Van's RV8

A short introduction to the RV8 from Van's aircraft.

Danny King's "Beautiful Doll"

Information about Van's Aircraft RV8 can be found here. http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/rv-8int.htm I chose this plane because I want a tandem, not a side by side seating. Tandem allows the best visibility on either side of the aircraft. When I want to fly side by side, I can use one of our aeroclub's Pipers (http://www.aero-club.ch/)

I have decided to equip my plane with the following:

1. A Mattituck TMXIO-360 engine
2. MGL Odyssey?
   
3. Garmin SL-40 VHF transceiver
4. Flightcom 403 stereo intercom
5. Trio Avionics EZ Pilot autopilot
6. Some kind of Mode-S Transponder
7. Ameri-king AK-450 ELT
8. Odyssey PC680 Batteries (2)
9. Proprietary Systems Angle of Attack (AOA) Sport
10. Garmin GPSMAP 196 (a bit old, but we'll see)
11. and some other cool stuff!

I ordered a Mattituck TMXIO-360 with roller tappets, a forward facing sump, Airflow Performance Fuel Injection System, dual p-mags, and an alternator. The engines come

Here is how Mattituck describes it:

Your TMXIO-360 engine will include New Lycoming cylinder assemblies, the new roller tappet technology, our full Red Gold Performance Package, 2 New P Mags, harness, and aviation spark plugs, a 12V Sky Tec lightweight starter, new fuel pump, a new Airflow Performance Fuel Injection System, inner-cylinder baffles, dipstick tube and dipstick, oil filter adapter and oil filter, new dynamically balanced VAR crankshaft, static bay balance to within 2 grams, vacuum pump drive adapter and drive, starter gear support and ring gear, engine logbook and operators manual.

Now, just need to get myself a prop and the firewall forward kit from Van's, and I'll be just about set.

The reason I am selling it is because the package is not yet complete, and I would like to get my aircraft flying.

There are some people still doing development of the engine. The systems that will need work to make this FWF kit complete are:

1. New Gen III PSRU. The current Gen II supercharger that was shipped with the engine has been grounded due to several in-flight failures. I might be able to source one of these from another builder that has decided not to use his. A new Gen III is about USD 6000 from the Eggenfellner Aircraft.
2. Change out the supercharger for a turbocharger. The Gen III PSRU has a lower gear ratio, which allows the engine to rev higher, producing more power. A side effect is that the supercharger will spin faster than it was designed to. This can be resolved with a new supercharger pully, but I believe the best solution is to install a turbocharger.
3. Replace the Engine Computer. The ECU that is installed should be reliable, and many have found it works well. Some have had problems, and are switching to an SDS engine computer. I would recommend this change.

I really regret having to change this engine out for a traditional aircraft engine. I feel that the Subaru engine is an outstanding fit for aircraft, but I just don't have the time and resources to finish the development work on this package. The original supplier, Eggenfellner Aircraft, is no longer developing this package, having moved on to a 6 cylinder engine.

There is a yahoo list of about 25 other owners of the STI engine that are working together to finish the development of this engine, so I'm confident at some time in the future it will become a very viable powerplant for aircraft use. This list is called EggenfellnerSubaruSTI and is open to all STI owners. This is a good place to discuss this engine, and the development work being done from Australia to the US to Lithuania.

Please contact me if you have interest in this package (mick at rv8.ch, please include "eggenfellner" in the subject). If I don't sell it, I will pickle it, put it in the corner of the workshop, and when the development work is complete, I'll either put it on this RV8 or my next one! :)