Hi Carl, I have a Jodel that had an 0-200 when I bought it. There were 2 other Jodels on the airfield with 0-200s also. The performance of each one was very similar, max climb 800 fpm, 105 kn max cruise .
The maintenance was easy but expensive. Every 500 hrs, overhaul the mags or fit exchange, min $500 each,Plugs out of the ark but $16 each in Australia. Clean them every 50 hrs to get rid of the lead.
Valves, lucky to see 250 hrs without lead builup giving major problems.I had excellent documentation on the engine which had been fitted for 30+ years but only had 1500 hrs. It was not the same as the one fitted originally. The log books showed that it had never gone past 300 hrs without a major rebuild or cylinders being replaced. Even the crank cases had been replaced. Fuel consumption was at best 22 lph at 75% power about 90 knots.
I fitted a seconhand 914F that had 1190 hrs on. It had never had any repairs only regular maintenance. I can climb at 1500fpm but better not as it starts to misfire ( I believe my climb is restricted by the angle the Rotax will fly at & the max is 1500fpm) I climb at an easy 1000fpm. At 4800rpm I get a relaxed 90 Kn & burn less than 15lph.
The Jodel is near 20KG lighter which is a real bonus fitting into a 544Kg limit.
In my experience there is no comparison, 1940s tecnology vs 1990s. 3000CC vs 1200cc.
Rotax should not rest on their laurels though. I flew the Rotax/Jodel over 8000 Km in company with a friend who has an FK9 fitted with a 3 cylinder Mercedes smart car engine. 713 cc, 105 hp, fuel injected & turb charged. Belt driven (wide toothed) centrifugal clutch so the prop does not turn on tickover. An incredibly miserly fuel burn of 9lph at near 75%. Almost as far in advance of the Rotax as the Rotax is of the Continental & you can almost fly in it without a head set.
Oh I forgot to say that it has a self test on start up which when it detects a fault will not let you fly. It also has a limp home mode.
I do believe that vintage is for museums. I hope I live long enough to fly an electric/ battery powered plane with a little diesel to generate power for continuous flight.
John Roberts
