RE: Jetcat 180RX
Hi Anurag,
You have very good timing! I took delivery a week ago and carried out some ground tests on Sunday in my Airworld Cougar.
I have to say the installation on the new RX range is silly easy. It makes the idea of swapping a turbine between models even more feasible and quick.
Start up was perfect and very very smooth and the usual JetCat reliablilty shone through. Learn low was spot on and I was well happy...........until I opened the throttle from idle to half power - I thought something was wrong. There was no reaction for about 3-4 seconds and then it spooled up.
I tried again. The same. Stopped and restarted and the same. Checked the ECU and all parameters looked fine.
Tried again. Idled for ten seconds, moved stick to half power, counted to three and returned the stick to idle before the turbine even responded.
As a replacement to the 160SX and as a "180", I was expecting more power and at least the same throttle response. In fact, BVM's website advertises it with "The engine follows throttle commands almost without delay. New ECU V10.0" so if I was lucky I was hoping for a little quicker response.
There was another user of the 180 who I found had the exact same issue so it wasn't just mine.
So, with everything not seeming right I spoke to Jetcat and nearly fell off my chair. Apparently this is the throttle response they have specifically mapped in the ECU. They say it is to ensure totally reliable operation from -20 to +50 i.e Finland to Dubai and they know it "may not be great".
I asked why, when it is likely 80% of their customer base don't fly in extremes, they don't have a 'normal' weather mapping. Their response was that they would think about a "European" ECU mapping but this could take some time!
I love JetCat turbines. I've never had any problems with them and have supported them but I do think they have really dropped the ball on this one. To discontinue the 160SX and replace it with a turbine that has throttle response similar to my original 8yr old P120 surprises me.
I only hope they pull out the stops and sort this out as at full power the engine was amazingly strong!
Hope that helps? [&:]
PS I'd be interested to hear from other who may have used one in the more extreme environments to see what you think of the response and how it compares to other turbines you're running.