a lot better than a Rotax 582.

 

I have flown the same airframe with the Rotax 912 and performance is similar to the D-Motor - very quick off the ground and excellent climb which I think is down to having a gearbox rather than direct drive. However cruise figures are not quite as good. Not sure about fuel burn as I only flew for a couple of hours.

 

Also I have flown the same airframe fitted with a trial installation of the 6 cylinder! Can't really comment on performance as the prop was a bad match and couldn't handle the power (125hp on the dyno for that engine), plus the cooling was marginal and needed sorting, but I can safely say it went "quite well". Certainly very smooth and worth buying for the sound alone! The 6 is really a 4 with two more cylinders so should be fairly well sorted as far as the top end goes, the new bit is the crank end of things. Weight of the complete 6 installation was almost the same as the Rotax 912, not bad for 125hp versus 80hp.

 

I have a good collection of photos and info on the engine, if you want anything drop me a line.

 

P.S. - Anyone want a slightly used Jab 2200 - still looking for a buyer over here!

 

Cheers,

 

Nick

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Thanks for your report Nick.

 

 

[eightyknots]

Thanks for your reply Skee. So far I haven't heard any negatives on the engine or the company. I am a little nervous about dealing with my local distributor; he is not as responsive as I would like.

 

I am also a little nervous about buying an engine that has a 12 month warranty. I'm sure it will be 3 years before it will be ready to fly. Without a detailed installation manual, I will need to purchase the engine early to build the plane around it.

 

When I built my Rans S-14 with an HKS, the 12 month warranty clock didn't start until after my plane started flying. 13 months later the timing gear slipped. Just a few dozen serial numbers after my engine, the design was changed to incorporate a key to prevent slipping. The distributor at the time, Hpower, warranted the labor while the manufacturer covered the cost of the parts. It didn't cost me a dime but it did cost me a lot of time. It is painful to stare at your freshly built plane while waiting months for the warranty work to be completed. ...Then FedEx drops the crate, cracks the engine case, and I wait a few more months for insurance to replace the engine. Total down time was 12 months. ☹️

 

If D-motor will start the warranty clock at my first start up, I would be much more comfortable. I think I will ask them directly and see what they say.

According to the bottom of this website page (http://www.d-motor.eu/nl/price-37.htm), the warranty is 2 years or 300 hours whatever comes first.

 

 

[red750]

May not add much to the discussion, but here's a photo of the Jab that I took at Avalon.

 

 

 

[eckertwa]

The 12 month warranty is a US dealer limitation. But the dealer and factory have both stated the warranty won't start until they send me the ECU which wont be sent until my build is complete. My 6 cylinder is due in July.

 

 

[eightyknots]

The 12 month warranty is a US dealer limitation. But the dealer and factory have both stated the warranty won't start until they send me the ECU which wont be sent until my build is complete. My 6 cylinder is due in July.

You may have a very low serial number as they are only starting to ship the 6 cylinder D-Motor from mid-year.

 

 

[findan2002]

Hello out there!

 

Being quite new to Rec.Fly. I noticed , with all respect, there is not an awful lot happening here at the D-Motor blog.

 

That could be explained by the supposedly very limited number of D-motor owners.

 

However, this is to me and to many I have discussed it with a very interesting alternative to the traditional Rotax and Jabiru.

 

There must be some (a lot) more owners reviews and discussions about the D-Motor, but where should I look for it?

 

Any good ideas?

 

Cheers

 

findan

 

 

[Spooks]

Hello out there!Being quite new to Rec.Fly. I noticed , with all respect, there is not an awful lot happening here at the D-Motor blog.

 

That could be explained by the supposedly very limited number of D-motor owners.

 

However, this is to me and to many I have discussed it with a very interesting alternative to the traditional Rotax and Jabiru.

 

There must be some (a lot) more owners reviews and discussions about the D-Motor, but where should I look for it?

 

Any good ideas?

 

Cheers

 

findan

They're used with the Sherwood Ranger so could be worth finding some user groups/forums based on that aircraft.

 

TLAC | Aircraft Site |Friedrichshafen 2011

 

A bit on the Dmotor here too but all from about 5 years ago

 

D-Motor Aircraft Engines for Homebuilt Aircraft

 

Anyone know anything about the "D-Motor" - Rotary Wing Forum

 

D-Motor: flathead motor for aviation

 

Not a lot out there which is disappointing.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

I am strongly in the belief that little reporting is a good thing, the moment something goes wrong with a product these days it's shouted all over the net quicker than another silly Trump meme.

 

 

[findan2002]

Thank you both to Spooks and Bexrbetter!

 

Spooks points out the D-motor user comments so far are rather meager and scarce, but thanks a lot for the links!

 

This scarcity of positive as well as negative user feedbacks led me to write to D-motor yesterday to make them help me finding some independent comments from users.

 

Bexrbetter, I really hope you have a good point here! Most pilots are probably not as keen to comment on an engine that behaves as expected than if things go wrong...