Being an engineer and having watched a couple of videos on these engines, it seems you guys put a lot of faith (and your life) in the hands of a manufacturer who I wouldn’t trust to power my lawnmower.
Thank you for exposing the fraudulent claims & manufacturing practices of Rotec. May their business die before their engine failures lead to death for pilots unaware of their defective parts & workmanship.
These are experimental aircraft and can run a variety of engines including automotive conversions some of which are quite good. Ya pays your money and takes your chances. Just try and not kill anyone...
The Rotec engine is not some converted VW engine ,home built. It is an expensive engine and is sold to a quality standard. If something as basic as a push rod is failing there is something seriously wrong. If Rotec failed to discover the same thing on a failed engine, sent back to them for inspection after an incident caused by their engines failure, that is beyond belief. They clearly did not strip that engine even though they charged for it and in the context of a potentially lethal accident are criminally negligent. Not to mention fucking stupid from a business point of view.They think this stuff doesn`t get out?
@@billycaspersghost7528 thanks Billy. Right on. Rotec need to wake up and take a more professional approach instead of worrying about the financial loss of having to fix a dud engine at their expense. If Rotec don't change it will be the end of the company.
This stuff makes me so mad. Living in a nation (UK) who`s once great companies committed industrial suicide by similar attitudes I find it baffling how it can happen on any scale.Engines failing cars rusting away then having to battle with manufacturer/retailer over it . Like they are doing me a favour. I find it hard to understand anyone getting nostalgic about old British motorcycles having owned a 1971 BSA Lightning back in the day. Presumably something made them want to make things so why make poor quality things. But with this... we are not talking about a car stranded at the side of the road ,aircraft do not coast safely to the kerb. I agree with your last line .Change or die . Or just stop before you kill someone .As they almost certainly will.
@@rogersmith9086 I've got a $100 bill that says that installation, cowling, airframe and firewall are preventing proper cooling airflow. The air has to FLOW SOMEWHERE AS QUICKLY AS IT COMES IN THE FRONT TO BE OF ANY USE COOLING. ALL OF THOSE DAMAGED PARTS ARE INDICATIVE OF OVERHEATING, OVEREXPANSION AND EVENTUALLY A LOSS OF ENGINE COMPRESSION AND/OR FUEL VAPORIZATION AND/OR VACUUM LEAKS. THAT INTAKE HOSE SHOWN AT FIRST DID NOT "BURST" WITHOUT MELTING FIRST AND IT WAS MORE LIKELY "IMPLODED" THAN "EXPLODED".
As an Australian I apologise for all the troubles you've had and I am ashamed that a company from here has treated you so badly and provided you with such terrible quality (and unsafe ) engines for your aircraft and has treated you so badly. I hope they get shut down so that no one else has to deal with the kind of problems you and so many others have had to endure.
Thanks for sharing all of this. Sorry to see how much time, money & heart ache this has cost you. Rotec's blatant lie's in showing your aircraft under a false name for their advertising purposes is adding more fuel to the fire. Hopefully more people get to see your experience before they commit to going down the same hole.
I am Australian and I am utterly ashamed that this dodgy, deadly engine has caused so much heartache and danger for it's unfortunate owners. Absolutely disgraceful and un-Australian. People's lives and livelihood are at stake here.
YEAH! I couldn't BELIEVE these are Made in Australia, you guys Build GOOD Shit. Who IS this Clown? He can't be Strine! Thierry, hope you been going to Church regular since all this, the Maker is Watching Over you, lol.
Well we could get A Current Affair onto it but she's only interested in exposing love rats, shonky car blokes, and shit canning alpha males in general.
The Rotax 912 series 4-strokes are very reliable. 80-100 HP, IIRC. I used to fly one in a plane I built across the Rocky Mountains, but I sold it years ago.
@@Darrylx444 In fairness, the comment was directed towards two-stroke Rotaxes. They are also generally reliable engines if the owner treats them like an aircraft engine rather than a snowmobile or a chainsaw. There are often mitigating circumstances in an engine failure but they take the rap for it.
Those rotec mechanics wouldn`t pass the probationary period if they tried to hire on at an auto junk yard. Glad I don`t have anything rotec. After seeing this they should be shut down.
I just watched a video with a new Rotec engine that had bad oil pressure. The engine had used parts from other engine returns. Company sends warrantied part and charged shipping both ways from Australia. Not just one problem, many. Rotec is now made in China and financially stretched. I expect a certain standard of quality in aviation and Rotec doesn't have it. I wouldn't use their engines I do not trust their internal qualities.
All certified aircraft motors use plated AN style bolts. I noticed in the photos their bolts and studs look like off the shelf true value hardware store coarse thread stuff. That speaks volumes about the way their company thinks. Don’t care if experimental, there should be an attempt to use proper engineering and build methods.
I've heard nothing good about Rotec engines unless you completely rebuild them and re-engineer some of the parts and them put it back together properly. Thanks for sharing. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya
a notam needs to be submitted to all aviation authorities to not certify these engines for flight ops in every country. rather go for Rotax or lycoming or continental motors. and rotac needs to be liquidated into oblivion for crappy engines that put peoples lives at risk
Lovely looking engines, shame they apparently aren't even close to being reliable enough for manned flight. After seeing this I wouldn't even sit in an aircraft equipped with one. Man that cost you a lot of time and money.
Hi there! I just watched your clip about Rotec engine failures. In February this year, the Rotec engine in my Murphy Rebel suddenly seized in mid flight over Tiger Country in Australia. I was lucky to be able to stretch the glide to a swampy clearing to put the aircraft down. It flipped inverted on roll out, but my wife and I were unharmed. The Rotec engine had had three incidents ( including two emergency landings) in the last fifty hours and had previously been sent back to the manufacturers for inspection and repair. It was returned without any explanation for what had been done to it. When the insurance company required my aero technician to inspect the seized engine, he tried to put fresh oil in and start it. It would not start and when he drained the fresh oil out it was full of metal fragments... I was interested to learn that I was not the only person to experience these types of problems. I would be happy to send you a pic of my lovely aircraft to include with the others at the end of your clip. Perhaps fortunately my Rotec engine was damaged beyond repair in our roll-over, so like you I am replacing it with a more sensible Lycoming 320 Happy and safe flying! I love your aircraft
thanks for sharing , when I did put the first video about my first engine failure the only thing Rotec could do , was to make a video to insult me saying that I am a liar, that is why no I made this video with all my problems, at least next time Rotec will not be able to say to someone it his fault and it works perfectly with everybody else .........I wonder if there is anyone in the world with more than 300 hrs and no problem ?????
You could lift a car engine off any japanese production line and it would statistically be more reliable than the general aviation engines typified here. And if you threw them away at 1000 hours it would still be cheaper.
that's not the point. this engine is even worse than the lycosaurs. however, having designed components for auto-engines, our design criteria were, maximum life time of 2000hrs, catastrophic failures are OK. the customer can stop at the side of the road. not so much when flying. that is why aero engines have to wear out before they fail.
@@daszieher Maximum life time of 2000 hours? My car has 210,000 miles on it! The fastest it ever goes is 70 mph. I estimate it's current engine hours at 6000 hours. This is a Toyota, and hardly unusual.
@@daszieher Is English your first language? Minimum life span of 2000 hours might be more understandable. By that do you mean all aspects of the engine, perhaps with the exception of a timing belt?
@@jiroyamamoto2878 no. "Minimum" is not the requirement. I used to design parts for engines. Literally: "Das muss nur 2.000 Stunden halten.", while "minimum" would have translated to "Das muss mindestens 2.000 Stunden halten." Over-engineering was a "fail". What makes the parts last longer are the safety factors and generally still conservative calculations. English, though not my first language, is my third (of six fluent) next to my native German and Spanish, followed by French, Flemish and Portuguese. My Italian is very rudimentary. Although I wouldn't list it, I will get by quite OK in Italy. How about your language skills? 😉
+thierryroussel1 I'm always amassed when I see this sort of thing. The most important thing about an aircraft engine is it should be reliable but these clowns seem to think the most important thing is to cheap out on both design (inadequate plastic gears in the distributor) and assembly (a push rod not even in the cup of the rocker, or did that fall out when the engine was running ?) plus a socket headed cylinder bolt that was either too long or had oil at the bottom of the blind hole in the crankcase so that it pushed metal proud of a machined face. The failure of the rubber induction tube coupling after such a short time of use seems really odd, were these made of some material that was not meant to be exposed to gasoline vapour ? Glad to see you survived these 'engine died' accidents, shame a couple of your aircraft did not. The Rotec installation looks more the part but I think you gave them enough chances, one more could have proved fatal. Thank you for the video, a cautionary tale if ever there was one.
Absolutely. And thierryroussel1 has taken it all in his stride. Qudos to the incredibly patient chap. The destruction of two aircraft and the expense of rebuilding them and surviving the forced landings all thanks to the one common denominator of failure. Rotec. Personally? Had this happened to me and I'd managed to live through it more or less intact, I'd be looking to bill or sue Rotec.
At a guess, Rotec is not your favorite company in the whole world. Right?? Seriously, you showed a lot more good will to Rotec than I would have, so sue the dickheads for a bucket load of cash, at least enough to pay for replacement power plants.
suing is an american thing, here you never get a lot of money, but you have to pay expensive lawyers, flying in business from Europe to Australia many times , and Rotec , is not a big company it is just an assembly hangar full of other stuff in a small Australian airfield ......I have lost way too much money and time , but I am still alive , and now both of my planes are flying every weeks .....
@@thierryroussel1 .Well, you should pay some mercenarys to blow that POS plant to smitherings...and take the owner to a "Dark Site" for some attitude adjustements.....
I bought an alternator conversion from them and the alternator had to be rebuilt before I used it. They gave me a belt for electric motors which lasted 10 hrs before breaking. I bought it at Oshkosh . They had a special on. When I got home I was overcharged 250 US dollars which I never got back. I was promised an electronic ignition conversion instead but never received anything and haven't heard back from them.
Radial aircraft engines are the greatest marvel ever invented for aviation! Radial engines are beautiful to behold and their sound is breathtaking! I am 65 years old soon and have enjoyed being close to big Pratt & Whitney 450 and 600 radials not to mention Lycoming, Continental, Jacob (shaky jakes), Kenner and Warner Radial engines all my life! What could be more beautiful in looks and sound than a 450 Super Stearman! Those big Pratts vibrate the ground around you with their Thum-pa-da-de-thum-pa-da-de-thum-pa-da idle! Or maybe a Great Lakes Biplane powered by a 165 Warner Radial? And then let us not leave out the magnificent Bücker Bü 133C Jungmeister with it's marvelous Siemens Sh14A-4 radial engine. Have you ever seen these Jungmeister biplanes converted to a flat Lycoming 150 or 180? Looks and sounds like nothing by comparison. So I can easily see why this fellow was determined (yet ill advised) to continue with his Rotec radials. Designing, building and setting up an aircraft's engine mount for weight & balance then fitting a cowling not to mention the propellor, fuel and oil tanks, lines, fittings, valves, wiring, straps and clamps is no simple task. Making up one's mind to remove and completely re-engineer and remanufacture all this is mind blowing! That is why this took so long to undue and switch to a different powerplant. Anyone who has owned and worked on as many airplanes as I have knows this all too well. So everybody chill out before questioning this masterful builder's decisions and actions. He initially trusted Rotec but got taken. We should all take up a collection and send it to him with our heart felt condolences! Happy New Year everyone!
It is saddening to find a product that lives depend on being made to such an inferior standard.. Even worse that the manufacturer wont back the item and the customer. This is not the Australian way so this arsehole should fly one of his motors to Siberia and stay there. We dont want him doing this style of business as an Aussie.
Thank you for sharing so much of your experience here! The repeated airframe repair you've had to do shows you're a master craftsman, sir! On the other side if the coin, you've personally experienced what those early mechanics and aviators did in their time. You sir, are worthy of wearing a genuine silk scarf. Lovely birds you have there! My grandfather flew the Sopwith Pup in Holland, when they were state of the art.
Almost 2 years after this vide was postes, i came across it by chance. TH-cam suggested it for me an I`m glad I´ve seen it. I just can´t believe how irresponsible Rotec is... And I´m amazed by your work! You just got a new fan!
I must commend you on your perseverance in rebuilding after crashes and then finding a good engine solution. A lot of people would have given up. Well Done!
After two such incidents, I would have got new engines from some where else! Pay attention Rotec! Fix your engine issues or go out of business! I think I would have sued them for what it cost to repair the aircraft.
i guess the only thing "Safe" here is to say Rotec engines have not been engineered well enough to be an acceptable reliable aircraft engine..steer clear...
Wow. You’re a brave aviator in the spirit of our finest. I think you’d have better luck with a LeRhone 80 horse rotary than that horrible, piece of junk, Rotec. Their QC doesn’t seem fit for a lawn mower company, and for them to not tear down a failed engine is simply criminal negligence. Thanks for sharing.
I cannot believe this - it borders on criminal negligence. A lesser pilot might have been seriously injured or killed. Are you making a claim against Rotec - I certainly would?
Seems Rotec make rubbish engines. Never touch one. Expensive scrap with the bonus of wrecking your aircraft and endangering lives. Should be banned by aviation authorities.
Frankly I find it astounding and almost unbelievable that you took parts from a failed engine to use in another failed engine for a TEST FLIGHT. Two wrongs don't make a right. They make dead pilots.
For the best in backyard engine builders check out Allen Millyard. Not aviation engines,but his 5Litre vee twin using 2 Wright cylinders/ pistons is impressive
Suing is an american thing, here you never get a lot of money, but you have to pay expensive lawyers, flying in business from Europe to Australia many times , and Rotec , is not a big company it is just an assembly hangar full of other stuff in a small Australian airfield ......I have lost way too much money and time , but I am still alive , and now both of my planes are flying every weeks .....
Well its known that one should rotate any assembly drawing originated in Australia by 180° to match the European point of view. Otherwise the machinery will "stand on its head" if you know what i mean.
Now that I've seen the internals of the engine, it does indeed look a lot like those toy model airplane engines. I used to think rotec radials were a great idea for older aircraft, but not anymore after seeing the shite build quality and gross incompetence of the company neglecting to properly inspect failed engines. Parts of the engine that should be forged or at least heat strengthened look like they're either made of sintered metal (ie. metal dust which is heated to near melting point and compressed in a die) or made of plastic. These rotec engines have no business even on an engine stand as a demo of the engine type.
Not to be sarcastic or a 21st Century Luddite. But there appears to be value in the accumulative knowledge of technology and its failures already “in the books”. From my, admitted, distant point of view. This engine is a dangerous Piece of Shit. POS. Just one man’s opinion after flying behind multiple Radial Engines of much larger Displacement. It’s hard to believe a company could f**k that up with decades of development and knowledge accumulated in wartime conditions. But, I’ve never run a manufacturing business where people’s lives depended on proper engineering of my product. Apparently, this company hasn’t either. I love the sound of Radial engines. Only when they are running properly, however. I’d stay far away from this engine and the company that manufactured it. Just one man’s opinion. P&W....or Rotec? You be the judge.
This idiot has risked your life and ripped you off , I wouldn't trust him to rebuild a lawn mower , as an Australian I'd like to apologise to you , I actually feel ashamed
I know that Nestor Slepcev tried a couple of those engines many years ago on his Storch and both failed. He gave up on them after that. Seems they haven't gotten any better in all these years. What a waste of all that time and effort building those beautiful planes and then nearly completely destroying them and even maybe yourself due to such a crappy engine. Safe flying in the future.
Bolts too long? Sheesh! Australia has some strong consumer protection laws. If I'd bought that engine here in Australia, forget the replacement under warranty, I'd be looking for a refund, and compensation for the damage to my aircraft.
When you look at the level of meticulous engineering and cutting edge metallurgical skills that went into building the original radial's back in the day, it makes this copy look like a poor stage prop. The push rod probably disconnected when a valve stem nipped, holding the valve open momentarily, the piston contacts the valve and it belts it back with the assistance of the spring, the now floating pushrod punches a dent into the rocker (soft billet...!) and the shock load causes that tip failure of the pushrod. Just my guess from building race engines many years back. They probably sourced valves and guides designed for liquid cooled engines, and the higher temp of an air cooled head initiated the failure. The plastic gear would be an attempt to reduce cost over using precision ground, hardened alloy steel gears with fully profiled teeth. Shame on them..
FAA Inspector Point is, this example of straight cut gears showed clear early failure. Straight cut non involute tooth profile introduces parasitic vibration in the transfer of torque, that is why helix profiles are amongst other things, longer lasting. Why risk plastic for any reason that out qualifies reliability? Dont bendix use resin impregnated fibre gears?
@@alasdair4161 huh maybe they are resin, dont know myself but I remember in A&P -american airplane mechanic - school being surprised when i opened the mag, both brands, the first time and the gears felt like cheap plastic lol, i doubt it is cost saving since there is no such thing in aviation (when it's all done legally lolol) - maybe some sort of static charge or friction purpose for not using metal
Sounds to me like a law suit is in order. You have unbelievable patience with this company! As much as those engines cost they should be just as reliable as your Lycoming. What does the FAA have to say about these engines? I find it hard to believe they would continue to allow them to be put on certified aircraft. Or are you in another country?
POS engine. Although, they do make a lovely coffee table. Verner makes a radial. I don't know reliability history. Hard to beat the tried and true boxers.
I had the nylon timing gear in a Dodge 318 V-8 strand me once. Replaced it with a steel gear. Before anyone tries to design and build a 300 cu in (approx 150 Hp) radial engine they should buy a couple of worn out Wright and Pratt & Whitney engines. Then take them apart and use the best of the designs in their own engines. Seems the fraud behind the modern Rotax engine just made it up as he went along. The result was an expensive dangerous failure.
I would never, under any circumstances, install that engine. NEVER! For years they have had problems - and I'm sure it will continue. I know you like the Radial Engine - but that one is a "Loser."
Man, what a pain in the ass?! I was interested in the rotec engine but, after that, no way! I'm intending to build a Pietenpol, so I go with the Continental O200 or some old C90...
The Rotec radial was the right engine concept for your wonderful planes. You sure gave the company more chance than they deserved, looking back. Great video!
Being an engineer and having watched a couple of videos on these engines, it seems you guys put a lot of faith (and your life) in the hands of a manufacturer who I wouldn’t trust to power my lawnmower.
What a shit engine and company. I will definitely steer clear.
Thanks for posting!
Thank you for exposing the fraudulent claims & manufacturing practices of Rotec. May their business die before their engine failures lead to death for pilots unaware of their defective parts & workmanship.
What an eye opener and shame on Rotec Radials. Sorry about your aircraft losses. Thank God you survived.
Some pretty damning evidence you have there. Thanks for posting!!
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If that is the quality of Rotec engines they should be banned for use in aviation. End of story.
These are experimental aircraft and can run a variety of engines including automotive conversions some of which are quite good. Ya pays your money and takes your chances. Just try and not kill anyone...
The Rotec engine is not some converted VW engine ,home built.
It is an expensive engine and is sold to a quality standard.
If something as basic as a push rod is failing there is something seriously wrong.
If Rotec failed to discover the same thing on a failed engine, sent back to them for inspection after an incident caused by their engines failure, that is beyond belief.
They clearly did not strip that engine even though they charged for it and in the context of a potentially lethal accident are criminally negligent.
Not to mention fucking stupid from a business point of view.They think this stuff doesn`t get out?
@@billycaspersghost7528 thanks Billy. Right on. Rotec need to wake up and take a more professional approach instead of worrying about the financial loss of having to fix a dud engine at their expense. If Rotec don't change it will be the end of the company.
This stuff makes me so mad.
Living in a nation (UK) who`s once great companies committed industrial suicide by similar attitudes I find it baffling how it can happen on any scale.Engines failing cars rusting away then having to battle with manufacturer/retailer over it . Like they are doing me a favour.
I find it hard to understand anyone getting nostalgic about old British motorcycles having owned a 1971 BSA Lightning back in the day.
Presumably something made them want to make things so why make poor quality things.
But with this... we are not talking about a car stranded at the side of the road ,aircraft do not coast safely to the kerb.
I agree with your last line .Change or die . Or just stop before you kill someone .As they almost certainly will.
@@rogersmith9086 I've got a $100 bill that says that installation, cowling, airframe and firewall are preventing proper cooling airflow. The air has to FLOW SOMEWHERE AS QUICKLY AS IT COMES IN THE FRONT TO BE OF ANY USE COOLING. ALL OF THOSE DAMAGED PARTS ARE INDICATIVE OF OVERHEATING, OVEREXPANSION AND EVENTUALLY A LOSS OF ENGINE COMPRESSION AND/OR FUEL VAPORIZATION AND/OR VACUUM LEAKS. THAT INTAKE HOSE SHOWN AT FIRST DID NOT "BURST" WITHOUT MELTING FIRST AND IT WAS MORE LIKELY "IMPLODED" THAN "EXPLODED".
Thanks for the Warning, "defects in material and workmanship".
I am a big round engine fan, but will never use one of these.
I never was a Rotec fan and I think they owe you a bit of dosh for repairing 2 airplanes.
Erm maybe a bit of extra for trying to kill him you mean : )
Rotec needs to make this right and cover every dollar of damage cost incurred due to their shoddy engineering.
totally shoddy engineering, amazing a pc. of shit like that went out the door. could kill somebody...several times over.
As an Australian I apologise for all the troubles you've had and I am ashamed that a company from here has treated you so badly and provided you with such terrible quality (and unsafe ) engines for your aircraft and has treated you so badly. I hope they get shut down so that no one else has to deal with the kind of problems you and so many others have had to endure.
ROTEC -the blunder from down under.
Thanks for sharing all of this. Sorry to see how much time, money & heart ache this has cost you. Rotec's blatant lie's in showing your aircraft under a false name for their advertising purposes is adding more fuel to the fire. Hopefully more people get to see your experience before they commit to going down the same hole.
I am Australian and I am utterly ashamed that this dodgy, deadly engine has caused so much heartache and danger for it's unfortunate owners. Absolutely disgraceful and un-Australian. People's lives and livelihood are at stake here.
YEAH! I couldn't BELIEVE these are Made in Australia, you guys Build GOOD Shit. Who IS this Clown? He can't be Strine! Thierry, hope you been going to Church regular since all this, the Maker is Watching Over you, lol.
me too...disgusting.
Well we could get A Current Affair onto it but she's only interested in exposing love rats, shonky car blokes, and shit canning alpha males in general.
Graeme, you quite clearly haven't met the owner.
Negative on that.
Rotec should be closed down by the Australian Government. The potential to kill someone is in every flight with one of their engines.
"Friends don't let friends fly Rotec" - adapted from a Rotax slogan.
The Rotax 912 series 4-strokes are very reliable. 80-100 HP, IIRC. I used to fly one in a plane I built across the Rocky Mountains, but I sold it years ago.
@@Darrylx444 In fairness, the comment was directed towards two-stroke Rotaxes. They are also generally reliable engines if the owner treats them like an aircraft engine rather than a snowmobile or a chainsaw. There are often mitigating circumstances in an engine failure but they take the rap for it.
Those rotec mechanics wouldn`t pass the probationary period if they tried to hire on at an auto junk yard. Glad I don`t have anything rotec. After seeing this they should be shut down.
I was going to buy one, but not now. Thanks you probably saved both my plane and me
You could take a look at the Verner Scarlet radials instead.
Same here. Am looking to replace my Rotax 503, which has never given me any trouble, except with regulators, and charging coil.
I just watched a video with a new Rotec engine that had bad oil pressure. The engine had used parts from other engine returns. Company sends warrantied part and charged shipping both ways from Australia. Not just one problem, many. Rotec is now made in China and financially stretched. I expect a certain standard of quality in aviation and Rotec doesn't have it. I wouldn't use their engines I do not trust their internal qualities.
That's just bad business! Someone's gonna die.
We need to make them understand. NO MORE MONEY! Till this is rectified.
Just a matter of time before they go on sale at Harbor Freight.
Joseph Nichols I don’t think Harbor Freight would allow junk like that in their stores.
@InfiniteMushroom Here he is criticizing another brand of engine.
th-cam.com/video/AqEan627--w/w-d-xo.html
All certified aircraft motors use plated AN style bolts. I noticed in the photos their bolts and studs look like off the shelf true value hardware store coarse thread stuff. That speaks volumes about the way their company thinks. Don’t care if experimental, there should be an attempt to use proper engineering and build methods.
I've heard nothing good about Rotec engines unless you completely rebuild them and re-engineer some of the parts and them put it back together properly. Thanks for sharing. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya
That must be soul destroying after all the work building those fine aircraft.
I suspect he was just happy to be alive, those crashes looked brutal
Thanks for sharing. Not too good for Rotec.
Rotec engines are now fully certified and guaranteed for continuous use as boat anchors.
Buys used Rotec radial to use as boat anchor.
Find out Rotecs are made of foam rubber.
Rotec just needs to go out of business. They are a danger to all airmen. Get the NTSB involved.
a notam needs to be submitted to all aviation authorities to not certify these engines for flight ops in every country. rather go for Rotax or lycoming or continental motors. and rotac needs to be liquidated into oblivion for crappy engines that put peoples lives at risk
I disagree, they need to stay in business and just make pencils - ones that aren't sharp.
Lovely looking engines, shame they apparently aren't even close to being reliable enough for manned flight. After seeing this I wouldn't even sit in an aircraft equipped with one. Man that cost you a lot of time and money.
Hi there!
I just watched your clip about Rotec engine failures. In February this year, the Rotec engine in my Murphy Rebel suddenly seized in mid flight over Tiger Country in Australia. I was lucky to be able to stretch the glide to a swampy clearing to put the aircraft down. It flipped inverted on roll out, but my wife and I were unharmed.
The Rotec engine had had three incidents ( including two emergency landings) in the last fifty hours and had previously been sent back to the manufacturers for inspection and repair. It was returned without any explanation for what had been done to it.
When the insurance company required my aero technician to inspect the seized engine, he tried to put fresh oil in and start it. It would not start and when he drained the fresh oil out it was full of metal fragments...
I was interested to learn that I was not the only person to experience these types of problems. I would be happy to send you a pic of my lovely aircraft to include with the others at the end of your clip. Perhaps fortunately my Rotec engine was damaged beyond repair in our roll-over, so like you I am replacing it with a more sensible Lycoming 320
Happy and safe flying! I love your aircraft
thanks for sharing , when I did put the first video about my first engine failure the only thing Rotec could do , was to make a video to insult me saying that I am a liar, that is why no I made this video with all my problems, at least next time Rotec will not be able to say to someone it his fault and it works perfectly with everybody else .........I wonder if there is anyone in the world with more than 300 hrs and no problem ?????
You could lift a car engine off any japanese production line and it would statistically be more reliable than the general aviation engines typified here. And if you threw them away at 1000 hours it would still be cheaper.
that's not the point. this engine is even worse than the lycosaurs.
however, having designed components for auto-engines, our design criteria were, maximum life time of 2000hrs, catastrophic failures are OK. the customer can stop at the side of the road. not so much when flying. that is why aero engines have to wear out before they fail.
@@daszieher Maximum life time of 2000 hours? My car has 210,000 miles on it! The fastest it ever goes is 70 mph. I estimate it's current engine hours at 6000 hours. This is a Toyota, and hardly unusual.
@@jiroyamamoto2878 it doesn't break at 2k hrs. It's just calculated to reach 2k hrs.
@@daszieher Is English your first language? Minimum life span of 2000 hours might be more understandable. By that do you mean all aspects of the engine, perhaps with the exception of a timing belt?
@@jiroyamamoto2878 no. "Minimum" is not the requirement. I used to design parts for engines. Literally: "Das muss nur 2.000 Stunden halten.", while "minimum" would have translated to "Das muss mindestens 2.000 Stunden halten."
Over-engineering was a "fail".
What makes the parts last longer are the safety factors and generally still conservative calculations.
English, though not my first language, is my third (of six fluent) next to my native German and Spanish, followed by French, Flemish and Portuguese. My Italian is very rudimentary. Although I wouldn't list it, I will get by quite OK in Italy. How about your language skills? 😉
The owners of Rotec should be criminally charged, and jailed with producing a lethal products, and the company bankrupted and shut down for good.
I feel sorry for you, they are junk engines I'd never get behind one of these POC!& I'm Australian!
Your constructions are magnificent, I have subscribed.Bleriot flew with better engines than your Rotecs!
Only Rotec Radial Ive seen was at Alamosa Co on a very nice Zenith 701. It failed less than 100 hours total time and the 701 was totaled.
+thierryroussel1 I'm always amassed when I see this sort of thing. The most important thing about an aircraft engine is it should be reliable but these clowns seem to think the most important thing is to cheap out on both design (inadequate plastic gears in the distributor) and assembly (a push rod not even in the cup of the rocker, or did that fall out when the engine was running ?) plus a socket headed cylinder bolt that was either too long or had oil at the bottom of the blind hole in the crankcase so that it pushed metal proud of a machined face. The failure of the rubber induction tube coupling after such a short time of use seems really odd, were these made of some material that was not meant to be exposed to gasoline vapour ? Glad to see you survived these 'engine died' accidents, shame a couple of your aircraft did not. The Rotec installation looks more the part but I think you gave them enough chances, one more could have proved fatal. Thank you for the video, a cautionary tale if ever there was one.
Absolutely. And thierryroussel1 has taken it all in his stride. Qudos to the incredibly patient chap. The destruction of two aircraft and the expense of rebuilding them and surviving the forced landings all thanks to the one common denominator of failure. Rotec. Personally? Had this happened to me and I'd managed to live through it more or less intact, I'd be looking to bill or sue Rotec.
Dogphlap no shit,u would think that they would have to be certified for air worthyness,God bless
It seems the radial Rotec engine isn't a wise choice for aircraft by any stretch of the imagination.
second video Ive watched about the Rotec.....They sound like they are trash. Shame, nice looking motor......
At a guess, Rotec is not your favorite company in the whole world. Right??
Seriously, you showed a lot more good will to Rotec than I would have, so sue the dickheads for a bucket load of cash, at least enough to pay for replacement power plants.
suing is an american thing, here you never get a lot of money, but you have to pay expensive lawyers, flying in business from Europe to Australia many times , and Rotec , is not a big company it is just an assembly hangar full of other stuff in a small Australian airfield ......I have lost way too much money and time , but I am still alive , and now both of my planes are flying every weeks .....
@@thierryroussel1 .Well, you should pay some mercenarys to blow that POS plant to smitherings...and take the owner to a "Dark Site" for some attitude adjustements.....
@@ToyManFlyer1100 Hell ya! Best idea yet! This & the Gotha bomber idea.
Now I understand why Rotec gives a 10 year warranty on these. They wouldn't sell any without it. I prefer not to crash so....I'll stick with Lycoming.
I bought an alternator conversion from them and the alternator had to be rebuilt before I used it. They gave me a belt for electric motors which lasted 10 hrs before breaking. I bought it at Oshkosh . They had a special on. When I got home I was overcharged 250 US dollars which I never got back. I was promised an electronic ignition conversion instead but never received anything and haven't heard back from them.
ROTEC - the little engine that couldn't.
Radial aircraft engines are the greatest marvel ever invented for aviation! Radial engines are beautiful to behold and their sound is breathtaking! I am 65 years old soon and have enjoyed being close to big Pratt & Whitney 450 and 600 radials not to mention Lycoming, Continental, Jacob (shaky jakes), Kenner and Warner Radial engines all my life! What could be more beautiful in looks and sound than a 450 Super Stearman! Those big Pratts vibrate the ground around you with their Thum-pa-da-de-thum-pa-da-de-thum-pa-da idle! Or maybe a Great Lakes Biplane powered by a 165 Warner Radial? And then let us not leave out the magnificent Bücker Bü 133C Jungmeister with it's marvelous Siemens Sh14A-4 radial engine. Have you ever seen these Jungmeister biplanes converted to a flat Lycoming 150 or 180? Looks and sounds like nothing by comparison. So I can easily see why this fellow was determined (yet ill advised) to continue with his Rotec radials. Designing, building and setting up an aircraft's engine mount for weight & balance then fitting a cowling not to mention the propellor, fuel and oil tanks, lines, fittings, valves, wiring, straps and clamps is no simple task. Making up one's mind to remove and completely re-engineer and remanufacture all this is mind blowing! That is why this took so long to undue and switch to a different powerplant. Anyone who has owned and worked on as many airplanes as I have knows this all too well. So everybody chill out before questioning this masterful builder's decisions and actions. He initially trusted Rotec but got taken. We should all take up a collection and send it to him with our heart felt condolences! Happy New Year everyone!
It is saddening to find a product that lives depend on being made to such an inferior standard.. Even worse that the manufacturer wont back the item and the customer. This is not the Australian way so this arsehole should fly one of his motors to Siberia and stay there. We dont want him doing this style of business as an Aussie.
Thank you for sharing so much of your experience here! The repeated airframe repair you've had to do shows you're a master craftsman, sir!
On the other side if the coin, you've personally experienced what those early mechanics and aviators did in their time. You sir, are worthy of wearing a genuine silk scarf.
Lovely birds you have there! My grandfather flew the Sopwith Pup in Holland, when they were state of the art.
Almost 2 years after this vide was postes, i came across it by chance. TH-cam suggested it for me an I`m glad I´ve seen it. I just can´t believe how irresponsible Rotec is... And I´m amazed by your work! You just got a new fan!
I wouldn't put a Rotek engine in a wheelbarrow!!!
Ive been following all about these engines made in China says it all and and Aussie flogging them surprised no one yet been killed
I must commend you on your perseverance in rebuilding after crashes and then finding a good engine solution. A lot of people would have given up.
Well Done!
Rotax ought to sue. What if someone built a shoddy sports car and called it a "Ferrare?"
After two such incidents, I would have got new engines from some where else!
Pay attention Rotec! Fix your engine issues or go out of business!
I think I would have sued them for what it cost to repair the aircraft.
i guess the only thing "Safe" here is to say Rotec engines have not been engineered well enough to be an acceptable reliable aircraft engine..steer clear...
Wow. You’re a brave aviator in the spirit of our finest. I think you’d have better luck with a LeRhone 80 horse rotary than that horrible, piece of junk, Rotec.
Their QC doesn’t seem fit for a lawn mower company, and for them to not tear down a failed engine is simply criminal negligence.
Thanks for sharing.
I wouldn't fly behind a Rotec engine if my live depended on it. Oh wait. It does!!!
Engine construction does NOT match your aircraft construction. Sad
As a machinist and metal worker in general, Rotec should be out of business!!!! Very serious shit here.
Thank you for sharing your story. I am very glad I watched this video.
The way things turned out you would probably have been better off with original rotaries!👍😉
Glad I watched this video
How come CASA (the Australian FAA) went after Jabiru but left this manufacturer untouched?
I cannot believe this - it borders on criminal negligence. A lesser pilot might have been seriously injured or killed. Are you making a claim against Rotec - I certainly would?
At our airport Rotec is a dirty word.
They are total junk.
Crap quality Engines maybe The chinese ones will be better They cant be worse!
or can they?
Were most of these engine failures due to faulty assembly at the factory? Seems they have some serious quality control issues at Rotec
I hope this Rotec hack watches this and worries. Killing people will not sit well with the people his victims leave behind.
Seems Rotec make rubbish engines. Never touch one. Expensive scrap with the bonus of wrecking your aircraft and endangering lives. Should be banned by aviation authorities.
Well, that does it for any interest in Rotec engines. Thanks for posting and I'm glad you survived the Rotec nightmare.
Frankly I find it astounding and almost unbelievable that you took parts from a failed engine to use in another failed engine for a TEST FLIGHT. Two wrongs don't make a right. They make dead pilots.
For the best in backyard engine builders check out Allen Millyard. Not aviation engines,but his 5Litre vee twin using 2 Wright cylinders/ pistons is impressive
I hope Rotec never sell another engine. Keep safe my friend.
I'd be really pissed off with Rotec. They owe you a new engine and not a lemon.
I am very disappointed with Rotec management. Seems they are liable for a lot of damages.
Suing is an american thing, here you never get a lot of money, but you have to pay expensive lawyers, flying in business from Europe to Australia many times , and Rotec , is not a big company it is just an assembly hangar full of other stuff in a small Australian airfield ......I have lost way too much money and time , but I am still alive , and now both of my planes are flying every weeks .....
Guess that's what matters most. I have neither sued anybody, nor been sued myself, but the term flows in the English dialogue most freely.
I'm glad you finally gave up on Rotec, that engine would have eventually killed you.
Well its known that one should rotate any assembly drawing originated in Australia by 180° to match the European point of view. Otherwise the machinery will "stand on its head" if you know what i mean.
I sure hope you put in a claim and got paid for the repair of your aircraft. 3 failed engines is criminal negligence.
Looking at the general engine build, it appears to be a scaled-up model rather than a fit for purpose design.
Now that I've seen the internals of the engine, it does indeed look a lot like those toy model airplane engines. I used to think rotec radials were a great idea for older aircraft, but not anymore after seeing the shite build quality and gross incompetence of the company neglecting to properly inspect failed engines.
Parts of the engine that should be forged or at least heat strengthened look like they're either made of sintered metal (ie. metal dust which is heated to near melting point and compressed in a die) or made of plastic.
These rotec engines have no business even on an engine stand as a demo of the engine type.
HINT: When putting text over light background video... use BLACK text. It's difficult to read light text on a light background. Just sayin...
I was gonna buy one but not now!
Sike
Not to be sarcastic or a 21st Century Luddite.
But there appears to be value in the accumulative knowledge of technology and its failures already “in the books”.
From my, admitted, distant point of view. This engine is a dangerous Piece of Shit. POS.
Just one man’s opinion after flying behind multiple Radial Engines of much larger Displacement.
It’s hard to believe a company could f**k that up with decades of development and knowledge accumulated in wartime conditions.
But, I’ve never run a manufacturing business where people’s lives depended on proper engineering of my product.
Apparently, this company hasn’t either.
I love the sound of Radial engines. Only when they are running properly, however.
I’d stay far away from this engine and the company that manufactured it.
Just one man’s opinion. P&W....or Rotec? You be the judge.
Oh good grief Rotec is horrific. What about Verner radial engines? At lease with the Lycoming you are assured of absolute reliability.
This idiot has risked your life and ripped you off , I wouldn't trust him to rebuild a lawn mower , as an Australian I'd like to apologise to you , I actually feel ashamed
Dose Rotec not realize how serious this is to the aviation community, as well as their company's credibility and future?!
I know that Nestor Slepcev tried a couple of those engines many years ago on his Storch and both failed. He gave up on them after that. Seems they haven't gotten any better in all these years. What a waste of all that time and effort building those beautiful planes and then nearly completely destroying them and even maybe yourself due to such a crappy engine. Safe flying in the future.
Bolts too long? Sheesh! Australia has some strong consumer protection laws. If I'd bought that engine here in Australia, forget the replacement under warranty, I'd be looking for a refund, and compensation for the damage to my aircraft.
Sorry to see the problems with Rotec Radials thought they were better than that. Glad you weren't hurt.
When you look at the level of meticulous engineering and cutting edge metallurgical skills that went into building the original radial's back in the day, it makes this copy look like a poor stage prop. The push rod probably disconnected when a valve stem nipped, holding the valve open momentarily, the piston contacts the valve and it belts it back with the assistance of the spring, the now floating pushrod punches a dent into the rocker (soft billet...!) and the shock load causes that tip failure of the pushrod. Just my guess from building race engines many years back. They probably sourced valves and guides designed for liquid cooled engines, and the higher temp of an air cooled head initiated the failure.
The plastic gear would be an attempt to reduce cost over using precision ground, hardened alloy steel gears with fully profiled teeth. Shame on them..
Alasdair McC Bendix and slick both use plastic gears in their magnetos..........so what is your point?
Exactly! These metallurgy problems were all solved 90-some years ago! Why is this wheel having to be reinvented?
Could have also been over-revved.
FAA Inspector
Point is, this example of straight cut gears showed clear early failure. Straight cut non involute tooth profile introduces parasitic vibration in the transfer of torque, that is why helix profiles are amongst other things, longer lasting. Why risk plastic for any reason that out qualifies reliability? Dont bendix use resin impregnated fibre gears?
@@alasdair4161 huh maybe they are resin, dont know myself but I remember in A&P -american airplane mechanic - school being surprised when i opened the mag, both brands, the first time and the gears felt like cheap plastic lol, i doubt it is cost saving since there is no such thing in aviation (when it's all done legally lolol) - maybe some sort of static charge or friction purpose for not using metal
how does the engine get a Certificate of airworthiness ////
Sounds to me like a law suit is in order. You have unbelievable patience with this company! As much as those engines cost they should be just as reliable as your Lycoming. What does the FAA have to say about these engines? I find it hard to believe they would continue to allow them to be put on certified aircraft. Or are you in another country?
The radial made from Honda xr600 cylinders would be better
Im just glad nobody got hurt or life treathened injured....
POS engine. Although, they do make a lovely coffee table. Verner makes a radial. I don't know reliability history.
Hard to beat the tried and true boxers.
Mental note. Stay away from Rotec engines.
After 2 engines and 2 planes its doubtful I would have gave them a 3rd chance. Glad to see you were ok. Could have been bad on the first crash.
THOSE ENGINES SHOULD BE DECLARED UNAIR WORTHY UNTIL PROVEN SAFE!!!
Wow. You were brave to continue trusting Rotec. Sad that you couldn’t use a radial in the end.
i am not buying rotec ever, this company owes you time, money for the time lost on your plane.. glad your ok from all the mishaps with rotec
Unforgivable!!!
Thanks for this video , I was considering one if their engines , not now , God bless
Absolutely breathtaking......... shame on Rotec and the people responsible for this........
Bad engineering ,they tried teflon gears in car engines wasn't very successful amazed they are using them in aircraft engines !
I had the nylon timing gear in a Dodge 318 V-8 strand me once. Replaced it with a steel gear.
Before anyone tries to design and build a 300 cu in (approx 150 Hp) radial engine they should buy a couple of worn out Wright and Pratt & Whitney engines. Then take them apart and use the best of the designs in their own engines. Seems the fraud behind the modern Rotax engine just made it up as he went along. The result was an expensive dangerous failure.
I would never, under any circumstances, install that engine. NEVER! For years they have had problems - and I'm sure it will continue. I know you like the Radial Engine - but that one is a "Loser."
Man, what a pain in the ass?! I was interested in the rotec engine but, after that, no way! I'm intending to build a Pietenpol, so I go with the Continental O200 or some old C90...
Class action lawsuit. Do it. Save lives !
The Rotec radial was the right engine concept for your wonderful planes. You sure gave the company more chance than they deserved, looking back. Great video!
total incompetence as an engine manufacturer.