Falconmod

Heard a rumor that David Ried's jetcat 200 blew up in the air.... Is there any truth to the rumor?? [:-]

Marty O

Falconmod-
I also heard the same thing only the party that told me said that the aircraft was shuttled away rather quickly.
He did get a good enough look to say that there was shrapnel damage on the tail.
What happened?
How about an update Dave?
We all try to learn how to avoid problems by learning on this forum.

Marty O

DavidR

My Feedback: (1)

First off if you have a question for me about my engine or airplane why not ask me directly instead of sensationalizing it on this forum.


FWIW the shaft in my engine broke, there are a very small handfull of these engines out there right now and according to Jetcat they had cut the radius too much where the shaft meets the threads that hold the compressor wheel or turbine wheel on. Mine broke at that spot and the turbine wheel shifted backwards when it contacted the tailpipe it threw parts. There are currently four engines in the hands of hobbyists from that batch, one other one was crashed the other two individuals have already been contacted. a few more engines were in the hands of a military contractor. All engines in the small batch (around 8-10) were grounded after this incident and all of them are being replaced by Jetcat. My airplane was only damaged superficially and has been completely repaired, also I continued to fly it with a P-160 on it for th remainder of the weekend. I ALWAYS fly a new engine on an airplane like the Kingcat or Bobcat before putting it into a scale project for just this reason. Furthermore this is why you will never see me running an engine up to full power in the pits.

Wren Turbines USA

My Feedback: (39)

David,

Great reply. Glad all is well with the airframe. More of us should follow your example and not do a complete run up in the pits or around others.

Ron Ballard

KFalcon

My Feedback: (18)

That was a good reply, and I also agree about the pit run ups.

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

Im actually glad that this cmoes up here on a public forum .. Incidents like these not only pertain to the parties involved (such as the owners of the dud engines) but also to that of the safety of others, as well as consumers in the market for an engine of a particular type/class ...

I havfe been a loyal JetCat customer for several years now ( 7 turbines to date, with more 2 on order), however issues with the P160s and now this with the P200 (not to mention the availability issues ) make me think of going elsewhere for the big turbines over 30lbs .... then again, everyone else has even worse wait times than JetCat, and the rest have issues with propper support ... so considering all, i think Jetcat is still the best bet, as long as they keep workingthe problems outof these things, and as long as i do not have to wait another 6 months for my engines .......

All in all, I feel worse for poor Bob Wilcox who has to deal with waiting on Germany .... I hope they fix the p200 and make it a reliable workhorse like the p80 and 120s have been known to be ...



Wojtek

Alexdu

My Feedback: (3)

If I may join the topic.

When I decided to get into turbines the only brand I considered was Jet CAt, thanks to all the positive comments many of you guys have made regarding them. I now have a P120 and a P160 and if all keeps going well I will keep buying Jet Cats. Mind you, as many of you guys have mentioned, they are not toys, they are dangerous machines that should be handled with care. As such, we should all be aware of any problems or potential problems ANY brand has. Wouldn't you want to know if the car you are driving is not safe, your child's safety seat, or as in this case, the turbine you just got? I think we all do. What we have to do is hope that Jet Cat acknowledges the problem, if there is one, and works to resolve the issue and fixes it for its future production.

Regards,

Robert

DavidR

My Feedback: (1)

I waited until Bob Wilcox had the engine in his hands to post a reply to this post. I wanted him to tell me the problem even though I already knew from a discussion with him what it was. This problem is isolated to a small group of engines and they already know what the problem is and have fixed it. I will have a new engine in my hands within a week or so.

Second point to mention, 45# of thrust is too much for the Kingcat, I did 95% of my flying with the throttle set to less than 1/3. The residual thrust is significantly more than with a P-120/160 and it is noticeable on landing even with the crow setup. It is simply put too much power and intersetingly I was about to take the engine back off after that flight anyway.

Scott Ramberg

My Feedback: (15)

John
Who put you up to this post?
Scott

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

David, im glad you will have a new engine in your hands in around a week, but i myself am pissed at the situation, because i have been without an engine in had for almost 6 months ...

hmm .. i have had a p200 (p160 for part of that time and when they were not shipping or overheating, i changed the order to a 200) on order for 1/2 year almost, and i still won't have one for a long time ... ( i though i was going to have one shipped this week , and this is after i though i would have it a month ago, but the 5 that shipped failed to start ... it was supposed to be a quick fix and i was supposed to have my engine delivered )

I right now have not been able to get any specific time frame from JetCat, and if i do not by tomorrow, i am pulling my $ back and ordering an AT450 and a AT400 (what other choice do we have ??? )

if the P160s were working right , i would have been ordering that for my KingCat, so having wanted more than 27 lbs of thrust, the 200 was the only other jetcat option .... i guess it will be the at400 now ... i dont know, maybe i will just stick a 120 on there now, but verticals (coming out of slow flight) would suck !


i really hate to switch now, as i have had better than best service from Bob Wilcox, i think he is the most stand up guy in the industry, and has always been there with whatever i needed, as i mentioned before, thats why i have 3 turbine heli mechanics 2 p80s and 2 p120s .. (had 2 p200s on order ) For the p120 or smaler engines i will stick with JetCat, but unless availability stops being an issue, and untill problems are resolved with the engines, i will keep shopping around .. I hope JetCat Germany gets their crap together .... but then again, model turbines are a side business for them anyway ( as it is the case for the rest of the turbine manufacturers also, so i guess no matter who you go with, there will be issues )




Wojtek

jetpilot

My Feedback: (48)

Wojtek,
Dont give up.
My 200 ran great. This shaft problem was an isloated issue. I had about 50 flights on mine set at 108K. Mine sustained fairly minimal damage when I crashed my Kingcat. And the shaft didnt break.
Running engine up in the pits shouldnt be allowed and especially on externally mounted engines.
Scott

DavidR

My Feedback: (1)

Woj,

You are not the lone ranger when it comes to waiting for engines. I waited almost a year for my P-200 and wiated a year and a half for my first P-160. There are definetly some issues with Germany. It's a shame they have some really good products but they can't seem to stay focused.

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

Scott,

im not worried about the engine running right .. When the p160s were not running right, Bob himself told me straight up not to buy it, and thats when i went for the 200 ... I was expecting a 200 shipped to me this week, but found out from Bob that it wont be shipped for a whie. I would guess the engine i was going to get is out the of the good batch and is probably one of the engines that will be replacing Davids, as well as the others that are being recalled. (hey its only fair that David gets a replacement right away, and please people do not think im complaining that David is getting an engine and I'm not)

I also have another p200 that is on order for a large Rafale which i do not need till around November ... , but i need somehting for the KingCat now, and i definately want more then 27lbs thrust from a P120 .... i really would rather not give up now, I love JetCats, and have been swearing i'd never switch.. but i cant wait another 3, 4 ??? months to fly my KingCat.... thats why the AMT at400 seems like a good choice .. however, going AMT also means an investment in ground support equipment ... which also makes subsequent turbine purchases cheaper by around $1K than jetcat equivelants ..... s#it, i don't know .... i'll have to see what i do ....



Wojtek

jetpilot

My Feedback: (48)

If i dont do another Kingcat, ill make you a deal on mine.
Scott

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

Hey Scott,

Let me know more info on the engine, like how much time is on it, also, about how it was crashed and what damage (if any) was taken by the engine … also, obviously how much you would be looking to get for it … If you look to sell it, I will definitely consider …

As for the KingCat, why would you not do another one ? I’m sorry about your loss, I had read about it on another thread … I just lost a YellowAC P-38 the other day when my RX went int ofailsafe and locked me out … that one hurt so bad I bought another one RTF right the same day


Regards,

Wojtek

DavidR

My Feedback: (1)

Wojtek,

I am curious you say you don't want a P-120 on the Kingcat yet I have flown my Kingcat with P-120, P-160, and P-200. The P-200 was not a lot of fun to fly, the airplane was too heavy, (a problem I see with any AMT) the P-160 is just right and the P-120 is a very good choice as well, not too mention the fuel economy is a little better with the P-120. All in all the P-120 is a great combination, why not try the Kingcat with one of the existing P-120's you already have before you decide it needs a P-200. I actually found the airplane uncormfortable to fly with the P-200 because of the additional weight.

grbaker

My Feedback: (29)

This is from another thread

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

I hear what you are saying David, and i have thought of trying the KC with a P120, but i know i will want more power , especialy for the verticals, and i will admit, i like to fly hard and fast ... now that i have though about it more, the at400 seems like the best currently available option for the KingCat (for more than 27 lbs of thrust) ... not too heavy, plenty of thrust, and lightning fast response ..., then again, i just might try one of the 120s in it first, .. i told myself i will make my decision by end of tomorrow ... as for the p160 which i wanted originally, well ... sounds like we won't be seeing any of those released back again any time soon .. ( word is JetCat is re-engineering the whole engine) anyway, i dont want to keep hijacking ths thread ..... i had actually opened another one on high thrust engines before this one even came up, so i will continue on in there ....




Wojtek

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

point being ???




Wojtek

grbaker

My Feedback: (29)

Sorry.....I was just pointing out that you actually wanted a 160 sized turbine for the Kingcat.

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

i was just wondering what you were refering to ... no need to apologize ...

i needed a 160 for the KC, but witht he 160s not available the 200s were the next best thing ... ... i do also actually need a 200 for another plane ...

sorry if i came across as "abrupt" just realized it now by reading back .. .....

Wojtek

Miguel Santana

My Feedback: (6)

This issue bring to my mind the safety issue I stated when Unknown [sm=bananahead.gif][sm=tired.gif] were doing test "converting a P-120 into a P-160" by increasing the RPMs...[sm=tired.gif]
David, glad everything is ok, noneone get hurts and you'll get a new engine.
Regards,
Miguel

Shok

My Feedback: (28)

Wojtek, I watched David fly his KC in Austin with a P-120 and it really performed!
The plane did not seem to be lacking any power for sure.

seanreit

My Feedback: (60)

Ronnie, I think David was running a 160 on the kc at austin.

If he was running a 120, then that begs the question, can you run a 120 on a 160 ECU?

I don't think so, but never asked.

Doug Cronkhite

My Feedback: (34)

The P-120 is more than enough power for the Kingcat and it will EASILY run right up to 200mph. Just my opinion, but I think the P-120 is the best choice for the KC.