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returned. Gary eventually got through to Lance
after persistent phone calls, emails, and the
odd fax, and was told that there were reported
failures with the CAP 140 but they all involved
prop strikes or problems with the way the unit
was being operated. He was told that the cause
of this particular failure was probably due to
letting the engine idle at too low of an rpm and
to torsional vibration inherent to the 912S.
Lance suggested that he should fit the slipper
clutch that Rotax has as an option, to lessen
the G-loads on the blades during start up and
shut down. He was still offering to take care of
Gary’s prop damage, but he had so many business
opportunities due to the new sport pilot ruling
that he would not get to it for another two
months. |
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applications with his prop. Lance told me that
the 912S was not approved for use with the CAP
140, whether or not the clutch was installed and
that owners who were using this combination were
doing so at their own risk.
I asked Lance about the lab report and the beach
mark crack that emanated from the sharp inside
corner of the cuff on Gary’s blade. He told me
that this was because Gary had been operating
the engine in an incorrect manner and that there
could be reversals of 8 G’s in the range below
2500 rpm. He also said that he was preparing to
release a new series of prop cuff that would be
made from 7075 aluminum instead of 2024, and
that these new parts would be some 50% thicker.
As soon as the current inventory was all sold, |
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Within a matter of seconds the engine shook hard
enough to break the upper supports of the
engine mount, leaving the engine dangling from a
few hoses, cables and wires. This makes a great
argument for the use of a safety cable from the
firewall directly to the engine block. |
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By
this time, Gary had heard that there had been an NSI
failure on an Europa in the UK in 2002, and that the
Popular Flying Association (PFA) had issued a notice to
their membership. (The PFA is the representative body in
the United Kingdom for amateur aircraft construction,
recreational and sport flying). Gary found out that the
owner had sent his prop back to NSI and that upgraded
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Lance intended to supply
only the new model of blade cuff. He also said that he
had been considering putting out an AD or a service
letter on the failures but did not want to put all
owners to a needless expense if only a few had suffered
the loss of a blade. I suggested that his proposed $500
AD cost would be a lot less than the estimated $10,000
in damage that Gary Walsh is facing. I |
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blade cuffs were installed. Once again Gary con-tacted
Lance Wheeler, but was told that the PFA re-port
was inaccurate, that there was the history of a
ground loop and prop strike, and this could have
been the source of the failure. He did not
ade-quately explain why they had upgraded the
cuffs nor why they had not issued a service
bulletin to their customers, informing them of
the upgrade. |
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also offered to post his AD or letter on the RAA
website to let Canadians know of these problems.
Lance also promised me that he would soon be
giving Gary three new blades plus his new
in-cockpit blade angle indicator, and that he
would be sending these parts as soon as they
were produced.
Finally, having given up on waiting for NSI to
inform anyone, Gary Walsh posted details of his
prop |
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In
September, 2004, I sent an e-mail to Mr. Wheeler and got
no reply, so I phoned him. After a long wait on hold,
Lance and I had a very informative conversation. Accord-ing
to Lance, each Europa that had a complaint, also had a
prop strike. There had been a few direct drive
applications which had a thrown a blade, but these
applications were not approved. Lance also said that
there had never been a failure on the 80hp 912 engine,
only with the 100hp 912S. The 912S does have higher
compression and has a harsher vibration below 2000 rpm.
Lance forbids operation of his prop below 2500 rpm and
recommends that the slipper clutch be installed on all
Rotax |
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breakage on the Yahoo Kitfox owners forum. In a
sub-sequent phone conversation Lance explained to me
that this action had cost him $100,000 in lost sales but
that he still intended to do right by Gary Walsh.
Meanwhile, Gary had done a bit of investigating with the
PFA and with the Europa owners in the UK that Lance had
been adamant that the incidents they had involved a prop
strike. Correspondence with the owner and with the PFA
brought forth the information that there had not been a
strike, and that two years ago Lance said that he would
be sending out an AD or a service bulletin. |
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