Sauer Engines
My sales pitch with varios when I get asked to fix up an old CNAV is how many electronics items do you have in your house 25 years old!
When we again had trouble with the L2000 in the Dimona H36, Ray Hunt (VW car mechanic and glider engineer) said “how many pilots in our club drive around in a car with a 30 year old engine – none of you – well why the hell are we bothering with with these L2000 engines! It has got to go!” Thus he and I refused to fix engine until the Sauer was ordered. Then we fixed it again thanks to John Viney.
Remember with S2500 you get 1600 hr TBO and it would climb at twice the rate of a L1700 so in my book it would be equal to an engine of 3000hrs when compared to L2000 thus the economics look a lot different and the $25000 looks a lot better or $8000 per L2000 overhaul.
Extras are dual ignition (Slick and electronic) and geared Kabota starter motor (will never jam starter) and very small Kabota permanent magnet generator (zero moving parts except bearings) and needs Powermate regulator. Many lightening holes keep weight down. Heads are much bigger and hydraulic valve lifters as used in the automotive world.
My friend Todd Clark (LAME King Island Airlines and Qantas pilot) visited Sauer factory near and was most impressed with what he saw except price.
Engine has a proper front end aero type bearing and is like a mini Continental – Sodium filled valves – their own crank case and their own Crankshaft built by a Merc contractor and is NO LONGER a VW.
Enc below is a paste from Sauer when I asked about S2500 or S2700 for falke and note it “pulls” 10% better than a 912S which tells a story of engine capacity vs speed (Rotax).
I think the time has come for all of us to bight the bullet and upgrade. I can remember in mid ’90s when we used to overhaul those stark Stammo 1500cc engines cause we “could not afford the alternative” - “WRONG” We were broke for years because of those things and it was only when we went J2200 conversion in falke that we never ever looked back. Remember it is better to have money in your decent aero engine when you die and have the pleasure of using it rather than money in the bank. I do not enjoy removing heads or engines any more.
On another related matter I think most L2000 users here are not using those shells which keep the air close to fins as it goes from top to bottom. They are listed in Limbach Tech Bul 44 – I have moulds of them and can be made using a vinalester resin Dafydd Llwelleyn recommended. We could get Todd Clark stamp them out of sheet aluminium like he does for parts for Chieftans/Bandits but it is overkill I believe.
Ian McPhee
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Hello Ian,
The S2500 has the same measurements as the L2000 does.
The S2700 is broader and you must change the Cowling.
The better choice is the S2500-1-AS1.
The power is slightly smaller, than at the S2700, I think at the most 5 hp.
With the correct propeller pulls 200 kg.
The C-Falke with the Rotax 912-S pulls only 180 kg.
You should prefer a simple S2500-1-AS1, with single ignition the new cylinder heads and sodium chilled exhaust valves.
The engine has an aviation admission
Hi Ian,
I read with interest your comments on rebuilding older engines. I’m in Sydney for 3 months over from the uk where I’m in a 4 man syndicated Grob 109B, which has now devloped a crack in the crankcase. We are hampered in Europe by a raft of new rules enforced upon us by EASA and fitting an alteranative engine would cost a fortune in cerftification. Having rebuilt many Stamo engines myself when I had a Falke, I would like to break free of the original engine rebuild shackles, but I think I need to find a second hand Grob 2500cc engine for now.
Regards
Jeff
You can fit the Limbach 2400 Turbo 130HP to the G109B it is certified for the type and is much more powerful.