fastj22 wrote:You won't see your post on his yahoo forum. He won't respond or allow anything negative. It happened with his Subaru forum too. Which is now idle for the last 3 years.
A little more research found an alternate Yahoo forum for those Subaru customers seeking help with Eggenfellner problems. Its restricted to those who have the engines so difficult for us to see what issues are being discussed.
He's not well received in the RV community. I think I know why now.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vikingair ... ssage/1275My post did indeed not make it to the forum, but I think this post from Jan is a response to what I wrote:
People are asking why the SeaRey supposedly did not fly as good with the Viking
as with the Rotax 914 turbo.
The Viking just recently had a 400 rpm / 60-80 lb of additional thrust
introduced through a tubular intake manifold. This was never tested on the
SeaRey.
The SeaRey LSX model is as much as 150-200 lb heavier than the earlier models.
It is also stronger / has a bigger / heavier tail.
SeaReys in general have an aft CG, we are now moving the engine forward 2"
The SeaRey designer flew this particular airplane, did not sence much of a CG
issue, said the airplane / engine combination has lots of promise.
The pusher Viking SeaRey installation is naturally heavier than in a
conventional tractor layout due to a larger radiator and fan assembly at about
15 lb more.
The excitement surrounding this is that we now will do a second installation,
using what we have learned so far, and really hit the nail on the head. The
changes are:
Working with a builder that has previous SeaRey experience
Shift engine forward 2"
Move engine up 1"
Have oil tank on top of the flap tube for better looks.
More room for the quiet 3 chambered muffler
Prop extension for better airflow into prop
Tubular, performance enhancing Viking intake manifold
ECU software changes for additional power.
There was also a question from a Sonex builder about VW to Viking weights. 2 x
701 customers have gone this way and the airplanes have similar CG but some more
weight. Some of this weight is due to a header tank, not needed on the Sonex
due to it's single fuel tank
We will shortly demonstrate SUPERIOR light sport engine performance with an
RV-12
Jan
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vikingair ... ssage/1275In my post I specifically asked why the engine weighed 224lbs on the Searey, much more than published on the website and probably too much for the Sonex, I also asked what was the exact cause of the reduced thrust of only 420lbs.
I guess he did not want these numbers visible on his forum.
The worry is here that we now know Jan is carefully selecting which comments he does or does not allow to be posted. Who knows what other Viking customers have been saying?
How can we get an accurate picture of the positives and negatives of the Viking?
It's also now becoming quite clear that the numbers Jan publishes are probably a little "optimistic", for example the 15lbs he mentions above does not at all account for the difference between the 224lbs experienced by the customer, and the 178lbs published on the Viking website.