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What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
I'm new to jets, and while researching possible engines for a Bobcat, I've noticed that the price of the JetCat P-80 seems like the best deal in their lineup. [sm=confused.gif] Naturally this makes me suspicious... Does the P-80 have a slow spool up time? Is it a fuel hog? What's wrong with it to make it $700 less than the P-120, with only 8lbs less thrust?
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RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
I don't think anything is "wrong" with the motor, lots of people use P-80's, they are all over the place.
That being said, they are big in size compared to newer motors that are out now that produce similar thrust. Yes they can be slow spooling, I'm not sure though if the newer JetCat software might cure some of that. The main problem I see with a P-80 is just that it sits in a weird area. Basically it's large and takes up alot of room and burns more fuel in a smaller airframe that would be more suited for a wren supersport or a P-70. On the other hand it doesnt put out quite enough thrust to push the bigger airframes to performance that most people want. It's perfect though for Bobcat's though. It is a great price though. |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
Absolutely NOTHING wrong with the P-80. Do a search on this or any other forum and see if you can find any problems that are common with the engine.
Not the fastest spool-up but the power and reliability are as good as it gets. |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
P-80 is a great engine. I just got a refurbished one from JetCat with version 5.10W and put it in my Rookie II. Flew it three times this past weekend and it's performance was nearly as good when I had a P-120 in it. The P-80 consumable the three liters of fuel at the same rate as the P-120, which means I wasn't pushing the turbine full throttle most of the flight with the 120. I feel more comfortable with this combination.
Ken |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
Theres nothing wrong with a P80. I suppose a good way to discribe it to someone whos into planes but new into jets is the P80 is like a OS40 FP, not the most powerful engine around but really reliable and well regarded.
Jason |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
Ditto, nothing wrong with the P-80. Mine has version 5.0 T ECU and is pushing my 28# dry Boomerang XL with no problem.
Rgds Alejandro |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
The P80 is a great engine. Super reliable, and has one of the longest proven track records in its class .. Like someone else said however, there are other engine available which put out equivalent power out of a smaller, lighter can. I have been through 2 P80s, and both were great . I bought these when first getting into jets and they were perfect for starting out .. Once you start flying more, you will start to see what your preferences start becoming ...
Here's a video of my friend's BobCat flying on a p80 at FLJ 06 (this P80 haowever was turned up to over 24lbs by a local NY area Jet Cat rep ) should give you an example of what to expect in terms of performance … (this plane ended up getting upgraded to a 30 lbs JetCentral Eagle later on ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omfe6mhWNxI heres my 2nd rc jet i had, and this one was powered by a P80 ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sl0XPvh_bs Voy |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
Not a thing, a grate newby engine, not newby but I'm gtting one very soon.
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RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
There is nothing wrong with a P-80, and it doesn't really sit in a weird area. Wasn't the P-80 the first commercially available JetCat engine?
I believe that (as best I can I recall), the P-80 was the first JetCat imported to the USA. It made 17 lbs. when introduced. That was at a time when the most of the other engines in the hobby were about 17 lbs. of thrust. It fit right into the most competative spot in the sales arena, as most other manufacturers had 17 pound engines(cause they were more or less versions of the KJ-66). RAM, AMT and others had similar sized engines competing for that market. The AMT's are an exception...they are not related to the KJ-66, as they have their own design. Later on, JetCat turned the thrust up by raising the RPM to make 19 or 20 lbs., but still at a safe rotor speed. As the market expanded to include smaller and larger engines, the airframe manufacturers strove to build airframes to fill the void. Many of the names and faces have changed...only the stronger ones survived. Many new and highly refined designs have appeared in the last few years, which tends to make the purchase decision more difficult for the newby. The P-80 is a good old workhorse....still very popular today, just as it was a few years ago. Harley Condra BVM REP JetCat REP |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
I've never owned one. But I've seen plenty fly. One of the fastest airplanes I've ever seen was Doug E. Fresh's rookie with a P-80!! It was a rocket and I'm sure he'd tell you what he thought about the honda accord of turbines.
Raf |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
ORIGINAL: jason Theres nothing wrong with a P80. I suppose a good way to discribe it to someone whos into planes but new into jets is the P80 is like a OS40 FP, not the most powerful engine around but really reliable and well regarded. Jason OS40, I think not. Trevor Skedge |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
Ken
The special price was introduced because the P80 has repaid JetCat many times over for its development and parts have been bought in big numbers...making it cheaper to make. It was a special low price to help newcomers like you into this great section of our hobby, many people were chosing the P120 and turning it down with the view of a bigger "next jet" Don't be fooled by the price, I have several P80 turbines and chose one for my latest model a Bandit ARF. It was the Daddy to electric start turbines...which everybody else followed Dave Wilshere |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
my P80 has now practically 5 years, i buyed her in february 2001...
never went to service, she starts at the first try, even after months of inactivity even the battery is still the original one!!! the charger push in 1200mAh, and i still get out after 2 flight 600 mAh... so a great turbine, today maybe just "old design" .... |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
just bought first p80..nib..refurbished by jetcat......paid 2 bills for it...and plan to install in bobcat.....very affordable swiss-army knife of engines....ps how cold is up your way....anyone fly in winter ????kelly
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RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
I got 1000 flights and nearly 152 hours out of mine over a 4 year period before an unfortunate meeting with the ground. It started as a 17 lb thrust engine and ended up with most of the mods for the higher rpm's. A jet buddy once said he thought the P-80 was the "gold standard" for turbines. One can argue that, but they've been around for a long time and JetCat just keeps improving it. Once heard it was going to be discontinued but John Redman told me people just keep buying them. Since the engine came out, the airframe market has seemed to favor airframes for the larger engines or the smaller engines, leaving the 80 kind of in the middle. But there are still a lot of airplanes the engine works well with and I wouldn't mind having another.
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RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
just bought first p80..nib..refurbished by jetcat......paid 2 bills for it...and plan to install in bobcat.....very affordable swiss-army knife of engines....ps how cold is up your way....anyone fly in winter ????kelly |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
thanks ken i live in ca to..........i was asking harley ?? up in kalispell where he flys.....kelly
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RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
I too had a p80 for a number of years, always ran like a watch, its a great engine.
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RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
1 Attachment(s)
Kelly,
We have a first rate facility, certainly the finest club field in the Northwest, located on Whitefish Stage Road just south of Whitefish. That makes it a few miles north of Kalispell, and less than a mile as the crow flies east of Highway 93. We have 800 feet of 3"thick asphalt 70 feet wide, with 5600 sq. ft. of pit area, restrooms, a storage shed and a cookshed. We also offer overhead shade for spectators and a second story tower. We also have an RC car track, and a small pond where yu can float your boat. (or look for frogs). Handicapped parking is available and posted. There is plenty of room for spectator and participant parking, as well as motorhome or trailer camping spots, but no hookups. We host a jet meet every August, this year's dates are August 3, 4, and 5, and a swap meet/fun fly/public exhibition in late September (probably Sept. 25 and 26, 2007), each year. The asphalt was layed in very late August of 2005. I've attached a couple of photos taken right after the paving. See more on the Glacier RCers website www.glacierrcers.org The east end of the pits is reserved for turbines only. That way we don't need to move our jets out of the pits to a seperate dedicated start-up area. No altitude restrictions either! Right now the runway and part of the pits have been plowed, as there are a few members that don't mind the cold weather. I'm not going to haul my 8" x 20" jet hauler out there and unload all of the stuff I need when there is a foot of snow on the ground, and a high of 20 degrees. This is building season. Come on up if you can. I can introduce you to th4 other four (resident) waiver holders in Montana. We are within about five miles of each other. My number is 406-752-8409. Harley Condra BVM REP JetCat REP |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
harley...thanks for info....i earmarked glacier flyers website....ill be your way in aug/sept.....aug is kind a warm in sac valley...perfect flying weather your way though......thanks again for info.....kelly couch......seeley lake mt
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RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
Another potential factor in the lower price of the P80, is the effort required to put it together (given that time is money).
I watched Bob Wilcox do a field-repair to a P80 a while ago ... pulling it apart and repairing everything while he sat chatting with us in the pit area. He pointed out at the time that the P80 was the only turbine he could do that with - the P120, P160 etc all required a much more demanding and time consuming (and hence costly) assembly due to the higher precision parts fit etc. If I recall correctly, he said something like "I could assemble 5 or 6 P80s in the time it takes to do one P120, and two or three P120's in the time it takes for one P160. Gordon |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
The P80 is a great engine, pushes my f15 around nicely and has been very reliable
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RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
ORIGINAL: Harley Condra Kelly, We have a first rate facility, certainly the finest club field in the Northwest, located on Whitefish Stage Road just south of Whitefish. That makes it a few miles north of Kalispell, and less than a mile as the crow flies east of Highway 93. We have 800 feet of 3"thick asphalt 70 feet wide, with 5600 sq. ft. of pit area, restrooms, a storage shed and a cookshed. We also offer overhead shade for spectators and a second story tower. We also have an RC car track, and a small pond where yu can float your boat. (or look for frogs). Handicapped parking is available and posted. There is plenty of room for spectator and participant parking, as well as motorhome or trailer camping spots, but no hookups. We host a jet meet every August, this year's dates are August 3, 4, and 5, and a swap meet/fun fly/public exhibition in late September (probably Sept. 25 and 26, 2007), each year. The asphalt was layed in very late August of 2005. I've attached a couple of photos taken right after the paving. See more on the Glacier RCers website www.glacierrcers.org The east end of the pits is reserved for turbines only. That way we don't need to move our jets out of the pits to a seperate dedicated start-up area. No altitude restrictions either! Right now the runway and part of the pits have been plowed, as there are a few members that don't mind the cold weather. I'm not going to haul my 8" x 20" jet hauler out there and unload all of the stuff I need when there is a foot of snow on the ground, and a high of 20 degrees. This is building season. Come on up if you can. I can introduce you to th4 other four (resident) waiver holders in Montana. We are within about five miles of each other. My number is 406-752-8409. Harley Condra BVM REP JetCat REP |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
Don't be silly David.
The one in Heaven has a Hooters on the other side of the parking lot |
RE: What's wrong with a JetCat P-80?
Falconwings,
Come on up. Right now it is 14 degrees above zero. Don't forget your long handled underwear and your skis. Harley Condra BVM REP JetCat REP |
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