>> Paul, Rotamax has dropped their old "aviation" oriented web pages.
    >> Instead, all you get now is a single page with a picture of a rotor
    >> on
    >> it and an invitation to e-mail Eric for more info. I, of course,
    >> don't have any knowledge of what is happening but I would guess that
    >> multiple problems appeared as soon as they tried aircraft work
    >> loads. They derated the engine until it was not competitive with a
    >> whole list of recips.including Rotex, Jabiru, VW, Suburu and Suzuki.
    >> What a shame for our movement. Jerry
    >>
    >> Not the first time. Rotaries are harder than they look.
    >>
    >> Paul Lamar
    >
    > Paul and Jerry,
    > I would like to know what the primary problem was, I did warn them of
    > possible wear surface failure without sufficient depth to the Al wear
    > surface coatings.
    > Perhaps as Jerry says, maybe the high end work loads took their toll.
    > George (down under)

   -----------------------------------------------
    > So would we all.
    >
    > Paul Lamar

   Once the "problem" surfaced, RotaMax immediately tried to cure it by
   limiting RPM. In this context RPM = Heat. So was the rotor getting
   too hot or perhaps the coating on the sides was coming off in chunks
   (my imagination). They knew the problem but no solution was to be
   found. They should have taken Paul's advice which was to go to oil
   cooled rotors and scrap the charge cooling. Funny thing is they had
   the equipment to do that but perhaps not the engineering ability.
   Your comment about the coating's thickness is interesting. I
   examined the the end housings at Sun n Fun with Paul. I could not
   detect the coating at all. It was probably only a couple of molecules
   thick or maybe it was just vapor. Jerry

   For what it is worth, there is evidence that a second
   Rotamax-engined Vampire  exists.
   I found a pair of photos on the net of an older single seat Vampire
   painted the same red color
   as the two rotor, two seater.  the second photo is a side view with
   a clear view of the exhaust
   sticking out the side of the cowling and lettering on the fuselage
   saying "powered by Rotamax".
   The photo on the other side shows the induction system sticking out
   the other side of the
   engine compartment cowl.  this makes sense as the single seat
   Vampire is very narrow.  Because
   the induction side seems to be a single carb installation, I think
   we can assume that this aircraft
   was being used to test the baseline single rotor base engine offered
   on the Sadler Aircraft website.
   I think we can assume this bird has been grounded for a tear down.

   best,

   George W