Video of how a 912 is built..

[NinjaNate]

Just thought others may find this video as interesting as I did!

 

It's an AVWeb video of a look inside the Rotax factory of how they build their aircraft engines.

 

The obvious large capital equipment investment shown gives a bit of an insight into their heft engine price tags don't you think? ..not that I don't think they're also gauging somewhat!! ;)

 

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Rotax engines are more expensive than some other engines, but this is due (IMO) to the care they take in manufacturing and partly due to the wages Germans get compared to say Chinese workers.

 

Personally, I'd rather pay someone a hefty salary to put my engine together carefully, than to get a "cheap" engine that the workers have rushed or just slapped together. If it was just a motor scooter engine, I'd probably prefer "cheap" though.

 

 

[Bennyboy320]

As they say, “you get what you pay for”.

 

 

[NinjaNate]

Rotax engines are more expensive than some other engines, but this is due (IMO) to the care they take in manufacturing and partly due to the wages Germans get compared to say Chinese workers.Personally, I'd rather pay someone a hefty salary to put my engine together carefully, than to get a "cheap" engine that the workers have rushed or just slapped together. If it was just a motor scooter engine, I'd probably prefer "cheap" though.

Very true! Definitely worth paying a bit more for quality when you consider what is at risk.

I was super impressed at the obvious capital reinvestment shown at the Rotax factory

 

 

[bstrachan]

Rotax builds a fine engine, no doubt about that, but in my personal opinion, their documentation and support sucks. I guess you can't have everything.

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Bstrachan: I see you are in the US so I can't comment on the support you get there. Here In Oz, we have Bert Flood as the distributor. I can't compare what they charge for parts and service to other countries, but it does seem a bit steep, BUT having said that... They have always given me excellent service and when I order parts I've never been told that there will be a delay. They always send the parts out that day and I have them in a couple of days. So maybe we're lucky in that regard.

 

As for Rotax's documentation, it's a bit like working for the CIA; you only get to know what you need to know. The documentation that the average engine owner has available is just enough to do what the average engine owner is allowed /qualified to do. You only get access to the teardown docs when you have done the requisite level of maintenance training. I do find some of the fractured translations from German a bit odd at times though. I have built an airplane and installed a Rotax engine and found the docs supplied were sufficient to get the job done correctly, but I had to study them. I'm also a subscriber to Rotaxowner.com and they have produced a series of videos that clarify a lot of maintenance stuff. If you're not a subscriber, I highly reccomend it. They are always asking for ideas for videos and so if there's something that you're not clear on, you can bet a lot of others would like to know that too.