Mike Pellegatti wrote:

Hi,
    Just wondered if anyone is making a single rotor wankel out of a

dual

rotor Mazda engine. It would seem like a terrific ultralight engine. I

have

talked with Atkins and have his prices. Seems there wouldn't be much

to it

as far as possibly regrinding the crank, from a Mazda engine, for one

rotor

and basically putting it back together as a single. Anyone have any
experience or knowledge with this conversion besides Atkins? Thanks in
advance.

Mike Pellegatti
WildVisions, Inc.
Phoenix, Arizona
623-516-1975

Tom Webber wrote:

Hi Mike, There is a subgroup of this news letter doing just that.  The

big stumbling block is the single rotor eshaft.  We have a contact in
Australia working on that as we speak.  Frank in Canada has already made one
and is making another. See attached. We have ordered some tension bolts for
the single rotor and with any luck we can obtain some single rotor eshafts,
then with some minor machine work on one of the stationary gears we will
have a single rotor.

Brett & Tiana Campbell wrote:

    Hi mike, as I understand it the single-rotor version of the Mazda rotary
is (thus far) not much lighter firewall-forward than the two-rotor, which
hovers around 345-plus lbs f/f. (the same weight range as a lycosaurus 0-320
installation). This is due to the larger (heavier) counterweight req'd for
the single-rotor, and that the weight savings achieved by getting rid of the
extra rotor and housing are not that much, since you still need all of the
peripheral components necessary for the two-rotor installation. The good
news is that those developing the single- rotor are working to make this
installation lighter. The only Skyraider I've seen up close was one of the
first, possibly the prototype. It was a single-seater using (I think) a 2SI
2-stroke. Being a dyed-in-the-wool rotary engine geek I hesitate to
recommend anything that reciprocates, (the equivalent of blasphemy in this
newsletter) but have you considered the hirth line of two strokes?

Apparently (according to a recent Kitplanes editorial) they are designed to
not have the seizing problems normally associated with anything (2-stroke)
Rotax, and the prices for both engine and replacement parts are  much more
reasonable. The service department at Hirth is also stated to be more
accountable and available as well. TBO figures are also encouraging, at
least according to Kitplanes. If you do manage to get a single-rotor to work
in a Skyraider by all means share the joy with us! Hope this helps.
                        Brett Campbell,  Calgary AB, Canada.

Did I hear that Wankel Germany is back in production?  That 75 hp twin they built
looked great for a Titan Tornado Twin or some such. I agree the weight of a single
rotor without some mods is going to be too high.
Roger Robertson

Yes according to their press release.

Paul Lamar
 
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