by daffy1029 » Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:48 pm
Hi Chappy,
I am taking this from memory, as the last time I flew was in 1989 for one flight.
I added my enclosure in 1985 (I had the Rotax 185's at that time), and what I remember was, the climb rate was very close the same as without the enclosure. So there must be reduced drag with enclosure. The other thing I notice later, with the JPX's, was when flying slow, that when you add lots of power, I always had to add a wee bit of up, on the stick, as it had a slight tendency to nose down on acceleration. It's possible that my plane wasn't balance properly, after I added the JPX's engines. Regardless, the plane flew very well. At 40 to 45 mph, it flew hands off, thanks to the factory trim tabs on the rudervators.
After installing the enclosure, I did most of my flying on the warm winter days. The air is stable and lots of places to land, here in the prairies.
In the summertime, I would have to admit, flying without the enclosure is more fun, because of the extra freedom you feel, with nothing around you (I actually miss that).
As for the fuel burn, can't help you there. I really never kept track, too busy enjoying the flying. I can tell you though, that from the Rotax 185's to the JPX's, cut my flying time to around half the time. That's one reason why I am going to try Solo engines next. Going from four cylinders to two should make a difference in the fuel economy.
The extra power of the JPX's was nice to have! I also found the JPX's were very reliable and smooth running. Hope this helps. Daffy