Rotec Radial Engine Flybaby Aircraft
Home built airplane, Flybaby Tandem, powered by Australian made R2800 7 cylinder 110HP Rotec Radial Engine.
Murphy Aircraft Rebel Radial R2800
Murphy Rebel Radial Rotec R2800 Engine Start and Shutdown.
Rotec Radial engine start
First engine run of the prototype Spacewalker2-RR and its Rotec 9 cylinder radial
Kitfox Proves Radial Engines and Wood Props Rock
OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — Idaho-based Kitfox Aircraft introduced one of the more interesting looking light sport aircraft here at Airventure by simply adding a radial engine to the front. The 110-horsepower, seven-cylinder engine is made by Rotec.
Kitfox president John McBean says the most popular engine choice for the company’s Model 7 is the popular four-cylinder Rotax 912 that powers most LSAs. But following the trend of classic design features finding a way into new vehicles (think Beetle, Camaro or Mustang), McBean says they wanted to offer customers a vintage look in a modern light sport aircraft.
“We did it for aesthetics,” he says. “We’re going for the retro look of old meets new.”
Unlike many of the retro car designs that use all new technology simply covered in a retro looking design, the Rotec powered Kitfox provides some of the experiences of a vintage engine as well.
“If you don’t want oil burn,” McBean says,В ”you probably shouldn’t choose a radial.”
Cruise speed with the big, drag-inducing radial out front is a respectable 110 miles per hour. With a fuel burn between 5 to 6 gallons per hour, that works out to reasonable efficiency for an airplane optimized for slow flying in and out of small airstrips rather than cross-country speed.
Pricing is highly dependent on optional equipment such as cockpit instruments and radios, but you should be able to build a radial powered Kitfox for less than $50,000.
Photos: Jason Paur/Wired.com What’s old is new again in more ways than one for the Kitfox. In its very first incarnation, the Kitfox was always intended to have a radial engine. But, the available radial at the time, if I am not mistaken, was under powered and with only five cylinders. In order to preserve the radial-engine aesthetic, Kitfox still sold a radial cowl to suggest a radial engine underneath, even though it was only powered by a 65 hp two-stroke Rotax 582, with that annoying electric-razor high-pitched hum. Nothing does NOT say radial like a low horsepower high rev-ing two-stroke.So, IMO, that radial cowl could not mask the ugly wart of an engine underneath. This real, and viable 7-cylinder radial engine is a welcome renewal of the dream of what a Kitfox was always meant to be.