Re-engine the Grob 109

[rayjb60]

I found this interesting re-engine of a Grob 109 on the ULPower website forum.

Upgrading to 120HP with a lower weight UL 350i would be awesome.

How to get this approved on a certified aircraft though is another matter.

Richard Becker says: April 8, 2011 at 4:09 am

I have just fitted a UL 350i to my Grob 109 which had a Limbach (VW derivative) 2 litre 80 HP engine with 1000 hours on it. What a difference! I am blown away by the UL 350i. It is much more powerful – 120 vs 80 HP, smoother and actually lighter once all the carburetter heating and other junk needed by the Limbach is removed. In fact I had to add 12 kg of ballast to the firewall to keep the CoG in place, partly because I chnged from the 3 position Hoffman prop to a fixed pitch Prince unit.

At the same cruise speed as the limbach (160 km/h) it is using about 1.5 litres less fuel per hour.

UL made the engine mount and it fitted like a dream.

You could say I was one very happy customer.

• 
  
  • Richard Becker says:
    May 4, 2011 at 9:31 am
    Hi Mark
    Sorry about the delay in replying. I am in South Africa and it is the run of the mill G109, not the B model. I fly out of Orient airfield (FAOI) which is home to the Magalies gliding club. Elevation is 5100 feet and on a hot summer day the density altitude gets above 8’000 ft. With the Limbach, one-up and half fuel on a day like that take-off was an excersise in steel nerves and climb-out depended entirely on thermal activity.
    With the UL 350i she’s up and away in two to three hundred metres with two on board and full fuel and climbs out at around 2 m/s at 115 to 120 km/h. This may not sound wonderful if you fly from sea level and colder conditions, but belive me it is a completely transformed aeroplane. It is now possible to visit airfields with shorter runways and not have to fret about getting out again.
    Other observations are: the ease of starting – two or three rotations and she’s away every time, hot or cold; the lack of any sign of oil mess. The fuselage is completely clear of any oil or exhaust residue. The motor also runs very smoothly, which is also partly due I guess to the Prince Aircraft prop which seems to be well ballanced and symetrical.

[rayjb60]

I found this interesting re-engine of a Grob 109 on the ULPower website forum.

Upgrading to 120HP with a lower weight UL 350i would be awesome.

How to get this approved on a certified aircraft though is another matter.

Richard Becker says: April 8, 2011 at 4:09 am

I have just fitted a UL 350i to my Grob 109 which had a Limbach (VW derivative) 2 litre 80 HP engine with 1000 hours on it. What a difference! I am blown away by the UL 350i. It is much more powerful – 120 vs 80 HP, smoother and actually lighter once all the carburetter heating and other junk needed by the Limbach is removed. In fact I had to add 12 kg of ballast to the firewall to keep the CoG in place, partly because I chnged from the 3 position Hoffman prop to a fixed pitch Prince unit.

At the same cruise speed as the limbach (160 km/h) it is using about 1.5 litres less fuel per hour.

UL made the engine mount and it fitted like a dream.

You could say I was one very happy customer.

• 
  
  • Richard Becker says:
    May 4, 2011 at 9:31 am
    Hi Mark
    Sorry about the delay in replying. I am in South Africa and it is the run of the mill G109, not the B model. I fly out of Orient airfield (FAOI) which is home to the Magalies gliding club. Elevation is 5100 feet and on a hot summer day the density altitude gets above 8’000 ft. With the Limbach, one-up and half fuel on a day like that take-off was an excersise in steel nerves and climb-out depended entirely on thermal activity.
    With the UL 350i she’s up and away in two to three hundred metres with two on board and full fuel and climbs out at around 2 m/s at 115 to 120 km/h. This may not sound wonderful if you fly from sea level and colder conditions, but belive me it is a completely transformed aeroplane. It is now possible to visit airfields with shorter runways and not have to fret about getting out again.
    Other observations are: the ease of starting – two or three rotations and she’s away every time, hot or cold; the lack of any sign of oil mess. The fuselage is completely clear of any oil or exhaust residue. The motor also runs very smoothly, which is also partly due I guess to the Prince Aircraft prop which seems to be well ballanced and symetrical.