Viking Aircraft Engines - How it started - Jan Eggenfellner

[@ScrumViperDriver]

I have a Viking 130 installed in my CH750 Cruzer. Lowest maintenance (knock on wood) and most fuel-efficient engine I’ve owned, even compared to the reliable O-360 I have in an RV-8. The Viking is a modern, high-tech, automotive engine. Turn the key, start, fly. Simple as that. I purchased the plane from the builder, so only had to reach out to Jan and Alyssa once with a quick question, and I got a quick response. Thank you for helping bring GA engines into the 21st century!

[@raydreamer7566]

I am so glad you explained the crank case blowby . And how it is much less a problem with your proven installation .

[@vindoll6237]

I was looking at Viking engine and was in the area and just swung in for a quick visit. Jan spent over 2 hours with my wife and I explaining everything to us. Have to say I have never gotten that type of attention on a whim by any company over the years. Very nice folks! I was sold!

[@foesfly3047]

This is very interesting material. I could easily stay interested in parts 2, 3, 4 and 5 from this presentation. And BTW, everyone involved in EAB should appreciate Viking Aircraft Engines and wish them continued and progressively more success. Our industry seriously needs powerplant options like these.

[@patrickk1966]

I wish I could’ve came to this. I didn’t even know this you’re having this been awesome I’ve been so busy that haven’t been looking at what’s going on. I’m glad you guys had it though. Awesome to watch. Thank you.

[@alissaeggenfellner4613]

We do another one on February 3rd!

[@davidbrandt6925]

Fabulous!

[@SailOnFlyBy]

More!? Yes please👍🏼Long format/full talk?

[@riverrat4631]

I remember how hard the aviation community was hit in 2008-2009. A lot of kit builders and engine builders went under. I had a Subaru on a Gyrocopter before that happened. The new Viking company is not the same as 2009. The Honda engine seem to withstand the 5,000 rpm’s with no problems if serviced right. The new gear box seems to be trouble free. I believe Zenith has more Viking engines flying than Rotax. I believe Viking has a good product with a good company business model today. Just because a guy had a failed business in a very hard time in America doesn’t mean he can’t come back and build a successful company years later. I feel bad for anyone that lost money from the first engine business, but you can’t argue with the success he is having with the new Viking engines. I fed into all the negative publicity Viking was getting when I got back into flying a few years ago, then I seen the success they have with the Honda platform engines. They have the best customer service I have found. And No, I don’t have a Viking engine. But my next kit very well may have a Viking engine. It’s hard to argue with the success they are having. This is just my opinion.

[@flytoday]

But if Jan decides to pull the pin, you won't be able to buy spare parts for your engine

[@riverrat4631]

@@flytoday that’s true with any company

[@riverrat4631]

@Navy1977 I have no idea, and not 100% sure of your question. Any company can fold and just go away, yes bankruptcy is one avenue. How long does a guy have to pay for past mistakes? Not for me to judge. If you are a person that doesn’t trust Jan or Viking as a company then buy a different engine. You don’t have to do business with a company you don’t like or trust, That’s the great thing about America. I don’t remember the specifics of his first company going under, but the Federal government put things in place to help people protect themselves in the way of Bankruptcy. Plus it can help the creditors. Several different ways, I’m not sure how Jan handled it. But with his numbers with the Viking company he is at a point where he can probably just sell the company to a investor or person that wants to continue the Viking company. I don’t know his numbers, but it seems he built a profitable business with Viking. The Aviation community needs companies like Vikings to give home builders a choice to the High dollar Rotax and UL Power engines. The great thing about Viking, i was interested in a aircraft that had limited engine options from the factory. I Called Jan at Viking about installing their small little Mitsubishi 90hp engine on a Chinook LSA. It’s a pusher Aircraft. The Chinook company only offered the 582 and the 912 80hp. Jan was willing to design a engine mount and do the installation if I brought him the fuselage. Figure out the prop that worked best and if I remember right he offered to test fly the new aircraft with his engine if I brought the wings. How many engine companies will give you that kinda service? People can say what that want about Jan, but he has spent a lot of time and money designing these car engines to work in Experimental aircraft. If a car engine is not for you then buy a Rotax, UL Power, Continental 0200 100hp, Franklin now offers a new 4 cylinder 125hp Direct drive kit to fit the Kitfox aircraft. A lot of options out there if you don’t want a Viking in your aircraft. I’m excited to see how the new 125hp Franklin preforms. Be cool to see them offer a Firewall forward kit for a Zenith 750 STOL aircraft. So many options and people always argue about what engine a guy chooses for his aircraft. I feel it should be the one you are happy to fly behind. EAB is a small group, we should support each other and not judge. Again this is my opinion. 🇺🇸🦅

[@Alumni6042]

I doubt that Lycoming will ever pull the pin.

[@JamesMartin-c5m]

I love flying, I started flying in 1993 after I came back from Desert Storm down at Cahokia, Illinois but the Government cut the funding off for anyone who wanted to get a pilot's license, I'm a disabled veteran I still want to fly before die.

[@flysport_tedder]

thanks! nice to hear their philosophy. might be interesting for a cross-country experimental soon- outside of Zenith, I mean.

[@jdking25]

EGR is more of the problem, not blow-by in modern direct injected automotive engines. Its also not loss of compression, but more so loss of airflow into power cylinder.

[@SONShineM516]

Really sad to hear Viking won’t be selling any 200hp+ motors. I’ll be building a Velocity XL, and need a 250hp minimum motor. Would absolutely love to go with a Honda auto motor and a US based company too.

[@waveman8923]

Buy his engine and tune it up to 250-300hp. That engine will go to 1000 for drag racers!

[@kenl.3775]

Titan has some v6 options that are over 200hp

[@galactictomato1434]

​@@waveman8923Drag racers are constantly rebuilding engines between races...

[@waveman8923]

@@galactictomato1434 I agree but an engine that can do 1000 Hp can easily sustain 300 for years!

[@GonzoT38]

I just got here because a broken set of studs last year in the #3 cylinder of my Piper arrow's Lycoming IO-360 broke, nobody wanted to tackle the work because they have fatter wallet customers and low capacity to handle the request. i couldn't do it legally because I'm not an AP, and the engine shops all wanted to peddle overhaul. Well, then the prices of overhaul for what those engines are, plus the R/R labor, it absolutely ran me out of the hobby in disgust, after 13 years and 3 aircraft owned to date. Just couldn't stomach the aggravation anymore, for what simple lawnmowers these things are. I will never own a certified airplane again, and I am beyond tired of the stranglehold Lycoming and Continental have on the aircraft engine space. I find this discussion so refreshing and aspirational. I'm not a "car guy", they're commodities to me. As such, I always took the maligning of auto conversions in recreational aviation, apathetically at face value. But as I get into looking for an experimental acro/XC aircraft (Rvs, or glasair is my target) to be my replacement forever airplane from my past decade long frustration with certified airplanes, I cannot but think auto conversions will be the only way of keeping this hobby affordable going forward. Engine prices of these air cooled Lycos and Contis are to me, the biggest hindrance to affordability, especially for those of us who dabble in sub-80K price points in recreational aircraft. I appreciate that clones to Lyco are becoming available in the experimental space to help out the costs, but in order to truly make this non-commercial use of an airplane pencil out, we have to tap into the economies of scale of automotive powerplants and electronics writ large. We will never be a large volume hobby, so waiting on the Lycos and Contis to price down to a market of millions of units a year like cars, is just never going to happen. That's where I think these type of outfits can be the future of our hobby, and obviously experimental regulatory freedoms is a pre-requisite to this effort. I regret not having taken auto conversions more seriously in the past, but if it can undercut the firewall forward costs significantly from what Lycoming and Continental are charging these days, you got a future convert in me.

[@flytoday]

I heard from an owner he left the subaru project owing his customers about $2m in undelivered engines

[@markwebb8013]

You heard correctly

[@alissaeggenfellner4613]

Making up and sharing rumors. That is FAR from the truth, keep in mind when many businesses went under in 09’ that included over 20 different Subaru businesses. Many customers still happily flying their Subaru powered aircraft. What was left, was in fact paid back, which is more than can be said for many of the companies that leave people high and dry because there isn’t a bailout for small business owners. The shadow gets cast over 15 years later, purely due to having a singular person they want to blame, and many want to blame even IF they had and received everything because they never finished their project (like many).

[@rickmellor]

Yeah, I wouldn’t trust this guy again. I had a deposit on the Subaru but never got it back. I got out lucky… I think it was only $250.

[@ScrumViperDriver]

@flytoday…shame that some folks can’t resist the urge to tear down positive, educational videos with negative comments. I do, however, wholly support, and fought to protect, your 1A rights. Like the interesting choice to have a swastika on your channel’s aircraft. But hey, that’s your right.

[@Captndarty]

@@ScrumViperDriver funny how when you want to combat somebody online you have to look at their profile to dig up any dirt.

[@fredpinczuk7352]

You left out the Subaru business, how many customers got left hanging?

[@flytoday]

Last I heard it was over $2M in undelivered engines and all his customers that had engines lost access to spare parts. Certainly he left his customers with a choice of removing the engines or flying them until they crashed.

[@alissaeggenfellner4613]

@@flytoday Making up and sharing rumors. That is FAR from the truth, keep in mind when many businesses went under in 09’ that included over 20 different Subaru businesses. Many customers still happily flying their Subaru powered aircraft. What was left, was in fact paid back, which is more than can be said for many of the companies that leave people high and dry because there isn’t a bailout for small business owners. The shadow gets cast over 15 years later, purely due to having a singular person they want to blame, and many want to blame even IF they had and received everything because they never finished their project (like many)

[@flytoday]

@@alissaeggenfellner4613 you don't know what the truth is

[@eggenfellner]

@@flytoday you clearly don't

[@alissaeggenfellner4613]

@Navy1977a lot of debt was not discharged and most people (the few at the end that actually lost money) were all paid back. Even some many years later out of good faith. In the entire extent of the business it never made that much money let alone owed it. Aviation is not very profitable and takes heart and soul - and at a younger age you learn a lot about business, design and everything in between. Part of that failure is what made this business successful. Life is about learning, he was in his 20s when he started with Subaru’s and was just doing what he loved and it turned into a business. A lot was learned. We have been doing Viking for almost 13 years with a lot of very happy customers and proven reliability. If people don’t trust that, fine.

[@fly4fun24]

this Last 4 years, has been a disaster to our economy, From businesses to consumers, We all became poorer....

[@firefighter4443]

My perspective is that average incomes have decreased when adjusted for inflation, so there’s less people who can afford this extremely expensive hobby.

[@PDZ1122]

The engines are fine. They work. His gear drive system has serious flaws but he refuses to acknowledge them. Even when someone did an FEA analysis on where it was deficient, he ignored it. This was from a well qualified engineer who knew his tortional vibration stuff. Unlike Jan who may have a loose grasp on the principles involves, he is not qualified to design these components. If you call trial and error "designing". A lot of his customers are doing the "error" part ... Yes, some have had reasonable success with his engines. Others, not so much.

[@savagecub]

Yeah……Jan does not have an exact glowing customer support history so consider that.

[@johnsteichen5239]

I just would not trust this guy because of his history. Fool me once…….