Improving my oil pressure for $1000

[@brianbarker4739]

Glad it came up a little. At altitude, there is less ambient pressure so the pressure in the rubber line causes it to expand which reduces pressure. I wonder if changing the oil lines from rubber to a high performance brake line material as using in automotive brake systems will help. This material keeps the line from expanding so the brake fluid pressure stays good.

[@DarrylZubot]

I’ve considered this but the problem is flexibility of lines as well as making the lines work on a metric engine, need metric lines or close to it...

[@robertreavley7145]

Hi Darryl.The issue that could well arise from using hard lines is metal fatigue due to the harmonic vibration coming from both prop and motor. Me personally i would leave it as it is! Or consult on using hydraulic hoses that can be tailored to the motor set up. As they resist any expansion caused by heat, and pressure drop at altitude. It seems strange that Rotax are putting there name to such a under performing design? It must be down to the maker using this type of improvable set up under advisement from Rotax. Keep up the video's" and stay safe bud!!

[@consumer4519]

That was one happy kid in the cockpit!

[@wmrayburn7620]

I am greatly enjoying your videos. Looking forward to the next one. I am a Sport Pilot and a glider pilot and living in Florida, I think I might take advantage of right rudder aviation who uses your kind of plane for my next rating

[@DarrylZubot]

That's great, I hope you get to try out a Pipistrel at Right Rudder. Thanks for your comment

[@jacekpiterow900]

Can you work on this plane just by yourself?

[@lancomedic]

Darryl, you are a private pilot flying a light sport aircraft so are you able to use that aircraft in ways that the typical sport pilot would not? For instance flying at night or IFR or carrying a paid passenger?

[@DarrylZubot]

I am commercial pilot flying an amateur built plane. We don't have LSA in canada. So yes Night, no ifr because I don't have the equipment, no paid passengers. Can only use for data acquisition.

[@lancomedic]

Thanks for the clarification.

[@TheKarinvt]

A Pipistrel Virus! 😀

[@UncleKennysPlace]

Was your airplane built from a kit? Or are you a certified aircraft mechanic? Or are owners in Canada allowed more repair and maintenance privileges than in the USA? Here we are handcuffed, and must pay $$$ for anything much beyond an oil change.

[@DarrylZubot]

Not a kit but canada was allowing us to import the aircraft under the amateur built category for a while, so I am able to do my own maintenance, not a certified mechanic, just handyman. I had two mechanics help me out on this, one to cut the stainless steel/bolt down the thermostat and check for air leaks, the other to give advice on how to route the oil lines, specifically the one from thermostat to oil pump was not easy, had to bend the fittings to make them align.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

Thanks. I just looked up the price of a kit, which I could get classified as "E/AB" and thus do my own work. It would cost about the same as a C182T RG with a fresh engine and updated panel. And then I have to build it. Yeow.

[@DarrylZubot]

Don't be fooled, these are quick build kits, pre painted, everything is already fabricated, you are basically doing assembly. I built my first virus SW as a kit and it took me 3 months, saved about $40k from buying it fully finished from factory. I have never built a plane other then RC, so anyone can build them. I paid pipistrel a bit extra to install engine and avionics in factory to remove some of the difficulty. There is zero composite work to be done when you get these kits.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

Now they sell the basic kit without the paint, and charge thousands extra for that! I'd love to have one, however. I greatly admire the efficiency (if not the tiny cabin!)

[@DarrylZubot]

Kenny Phillips they sell it without paint? I thought they use a gel coat that is infused during the manufacturing of the parts

[@DIvonBriesen]

How is it that such a beautiful machine with such a nice engine would need these hacks? If the hoses could be shortened, why wouldn't they have done this in the motor design? I mean, that part you bought for $600 would have really only cost 300 or less built in to start, which would have saved the extra hosing, and reduced installation complexity... so there must be more to it than that...

[@DarrylZubot]

D. I. von Briesen you tell me why rotax doesn’t care about this issue! I’ve been fighting it for a year and now know of 5 others with this issue. I returned this thermostat because it didn’t keep my oil cool. I’m now in talks with a mechanical engineer who designed the black rotax thermostat. He said engine has a flaw, they built it to not include thermostat for the extra length in oil lines. Too much resistance in the system causes poor oil pressure. I am now trying another fix stay tuned for video on that trial

[@DarrylZubot]

The best would be if someone built a radiator with built in thermostat as you say.

[@DIvonBriesen]

@@DarrylZubot I've been on a bit of an aviation binge for a year or two... solo'd a paramotor, got a drone and gimbol, binged on trent palmer, subscribed to the chipper FB page, yada yada... the small production runs seem to be a big issue, but i just watched the bit on the rotax plant from AVweb and it seems like more than anyone else THEY should have it worked out... I had a bit of a thought though- what if there's an internal kink in a hose? Could you pass some kind of cable with an ball with the ID of the hose thru to see that it's got that ID the whole length? Or could you move the existing thermostat to where the bad "shortcut part" was installed? Another poster mentioned the wiring having caused the problem...so there's always that. Great products by not-so-responsive companies... reminds me of DJI.... I own an BMW K75... seems like a motor like that one would be the way to go, LOL. Anyway rotax makes a helluva lot more motors than vittorazzi but a lot less than honda.... where's the honda motor for aviation?

[@DIvonBriesen]

@@DarrylZubot i'm no pro, but i will say i watched one of Amory Lovins' vids a while back ("Reinventing Fire"?) in which i learned about the importance of minimizing angles and distance in pipes. Years ago an HVAC guy told me adding a 90degree bend to a duct was like adding 15' to it... and that's very much affected my thinking ever since. It makes me crazy to see pipes and tubes going all over... thinking how we shouldn't have those corners and 180 degree bends, much less the distance to travel. You've got a hard slog of troubleshooting ahead I'm afraid.

[@DarrylZubot]

Appreciate the input I installed analog gauge to confirm sensor is indicating correct values which it is. You are right all of the extra connectors and bends with a thermostat cause the problem. You will see shortly hopefully the fix to this issue.