At least you got most a kit.

In a year and 4 months, all I've gotten is a few blurry pix and a lot of excuses, and I paid for the entire project in full too.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.641521,-74.120393

Stace is playing with fire messing with you RR. You're his most visible customer on the internet. I e-mailed him and got a phone call back about a month later. He was cordial and a nice enough sort over the phone but I got the distinct impression he's got more on his plate than he can handle. Too bad. I really enjoy all your vids of the countryside over there.

Some news....not good.

I just found out that on Dec 14, Stace Schrader and his wife had a serious vehicle accident. It was reported to me that while towing a trailer used to deliver plane kits, he blacked out, went over the side of the roadway at a bridge and dropped 40 ft straight down. One side of his ribs are broken (at least) and his wife's back is broken, among other very serious issues.
Obviously, this will be a life altering time of hardship and recovery, more important than any plane kit or new build. Please join me in prayers for their recovery.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.642044,-74.192025

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.642004,-74.192047

That sucks. I hope you get your kit someday.

Under the circumstances, I can let the project go and eat the financial loss. There will be another plane, another day. Right now I hope that Stace and his wife are recovering.

Truly bad news. That had to have been just shortly after I talked to him. Icy bridges will bite you hard.

Prayers for him and his wife. Hoping for a speedy recovery for them both. Everytime I see something like this I cringe!
I went under a semi pulling a set of joints many years ago. This particular truckdriver (dumba$$) was making a U-turn on the interstate at 5 AM over the crest of a hill. We hit at the joint of the trailer with me going underneath. Jaws of life, lots of hospital time with several surgeries and rehab to be able to walk and function again. I sure hope these two are not as severely injured and have a fast recovery.

Stace called me today. He's still beat up and his wife is going to live, but her condition is serious and recovery may be quite lengthy.

They are still in NC (where the accident happened) and have been living at the hospital since the accident Dec 14. Stace is presently looking for some kind of goodwill, mercy flight for his wife to get back to Nampa to continue her recovery at home.

WingsOverPalawan wrote:Stace called me today. He's still beat up and his wife is going to live, but her condition is serious and recovery may be quite lengthy.

They are still in NC (where the accident happened) and have been living at the hospital since the accident Dec 14. Stace is presently looking for some kind of goodwill, mercy flight for his wife to get back to Nampa to continue her recovery at home.

How about this company. http://www.graceonwings.org/news.html I think they were mentioned earlier on a different thread.

Hope they pull through just fine!!

Anybody have any updates on Stace and his wife? News is slow getting to this part of the world.

pdknight wrote:Anybody have any updates on Stace and his wife? News is slow getting to this part of the world.

He texted me a couple weeks ago, said they were back in Nampa and thanks for all the prayers and support.

I talked with Stace recently. He's doing better, and busy taking care of his wife. She's getting stronger, but using a walker and in a lot of pain still. It sounds to me like some of God's greater purposes are at work at this very moment.

Please join me in offering prayers and support to the Schraders for a complete recovery.

I sold the AK Bushwheels (pouting), and for the new build project, have decided to go with something lighter weight, along with a lighter weight tailwheel.

This new RR may not get finished on my schedule, but I believe it will get finished.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.423187,-74.981878

Howdy Folks, just joined BCP and to see if I could put in 2 cents for ya. I have some experience with the Hirth's. And there are some points you might want to know about.

First the good points. They do produce great power for the weight. The support from the US dealer is very good.

And now the other points. The vibration they produce plays havok on our reliability. Gearbox extension cracks(50hp-100hp), cooling manifold cracks (of solid aluminum billet for the 3800 series), exhaust manifold rubs on expansion joints, shearing of water pump studs (3800 series), etc.. Plus the MX issues with the airframe due to vibration(too many to list).

We have found some fixes for some of these issues. Solid billet extension seems to be working(75 hrs so far), new design of cooling manifolds (22 hrs). But we generally have more hours in MX than flying hours.

I too am considering a highly modified RR3 for our towing of hang gliders, and your progress/success will be of great consideration for our project. G.B. Moose

c130moose wrote:Howdy Folks, just joined BCP and to see if I could put in 2 cents for ya. I have some experience with the Hirth's. And there are some points you might want to know about.

First the good points. They do produce great power for the weight. The support from the US dealer is very good.

And now the other points. The vibration they produce plays havok on our reliability. Gearbox extension cracks(50hp-100hp), cooling manifold cracks (of solid aluminum billet for the 3800 series), exhaust manifold rubs on expansion joints, shearing of water pump studs (3800 series), etc.. Plus the MX issues with the airframe due to vibration(too many to list).

We have found some fixes for some of these issues. Solid billet extension seems to be working(75 hrs so far), new design of cooling manifolds (22 hrs). But we generally have more hours in MX than flying hours.

I too am considering a highly modified RR3 for our towing of hang gliders, and your progress/success will be of great consideration for our project. G.B. Moose

Light engines that produce "great power" are not necessarily a good thing. With all that power come an associated amount of heat that has to be dissipated. Something small mass engines have difficulty doing, plus crank cases must have enough material and mass around them to contain increased bearing loads.

These facts are recognized by Rotax and are the reasons that their engines are derated. They do this by lowering the operational rpm and with a muffler design to spread the power over a wider range of the rpm scale.

All this bs'ing around fixing faults with a Hirth doesn't make sense and not worth the hassle, or losing your life if something decides to let go. I would never consider flying over hostile terrain in a Hirth. The Rotax 582 is a much better choice, puts out the same power, is sturdy and if flown regularly with simple maintenance will usually go well over it's suggested tbo. Hirth"s stated tbo is just bullshit marketing.
I would not trust them as far as I could throw one of their engines into a lake for a boat anchor

c130moose wrote:I too am considering a highly modified RR3 for our towing of hang gliders, and your progress/success will be of great consideration for our project.

What mods do you have in mind for this? Although the RR3 is over built in some fuselage frame areas, but I can still think of better aircraft for towing.

exodus wrote:I would not trust them as far as I could throw one of their engines into a lake for a boat anchor

*chuckles* All engines fail sooner or later, including Rotax 912s, Lycomings and others. Fly like it's going to fail, get good at landing like it has failed, and be prepared to spend more money.

I have to agree with Exodus on this one. I have well over 1000 hours in ultralights and light sports behind a Rotax. I would never risk hostile terrain with a Hirth. Most UL pilots are aware of what works and what doesn't. Hirth has been around long enough to have a much larger following if they worked as advertised. Cheaper, lighter and longer TBO's. Sure sounds great but they have not made much of a dent in the Rotax market. I see more Kawasaki's and VW's than Hirths. I admit I have limited personal experience with them but the 2 that I have personally know both let go with less than 200 hours on the clock. Both owners were experienced 2 stroke users. Both count themselves lucky to be alive as they both had failures on climb out.
Get a 582. If you need more go with a 618 or a 670. How about an HKS?

Well, the Hirth installation is definitely for a very specific application. It's on a Dragonfly used for towing ultralight sailplanes and hang gliders. It is a 3800 and it weighs 113lbs and produces 106hp at sea level. We are towing at 6500msl, and need all the power we can muster. The club tried the 582(not enough hp), 914(too heavy and expensive), 618(shelled at 12hrs).

It's working well for our ops, but we are always directly above the field, and always have lots of time to fix things.

As far as a highly modified RR3 for consideration as an alternate tug, Rocky Mountain Wings (Stace) is the only company of several I contacted who even seemed remotely interested in being involved with our project. Our tow speeds are 25 -35mph. The Dragonfly does this well, and probably cannot be outdone. We have not committed to any project yet, and still open to ideas. G.B. Moose

The HKS turbo model outperforms a normally aspirated 912S above a certain altitude, 7 K I think. It seems to be a high quality unit, getting a good buzz.

There are a number of Ridge Runners out there with HKS engines. Seem to make a good combo. I looked at one last year and hesitated a little too long. Someone snapped it up the day before I made the decision to buy it. Nice clean simple installation and a very level power curve.