The R2800 was launched in 2000 and once the general public's excitement abated a degree or so we found, over a period of the ensuing years, a call for a larger engine.

With all our efforts concentrated on getting the R2800 off the ground there was little time left for the development of any new engine.

As the popularity and acceptance of the R2800 grew we started to entertain the idea of developing a 9 cylinder engine to accommodate a large group of people who indicated that their need for such an engine was great. I'm talking of people who commenced building full scale WW1 craft like the Sopwith, Fokker DR1, Nieuport ...etc ... then there were the people building the Hatz Classic and the like.

The need was defined, but as I say in the Round Sounds Newsletter, there was a reluctance to go down the development path because, quite frankly, we were tired of being poor though paying Bank interest on loans which would inevitably be required.

Paul obviously had other ideas as over the 2003 Christmas break, without telling anyone, he produced the first set of design drawings.

What he produced now put us in a bit of a bind - the project was clearly viable but financing was an issue that needed to be addressed so it all went to the back burner.

Knowledge of the existence of the design work done by Paul started too filtered out. Before long several clients put their hand up in firm commitment towards purchasing an engine.

However, though 2 engines relieved some of our reluctance to proceed, it was not quite sufficient to provide the elbow room we needed. So it was that we settled on the scheme as outlined in the Newsletter and waited to see what would follow.

Surprisingly, by early January we had 4 commitments. Confident that the 5th order would fall into place before the conclusion of the limited production run, Rotec commenced the first parts production on the 18th of January 2005. To date everything is going to schedule.

Progress was on target all the way so far with the first run up on the 4th of June 2005; here is how it was reported:

R3600 9cyl (prototype) ran for the first time today! Its been enjoyable working on this project and we now have all the parts for 6x R36 engines (inc. 1 spare) but we assembled just one for bench testing, and it started pretty much first hit, it has duel Hall electronic ignition. Sounds fantastic and you can just imagine the power potential.

The excitement level is high!

Guess a bit of history has just occurred.

In a nutshell - In essence the R3600 is a R2800 with 2 additional pots.

• Diameter = 850mm (33.46") its 40mm larger than the diameter of the R2800
• Depth the same as the R2800 = 640mm (25.2")
• Modified prop hub to accommodate the additional power and torque.
• Weight has been established. Including all bolt on accessories and the dual exhaust collector ring the weight came in at 123Kg (270.6lbs)
• HP may be 150+HP (yet to be determined)
• Will have a 3:2 PSRU for additional torque (resulting in 150+HP of usable power when compared to the output of a "Flat" engine).

FAQ: Prop Diameter?

The max prop diameter being used in flight with a R2800 is a 83"diameter x 43" pitch. This is on Roman Weller's Sprint. The figures coming back show that the engine is not overloaded and the performance of the craft is beyond what Roman expected.

Our recommended prop diameter for the R2800 is 76" diam with a pitch of 55" - tho' looking at Roman's figures we might be a tad conservative.

Extrapolation would indicate that the R3600 will accommodate prop sizes up to 90" in diameter.

Current testing has established the current recommended props are as follows - these have been tested and proven to be a good all round starting props:

• 2 Blade 84" diameter x 67" pitch
• 3 Blade 68" diameter x 82" pitch
  
  

What comes as Standard with every R3600 Purchased:

• 1 x 40mm Bing Carburetor& Rubber Coupling and 2 x Hose Clamps
• 1 x Starter Motor & Nyloc M 10 Nuts
• 1 x Alternator and Alloy Spacer inc. Bolt, Nyloc nuts and Washers.
• 9 x Exhaust Stubs & 14 x Bolts & Washers
• 1 x Prop Washer
• 1 x Ignition Module & Heat Sink Cream
• 1 x 12 Volt Ignition Coil (Auto Style)
• 1 x Magneto Trigger (Solid State)
• 2 x Rotor Buttons (Ignition)
• 1 x Ignition Wiring Harness
• 1 x Oil Filter Block & Auto style filter
• 4 x Steel Engine Mount Cups (Weldable)
• 4 x Sets (8 pcs) Rubber Engine Cushions
• 4 x Engine Mount Nyloc M 10 Nuts
• 4 x Mount Plain Alloy Washers
• 1 x Operations and Service Manual
• Factory Direct Tech Support

Prop to be used on a full scale Nieuport 24: 94" diam x 67" pitch:

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Enjoy the pics, and please some feed back!

Sales & Business Relations: Rotec Admin

Technical: Paul Chernikeeff