Thread: CTLS-Lite: "No oil or water thermostat (like CTsw)"

Picked this up from CTLS-Lite description. Can anybody from CT flyers comment on this - what does it mean from the pilots and mechanics point of view? Was it worh it in CTLS? (since CTSW apparently didn't have thermostats) ?

Also from CTLS-Lite: "No fuel flow computer, pressure indicators or senders" Does CTSW have that? Would you miss it if it wasn't there?

Thankks in advance,

Alex.

Alex,

I've flown in a few loaded CTLS's that are really cool and I've flown in a bare bones, no radio, no gps CTSW that is just as fun to fly.
Did I miss the extras when I flew the bare bones? Maybe.....but it gave me more time to look outside and enjoy the view, which is never a bad thing!

Alex,

I'd compare it a little bit to the auto industry. You can buy a Ford with hand windows or step up and get one with Electric roll ups. The LS-Lite is a step down version. Still a great flying airplane, just doesn't have all the "bells & whistles" options. None of the missing options will make the plane fly any better or worse, or get you there slower or faster, or take away or add to all the fun you're going to have flying this thing. What it will do is take less money out of your pocket book!

Hope that helps a little. There's a good description of the plane at www.flightdesignwest.com

Roger H

Thanks, guys!

I guess I just was not convinced that engine oil and coolant thermostats could/should be considered as "bells and whistles" from operational safety and reliability point of view - and wondering if CT flyers hold any opinions here.

I'd think w/o oil thermostat it would be hard if not impossible to maintain optimal oil temperature in different modes of flight and that can have an effect on engine wear/reliability and operational convinience (time to warm up? taping? overheating in flight? running too cold in flight?)

Do CTSW flyers end up installing thermostats themselves or they manage just fine w/o them?

("CTLS-Lite" starts looking like "crippled CTSW with paint, avionics etc. stripped" :) Leather chairs are optional... :) )

No water thermostat in my SW and had no oil thermostat for the first 90 hrs.
I'M happy to have the oil thermostat but don't really need it for th coolant
The only 'screen' I have is the 296 . I keep it simple....and light (670 lbs)

Originally Posted by tu16

Also from CTLS-Lite: "No fuel flow computer, pressure indicators or senders" Does CTSW have that? Would you miss it if it wasn't there?

I don't have any of those in my CTSW, and I don't miss it. No mixture to adjust, so fuel flow is for informational purposes only. Steam gauges are fine for VFR flying.

Thermostat would be nice if I lived in a colder climate, but it's not necessary here in TX. Electonic monitoring of oil press, temp, and CHT would be nice simply to have an alarm and trend monitoring.

Doug

"From operational safety and reliability point of view" a thermostat is bad news. It adds a single-point failure to the system. (I had a thermostate get stuck closed in my Chevy SS 396 some years back. My wife was driiving. Cooked the engine.)
That said, a thermostat is a simple mechanical device and I'm sure Flight Design picked a reliable unit whcih is unlike to fail.
But as others point out, its also uneccessary. Without it you just have to wait a bit longer for the engine to warm up.
Mike Koerner

The CTSW I fly has the Dynon EFIS. First thing on my "Before Take-off" checklist is oil temp 124deg. So obviously its important to have, especially if you want maximum life out your engine. However, I rent this plane and would be perfectly content not having any glass panels and just the gps if I was to buy one. I'm not a rich man..

I've owned three aircraft over eleven years and some 1,200 hours with Rotax engines. The aircraft have included certificated, experimental and ASTM compliant (CTLS) engines and only the CT had thermostat installations. I've found no difference in warm up times or operational temperatures with or without the thermostat. I still have to use oil cooler tape with air temps. below 40F. The thermostats are in the way and prolong engine maintenance and I worry about their failure with likely engine and/or aircraft damage. I spoke with Roger Lee during my last inspection about their removal and I intend to have this done if FD approves.