Rotax engine maintenance log
and handy reference – (A Review)
Aero Propulsion Technologies (APT), a fully authorized Rotax Service Center at Saint-Lazare Airport, has created a very useful guide for Rotax engine owner’s maintenance programs.
Two booklets in either French or English measuring 21 cm by 17 cm are available, one for the two strokes and the other for four stroke engines.
Since my experience and knowledge is largely based on commercial and private use of the four stroke engines, I will limit my observations to the 912 and 914 series (although, truth to tell, the two stroke manual contains essentially the same pertinent details).
I first read about these offerings in RAA’s magazine, Recreational Flyer and as the beneficial owner of a 912 powered Diamond Motorglider thought they could be very useful in my AME supervised maintenance program.
APT owner, Daniel Sasseville and his team have in effect created an engine log book that details the hourly maintenance requirements from the first start up till the 1500 hour recommended overhaul for my engine. This is a very handy reference to provide advance notice for required maintenance and allows me to schedule an engineer, lubricants and the parts required for the upcoming work.
This minimizes potential down-time. Not only is every maintenance procedure annotated but a rating from 1-3 indicates the relative difficulty of the work required.
Whether the owner operates a certified engine or otherwise this rating allows the pilot to make an informed decision as to whether he can do the work himself or call in a qualified technician.
Recommended Overhaul times for various serial numbers are provided in a chart as are common tightening torques and age limits for rubber components. Subsequent pages discuss pertinent points regarding fuel octane considerations, oil viscosity vs. ambient temperatures, spark plug data, oil filters and coolant.
It’s worthy to note the version of the booklet I received in the fall of 2004 did not address Rotax’s recommendations to change to non-water based coolant to allow higher operating temperatures for their engines. (APT advises this data will be in the next log book update.)
A section on daily and pre-flight inspections detail important Rotax engine considerations so pilots can avoid problems and these are followed by starting and long term storage/engine preservation tips – very useful during the long winters of Eastern Canada. This is followed by pages of troubleshooting tips that would be very helpful in diagnosing problems.
The next section provides complete details of the engines’ operating parameters which include some limitations that were not in my owner’s manual. APT also includes a bookmark with the applicable engine limitations as a free gift with log book orders.
Unfortunately, the newly instituted reduced coolant temperature limit was not shown in the documents. It is my belief that subsequent APT manuals will show this new limitation and the recommended conversion to waterless coolant to allow the maximum coolant level to rise to 150 degrees C. from the current restriction of 120 degrees C.
On a side note, readers may wish to access the Rotax Owners’ Website at: updates@rotax-owner.com where they can update information on recent Supplementary bulletins SB-912-043 and SB-914-029 from Rotax.
The only suggested product improvement I would recommend would be slightly larger print as some of us aging pilot/owners have difficulty with the small layout, however, the APT maintenance logs are adequately illustrated.
Take note, accurate log keeping can be very beneficial when it comes to selling a used aircraft. These logbooks are available from APT for $15 each.
Aero Propulsion Technologies Tel.: 450-510-1551 Fax: 450-510-0649
E-mail: info@rotaxservice.com Website: www.rotaxservice.com
Ken is a former COPA director who lives in Victoria, BC. He provides services internationally in advanced training, expert witness, flight test and aircraft sales. He has logged more than 15,000 hours on 375 types of fixed wing and rotary aircraft. Soaring his Diamond Xtreme is what he does for pleasure.