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I am wondering if anyone has any experience with changing the motor on a kitfox or avid. Can larger engines be put on? Say from a 582 to a 912. What needs to be changed besides the engine mount and the cowling? Will the airframe need any modifications?
Well, you'd certainly have to look closely at the weight and balance... and consider the effect of the additional weight, thrust, and gyroscopic forces on the engine mount and related structure.
Surely the kit fox is an airframe that the 912 is used on so I think it would be pretty straight forward, probably the same for the avid. If the factory supports those engines for the airframe it should be more a matter of $ and elbow grease than anything else.
Remember there are lot of different versions of the Kitfox. All of the comments above should be applied carefully. Aviation writer Amy Laboda and her husband have a Kitfox that they built and later re-engined from a 582 to a 912 IIRC so it is possible, depending on which Kitfox it is.
i won't ask why you want to change, because you do, and it's yours, so...whatever. my limited experience with 532 on a long-wing avid flyer and 912 on a kitfox showed with the same payload the avid outperformed (by a whole bunch) the heavier kitfox in everything but cruise speed. the kitfox was about 6mph faster.Quote:
Originally Posted by wyodan59
a choice for more power on a bird with a 582 without changing engine mount, cowl, etc might be a larger rotax built on the same footprint. if you want to ask an expert about it, try "rotax rick" in naples, fl, 239-572-0021.
I have made this swap with my Kitfox IV. After flying it for 12 years with the 582 I got a good deal on a 912 UL and upgraded. My engine actually came off another Kitfox (that owner was upgrading to the 100 hp 912 ULS which takes a bit sturdier mount) so I got the motor mount with it. Had to buy a muffler, throttle and choke linkages, Prop, various hoses etc. oil temp and pressure guages. Did not have to modify the cowl except cut a new hole for the exhaust pipe. The plane had worked well with the 582 and had made the trip from Wisconsin to Sun-N-Fun twice without any problems, But the 912 is the perfect engine for the airframe. Cruise speed is 10 mph faster while burning a gallon less gas per hour.
I am wondering about this change because I live at 7000 feet. I have a friend with a paraplane powered with a 582. It struggles to fly with 2 soles when it is hot in the summer here.