NEW! Most Affordable Aircraft Engine! ZD Zongshen [FULL INTERVIEW] Clone Wars Rotax Vs. ZD CKD Aero

Congratulations! You manage to produce an entire video about the new most affordable aircraft engine without actually mentioning the price!

I’ve worked at an FBO and built a half dozen or so engines, mostly IO-470 & 520s. Silicone (RTV) is a big no-no. It softens in hot oil and the goobers can end up in the oil passages. That is a non starter for me.

I was originally very sceptical of this engine. We have a Rotax engine shop and when I bought the first Zonsen engine I had it stripped down to the crank and check the quality and tolerances as far as possible. With the engine stripped, you cannot see any difference between this engine and a Rotax engine. The parts were to the decimal the same size and extremely high quality. I reassembled the engine, slap a KFA turbo on it and am now happily flying behind a 135hp KFA version in my KFA Explorer. The engine is extremely smooth and performs flawless. From a mechanical perspective there is no reason for me to doubt that this one will be just as good and maybe even better than Rotax. When I sell a standard Zonsen engine it comes with a 300hr or 24 month warrantee, which is better than Rotax. This company is massive and they manufacture engines for very well known car brands (high end German and some US cars) generators, motor cycles and much more, so you can criticise all you like but chances are that you are driving or have driven behind some of their engine in well known cars, bikes, lawnmowers etc etc. Some competition in the market can only be good for the consumer.

Parts availability in GA right now is killing it, not to mention quality. We dropped a well known after market IO-360 the school's 172 by 470 hours it was burning 1 quart an hour and had 10 to 40 psi on 3 cylinders, cracked figure 8 shaped exhaust guides & rocker faces that looked like the surface of the moon in addition to being crooked. Genuine Lycoming cylinders is almost a 1 year wait

Here in the UK, the saving vs the same Rotax is so small, it doesn’t make taking the risk worthwhile.

If we wanna keep flying even remotely accessible, we gonna have to start giving engines like this a much lore serious look.

Outstanding thank you sir!

a friend of mine had a Hirth F30 blow a crank on climb out. He was killed on impact. The investigation gave me a huge appreciation for metalurgy 101. Cheaper motors are just that. Use accordingly.

Good to see Zongshen make a small aircraft engine. I have owned a Zongshen motorcycle that was good and reliable. I also have a Rotax 582 on my ultralight that was way too expensive for what it is.

I watched your video with Matt. He paid $8k for his a year ago. Now they are up to almost $16k. Were they $10k or less I'd understand buying one. At 2/3 the cost of the real deal I'd pass. The line I found the most comical was that Rotax had no competition so now they are going to have to compete with their own design. Glad you are informing the public but I'll be watching on the sidelines for now.

22:11 Compared to EPDM rubber, silicone has around 15 times the permeability to water vapor, so you'd have check coolant levels and top off with water more often.

Good reporting! The cost of parts is what really is the downside of Rotax. Rotax cylinders, rings, pistons cost the same as certified Lycoming/Continental. That is why Rotax engines are never overhauled because the parts cost and the labor cost from Lockwood exceeds the cost of a new engine. Rebuilding.the gearbox (childs play for even an average experienced mechanic) costs $2,800 from Lockwood. Absolutely ridiculous for what amounts to be a simple non EPA compliant motorcycle engine. I hope Zongsen puts a serious dent in the Rotax customer base. I for sure will be buying their replacement parts.

Competition is always good for consumers

Rtv around the fuel pump scares the shit outta me. Rtv everywhere seems like a hack job and a pita when something has to come apart.

Looking at current prices the delta isn't as much as I expected. I've used their ATV clones and they haven't ever given me an issue, the carbs have they always gum up faster, I'm not sure if its a material thing or what... the good news on the Gy6/atv is you just put your hand over the intake and crank it and it will usually open up the jets and run. Would be curious to see if their carbs used here have similar issues. 115hp is 10k cheaper and the 100 is 7k cheaper, nothing to sneeze at but... now if they can find other uses (those little cars or something) to increase volume of these types of engines it might pull the cost down for both rotax and zd. The market needs affordable engines so hopefully these have a impact. The 912/914 market is large (in aviation terms), and the IO540 is probably the next popular... that is an area that needs a good slot in replacement as most of the 4 place experimental use it and the price has become preventative for many.

-It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.

If you want to know about the engine jump to 15 minutes and you will get little. The rest is all "We had a question online that I thought we would ask and now is good time to do that ......." and general word salads. It is a 100% Rotax 912 clone. That is about all. 500 hour warrantee.

Hi Brian, as an alternative to the Rotax, could you please do a review of the Aeromomentum aircraft engine. don’t hear much about them. It would be interesting to hear what they like.

"I think the Zongshen is a very good item, A : Complex, compact, high performance engine due to regulated maintenance standards is always a plus for prolonged engine efficiency and function. I support Zongshen(ZD-CkD Aero.)👍

I see details like 17:46 lumpy sealant oozing out of a valve cover & the fuel pump & 20:28 bad welds on the exhaust showing the usual Chinese quality I've come to expect. My opinion on the painted castings is it will retain heat & is likely a sealant for casting flaws. I'm ok-ish with Chinese junk powering my lawn mower or weed eater but I'm standing on the ground when they take a dump! We don't make much here anymore because businesses push "Fine China" products on us for higher profits while China's society promotes cutting corners on quality for profit.