Originally posted by Pugsley
As far as the question of the ZDZ 80......the Cap that I watched fly Sat. had tons of power with this motor. To me it is a no brainer......DA 100 9.8 Hp at 5.8 Pounds for $1150.....ZDZ 80 8.5 Hp at 4.3 pounds for $590....... Is 1 Hp and over a pound worth double the price?
Pug
Hi Pug, you saw Mika Woodward's Cap Saturday, sorry I missed you and Wreck, I was in Toledo. I understand the question about spending the extra bucks, but here is further insight: Mika uses a Supersonic Pitts style muffler on his plane that has larger stacks than are on my BME 6.2's standard mufflers. His ZDZ is definitely a good runner, and turned a 26-10 Zinger Pro propellor at 6,000 rpm. His engine was LOUD, however, measuring 101 db at 25 feet over asphalt, definitely too loud for IMAC competition. My BME gives 96 db over asphalt at 25 feet while turning the same Zinger Pro 150 rpm faster. We did some experimenting, and added inserts to his stacks, bringing the noise (sound?) level down to 97 db but lost 400 rpm in the process. Sound is more pleasant, less "raspy" and definitley quieter on the ground and in the air. As you saw, he STILL had good verticle performance, and could still pull out of a hover. His Cap weighs 25 pounds 3 ounces, and the 37 pounds of thrust he was getting according to my digital fish scale.....er........THRUST GAUGE was still greater than 1 to 1 (though it was noticeably less thrust and verticle performance than the original 42 pounds that turning a Zinger Pro at 6,000 rpm will give you).
Noise levels are becoming increasingly an issue at more and more fields, thus should be an additional consideration. There are a couple of fields in Indy that Mika couldn't fly, because of sound level restrictions. It's one thing if a pilot that only flies his own field and noise isn't a problem. On the other hand, I do enjoy "making the rounds" and need a plane that will meet other club's restrictions. If I had a ZDZ, I'd put a tuned pipe on it to keep the performance, and kill the noise. My larger BME gives me quiet performance, and for me, that's worth the extra money.
I definitely can't knock the ZDZ's great bang for the buck. Dick Hanson proves that you CAN get the ZDZ's great horsepower and be quiet at the same time. My point is that each has characteristics that are unique, there is definitely more than meets the eye at first glance. You're not exactly spending less and getting more (there are trade-offs in everything). You decide what YOU want an engine to do, then you pays your money, and you takes your choice.