I believe Robert Helms of ULpower is also a Dealer for Edge performance now... here in the US. Great Video Dan, thank you for Sharing! It is great to hear that both companies have been there for the customer after the sale. Everyone making posts about the longevity and life of this engine just need to do a little research! This engine has been overbuilt to handle the extra power with a welded crankshaft, billet big bore kit with forged pistons, and cams etc! The power to weight of this engine is unmatched and would weigh a lot less firewall forward than an O-340 would dry by itself!
Power to weight is unmatched? REALLY? My TV is smaller than that inner cooler and 1/4 as thick. 6 feet of intake pipes, cold air box. Longer exhaust pipes. ECU. Radiator & oil cooler further away. Brackets and rubber mountings for all that bullshit. 156 HP for 2 minutes. 130 HP @ 5,500 If that. Now compare it with the power to weight of the 2,500 rpm direct drive D-Motor 6 cylinder. With 30 less moving parts. $23,000 New
Twisted Hippie I would like to see Edge performance make a turbonormalized setup for the UL350i to produce 150hp. I believe ULpower is already working on a Turbo setup for the UL520is engine. Now that Robert Helms is also an Edge Performance dealer... I am hoping they will collaborate to make something great based on the ULpower engine line!
I have a ULS 912 100 hp stock but want to get rid of Bings and maintain power over 10,000 ft. 20-30% hp increase is feasible. Do we have an USA distributor? I have talked to Jason before but He is in Canada. I’m in Wa state lower 48
I understand that the pressed crankshaft is welded to eliminate twisting when boosting power. Edge Performance in Norway described a special jig and specific process to eliminate warping. Does Bad-Ass have the same process or simply weld 'er up? I would imagine some heat treating or perhaps peening would be appropriate to relieve stresses induced by the welding process. However, I don't recall any mention of such in any video or literature I've read to date. I know older Suzuki GS 1100 cranks were welded in high HP mods and some broken cranks resulted from stress concentrations due to the welding. Granted, this was decades ago, but physics remain the same. Just curious.
Notice this engine pkg was developed for racing where they rebuild engines few times during a racing season. Rotax 915is may develop less HP but would be more reliable.
What I’m curious about is longevity, following all the guys running these engines with big bore kits the longevity isn’t that good. I think I’ll stick with O340. With complexity and extra wieght of turbo and inter cooler it can’t be lighter.
phegley3 The longevity of the fleet has actually been quite great... Overall! They have been in the Trendak autogyros for years. This engine was actually developed before the 915is... and when it comes to weight this engine is significantly lighter than an O-340 by at least 50-75lbs. Total firewall foreward weight is probably just under 200lbs! The dry weight on the Titan O-340 is 250lbs and that is just the engine without liquids or accessories!
Not as yet, we did do a video on the Yamaha engine and redrive - Yamaha RX1 aircraft engine conversion, gear box adapter & gearbox by SkyTrax ua-cam.com/video/0ks9LqboEeo/v-deo.html The Ultralight Flyer
Still don't underestimate the rotax... Trent Palmers stock 140 HP 915 turbo seems to kick the direct drive 340's butts quite handily with them producing 180 HP plus for some reason
@@ultralightnews Did you watch your video? Ha ha. Bold caption "156HP from a Rotax 912 ! " "Badass Power Sports..." What makes me think? 912 engine started originally as 80HP normal aspirated later 100HP. Now it's making 156HP by BADASS Power Sports not sanctioned by Rotax. Ways to make more power with same displacement: higher compression, higher RPM, change cam and turbo. All adds more heat and stress. Rotax is NOT even getting 156HP from their 915 iS Turbo. Use common sense. If it's too good to be true... You are already running 5600 RPM through a gear box. It is hot rodded for STOL racing but you give up reliability. Mark my words there will be engine failures. Only grace is these are likely young in STOL planes with low stall speed, making off airport landing more survivable. However ultra-lights .and paramotor's have low stall and have loss of power with fatal results. I would not fly family and friends with this. Thank you for your question.
@@gmcjetpilot Interesting, having attended courses at Rotax since 1984, having flown over 20,000 hours on them, using them in an intensive training environment since 1989, PLUS flying them on a number of my SeaRey's I would have to disagree! First lets look at the 912 - 80 HP engine - it is the SAME engine base as the 914 - which is 115 HP! While Rotax does not offer a 156 HP - 912 based engine ( which I have flown in a number of aircraft) it is offered by a number of their most reputable dealers. A number are flying on the Aircam, Tucano, and RANS S7. They ARE not using the same displacement, nor higher RPM. So based on my experience, owning, repairing, flying, and training - I do not have a problem with the Edge Performance package. If I did then I wouldn't have done the video, or would have advised against it's use.
@@ultralightnews I'm a commercial airline pilot and don't have 20,000 total flight hours much less behind one kind of engine. You made an appeal to authority. Taking Rotax classes is great and respect your testimonial, but does not speak to this hot rod experimental Rotax. Few Badass Power Sports flying (200 sold by their web page does not mean flying) and few total fleet hours. Let's see in a few years what happens. They don't call it experimental for nothing. You cant assume it will be as reliable as stock Rotax. Personally I don't want to experiment with aircraft engines too much carrying my family around. . Badass power sports is not affiliated with or Rotax approved. This modified engine did not meet and likely can't meet Cert specs. Look I'm not a big fan of hopped up Lycomings with hugh compression either. I understand it is experimental and for racing. 55.65 cu-in making 156 HP is 2.8 HP per cubic inch is a lot. Goid luck and be safe. There is no free lunch. I have been following experimental aircraft and engines since 1985. I've seen many engines come and go. I stand by my position. Getting more power equals more wear and less mechanical and detonation margins.
@@gmcjetpilot you're right, experimental allows for the testing of new technologies that can make aviation more safe in the long run but can also pose a risk in the testing phase. That being said, many technologies start off in experimental before making it to certified, and some don't because of the cost to certify. I wouldn't look at Badass, the dealer, I would look at Edge Performance for stats on their engines. You'll find they are extremely reliable. They set tolerances that have been perfected on a dyno in a state of the art manufacturing facility that can provide altitude testing. Opinions are great, but when they're just based on your gut and not facts they can be dangerous. Imagine if we had the same outlook on the commercial jets you flew....maybe we'd still be flying on DC9s to get around. I'd say the higher horsepower turbine engines and modern avionics made things safer wouldn't you? But I bet their were people saying the same thing when they were introduced.
No disrespect. But a turbo fan ran off the back of the crank (super charger) seems some much simpler. What 140 HP with original carbs? No cold air box. No new 4 into 1 modified exhaust pipes. No different muffler. No big heavy inner cooler. No running intake pipes all the way around the engine. EVER HEARD OF FRICTION LOSS FROM EXCESSIVE SURFACE AREA? Fan off the back of engine. Separate and away from exhaust. No inner cooler. No turbo lag. Just 12" of pipe straight back in.............. Simple. Compact. Lighter. Hell of a lot cheaper
Can you imagine how unreliable this will be? The MTBF on a standard Rotax is already on the low end of the legancy engines; stuff another 50% of power into it and watch the number of emergency landings grow even further.
Edge from Norway has been doing this for a long time ... they do a whole bunch to the internals like weld the crank where the throws are pressed together ... At first blush you would think this .... except Edge quality is extreme and its not their first kick at the can ... but ... its still not for me either ... pioneers take the arrows .... as for TBO I doubt they care if its 500 hours ... they are out to win competitions not run a commuter line
I'd be interested to know your sources. Rotax engines in the CTLS's I fly have been getting considerably over 2000 TBO. An engine just removed from service for a new engine had 3500 hours since overhaul. The A&P who services the aircraft at my flying club raves about Rotax reliability.
@@KingGroupProductions I flew my 912S for 2300 hours before opting for a new one, after selling the old engine for a good price. NO issues whatsoever, about 1/4 qt oil consumption between 50 hour changes (try that with a legacy engine) and on average, less then 4 GPH fuel burn (try that also with a legacy engine). Not one burp or hiccup the entire time, and I only did a fraction of the factory mandated maintenance! Car Quest oil filters, never changed 'the rubber", changed the plugs about every 500 hours, the only thing I did do was change the oil religiously every 50 hours, +- 20 hours.
I'm assuming that the rotax loses its certification with such a mod so if going experimental anyway I would think non aviation engines would be interesting. Keeping the gearbox issue in mind though. Maybe the boxer engine out of a totalled porsche 911 or boxster S if that's possible. Regarding stol, because you are looking for extreme low speed take off I think you want to look to a different configuration than the classic forward aligned aircraft. You could skip directly to zero distance take off or deep angled wing with the trailing edge near the ground and two engines blowing air under the wing to fly right away on ground effect cushions.
This seems like a whole lot of trouble to go through when one could probably use a UL, Titan or other power plant to accomplish the same objective. Just because one can dosen't mean one should.
Significantly lighter than the titan. Power to weight ratio is the game. And the 912sti is more power than the 915 and maybe 35 or more pounds lighter installed
What is the history of the modification? How long will this engine live with this boosted power?
I believe Robert Helms of ULpower is also a Dealer for Edge performance now... here in the US. Great Video Dan, thank you for Sharing! It is great to hear that both companies have been there for the customer after the sale. Everyone making posts about the longevity and life of this engine just need to do a little research! This engine has been overbuilt to handle the extra power with a welded crankshaft, billet big bore kit with forged pistons, and cams etc! The power to weight of this engine is unmatched and would weigh a lot less firewall forward than an O-340 would dry by itself!
Power to weight is unmatched? REALLY? My TV is smaller than that inner cooler and 1/4 as thick. 6 feet of intake pipes, cold air box. Longer exhaust pipes. ECU. Radiator & oil cooler further away. Brackets and rubber mountings for all that bullshit. 156 HP for 2 minutes. 130 HP @ 5,500 If that.
Now compare it with the power to weight of the 2,500 rpm direct drive D-Motor 6 cylinder. With 30 less moving parts. $23,000 New
Amazing where from you ? What is price this engine . Please reply
People are hopping up airplanes like cars now. Outstanding.
Outstanding or suicide....time will tell.
what is the weight differential? This wont work on LSA like Seamax with extra fuel
So what can Edge Performance do with the 915is? Hmm Is Edge Performance doing ULPower upgrades...like turbo’s for 520isa?
Twisted Hippie I would like to see Edge performance make a turbonormalized setup for the UL350i to produce 150hp. I believe ULpower is already working on a Turbo setup for the UL520is engine. Now that Robert Helms is also an Edge Performance dealer... I am hoping they will collaborate to make something great based on the ULpower engine line!
They could make 915 obsolete. Selling same engine with 15 more HP for $10,000 less. They could do that to the 915, 914 too, for that matter
@@raymond3803 How can they make it obsolete if they use a stock engine from Rotax to begin with?
I have a ULS 912 100 hp stock but want to get rid of Bings and maintain power over 10,000 ft. 20-30% hp increase is feasible. Do we have an USA distributor? I have talked to Jason before but He is in Canada. I’m in Wa state lower 48
I understand that the pressed crankshaft is welded to eliminate twisting when boosting power. Edge Performance in Norway described a special jig and specific process to eliminate warping. Does Bad-Ass have the same process or simply weld 'er up? I would imagine some heat treating or perhaps peening would be appropriate to relieve stresses induced by the welding process. However, I don't recall any mention of such in any video or literature I've read to date. I know older Suzuki GS 1100 cranks were welded in high HP mods and some broken cranks resulted from stress concentrations due to the welding. Granted, this was decades ago, but physics remain the same. Just curious.
Notice this engine pkg was developed for racing where they rebuild engines few times during a racing season. Rotax 915is may develop less HP but would be more reliable.
Tremendous increase in power.
Does anyone know if there is a horsepower limit on part 103 ultra light aircraft?
No horsepower limit on part 103, just weight and speed.
I'd be interested to hear what the all up weight of the entire plane is?
What I’m curious about is longevity, following all the guys running these engines with big bore kits the longevity isn’t that good. I think I’ll stick with O340. With complexity and extra wieght of turbo and inter cooler it can’t be lighter.
phegley3 dryweight of EP912STi is only 68Kg, being 4Kg lighter than a 914 and 16Kg lighter than the new 915iS.
phegley3 The longevity of the fleet has actually been quite great... Overall! They have been in the Trendak autogyros for years. This engine was actually developed before the 915is... and when it comes to weight this engine is significantly lighter than an O-340 by at least 50-75lbs. Total firewall foreward weight is probably just under 200lbs! The dry weight on the Titan O-340 is 250lbs and that is just the engine without liquids or accessories!
Did you get to cover Edge's turbo Yamaha engine?
Not as yet, we did do a video on the Yamaha engine and redrive - Yamaha RX1 aircraft engine conversion, gear box adapter & gearbox by SkyTrax
ua-cam.com/video/0ks9LqboEeo/v-deo.html
The Ultralight Flyer
Oh, you deafening got, my Attention!!!
🤔🤨😊😉
Just purchase a natural aspirated direct drive UL engine of the same horsepower, same weight less maintenance.
Still don't underestimate the rotax... Trent Palmers stock 140 HP 915 turbo seems to kick the direct drive 340's butts quite handily with them producing 180 HP plus for some reason
👍 👍 👍
You need to have someone standing by with a TASAR for those times people walk in front of the Camera!
Badass!
An already highly strung out engine is hot rodded even more is going to be less reliable and more likely to have catastrophic failure.
And what makes you believe that the Rotax 912 is a "hot rodded engine"?
@@ultralightnews Did you watch your video? Ha ha. Bold caption "156HP from a Rotax 912 ! " "Badass Power Sports..." What makes me think? 912 engine started originally as 80HP normal aspirated later 100HP. Now it's making 156HP by BADASS Power Sports not sanctioned by Rotax. Ways to make more power with same displacement: higher compression, higher RPM, change cam and turbo. All adds more heat and stress. Rotax is NOT even getting 156HP from their 915 iS Turbo. Use common sense. If it's too good to be true... You are already running 5600 RPM through a gear box. It is hot rodded for STOL racing but you give up reliability. Mark my words there will be engine failures. Only grace is these are likely young in STOL planes with low stall speed, making off airport landing more survivable. However ultra-lights .and paramotor's have low stall and have loss of power with fatal results. I would not fly family and friends with this. Thank you for your question.
@@gmcjetpilot Interesting, having attended courses at Rotax since 1984, having flown over 20,000 hours on them, using them in an intensive training environment since 1989, PLUS flying them on a number of my SeaRey's I would have to disagree!
First lets look at the 912 - 80 HP engine - it is the SAME engine base as the 914 - which is 115 HP!
While Rotax does not offer a 156 HP - 912 based engine ( which I have flown in a number of aircraft) it is offered by a number of their most reputable dealers.
A number are flying on the Aircam, Tucano, and RANS S7. They ARE not using the same displacement, nor higher RPM. So based on my experience, owning, repairing, flying, and training - I do not have a problem with the Edge Performance package. If I did then I wouldn't have done the video, or would have advised against it's use.
@@ultralightnews I'm a commercial airline pilot and don't have 20,000 total flight hours much less behind one kind of engine. You made an appeal to authority. Taking Rotax classes is great and respect your testimonial, but does not speak to this hot rod experimental Rotax.
Few Badass Power Sports flying (200 sold by their web page does not mean flying) and few total fleet hours. Let's see in a few years what happens. They don't call it experimental for nothing. You cant assume it will be as reliable as stock Rotax. Personally I don't want to experiment with aircraft engines too much carrying my family around. .
Badass power sports is not affiliated with or Rotax approved. This modified engine did not meet and likely can't meet Cert specs. Look I'm not a big fan of hopped up Lycomings with hugh compression either.
I understand it is experimental and for racing. 55.65 cu-in making 156 HP is 2.8 HP per cubic inch is a lot. Goid luck and be safe. There is no free lunch. I have been following experimental aircraft and engines since 1985. I've seen many engines come and go.
I stand by my position. Getting more power equals more wear and less mechanical and detonation margins.
@@gmcjetpilot you're right, experimental allows for the testing of new technologies that can make aviation more safe in the long run but can also pose a risk in the testing phase. That being said, many technologies start off in experimental before making it to certified, and some don't because of the cost to certify. I wouldn't look at Badass, the dealer, I would look at Edge Performance for stats on their engines. You'll find they are extremely reliable. They set tolerances that have been perfected on a dyno in a state of the art manufacturing facility that can provide altitude testing.
Opinions are great, but when they're just based on your gut and not facts they can be dangerous. Imagine if we had the same outlook on the commercial jets you flew....maybe we'd still be flying on DC9s to get around. I'd say the higher horsepower turbine engines and modern avionics made things safer wouldn't you? But I bet their were people saying the same thing when they were introduced.
No disrespect. But a turbo fan ran off the back of the crank (super charger) seems some much simpler. What 140 HP with original carbs? No cold air box. No new 4 into 1 modified exhaust pipes. No different muffler. No big heavy inner cooler. No running intake pipes all the way around the engine. EVER HEARD OF FRICTION LOSS FROM EXCESSIVE SURFACE AREA?
Fan off the back of engine. Separate and away from exhaust. No inner cooler. No turbo lag. Just 12" of pipe straight back in.............. Simple. Compact. Lighter. Hell of a lot cheaper
Then do it!
Can you imagine how unreliable this will be? The MTBF on a standard Rotax is already on the low end of the legancy engines; stuff another 50% of power into it and watch the number of emergency landings grow even further.
Edge from Norway has been doing this for a long time ... they do a whole bunch to the internals like weld the crank where the throws are pressed together ... At first blush you would think this .... except Edge quality is extreme and its not their first kick at the can ... but ... its still not for me either ... pioneers take the arrows .... as for TBO I doubt they care if its 500 hours ... they are out to win competitions not run a commuter line
I'd be interested to know your sources. Rotax engines in the CTLS's I fly have been getting considerably over 2000 TBO. An engine just removed from service for a new engine had 3500 hours since overhaul. The A&P who services the aircraft at my flying club raves about Rotax reliability.
@@KingGroupProductions I flew my 912S for 2300 hours before opting for a new one, after selling the old engine for a good price. NO issues whatsoever, about 1/4 qt oil consumption between 50 hour changes (try that with a legacy engine) and on average, less then 4 GPH fuel burn (try that also with a legacy engine). Not one burp or hiccup the entire time, and I only did a fraction of the factory mandated maintenance! Car Quest oil filters, never changed 'the rubber", changed the plugs about every 500 hours, the only thing I did do was change the oil religiously every 50 hours, +- 20 hours.
I'm assuming that the rotax loses its certification with such a mod so if going experimental anyway I would think non aviation engines would be interesting. Keeping the gearbox issue in mind though. Maybe the boxer engine out of a totalled porsche 911 or boxster S if that's possible.
Regarding stol, because you are looking for extreme low speed take off I think you want to look to a different configuration than the classic forward aligned aircraft. You could skip directly to zero distance take off or deep angled wing with the trailing edge near the ground and two engines blowing air under the wing to fly right away on ground effect cushions.
STOL Drags. When he asked why HP man I saw that coming.
This seems like a whole lot of trouble to go through when one could probably use a UL, Titan or other power plant to accomplish the same objective. Just because one can dosen't mean one should.
Bill R Or just use a stock 915 iS.
Significantly lighter than the titan. Power to weight ratio is the game. And the 912sti is more power than the 915 and maybe 35 or more pounds lighter installed