Reviving Savannah ZU-EJS Project

 

Savannah ZU-EJS started live with a Subaru converted engine. I believe it flew with this engine but I never saw it fly like that. Apparently it flew ok, if a little underpowered till the propeller (Locally made ground adjustable) threw a blade on take-off. After replacing the prop with a wood prop the engine was never happy again. Initially it had a timing problem, probably caused by the vibration when the prop threw a blade and would not start at all.
 

The original engine installation.

With a lot of fiddling Alex Rudd finally managed to get it running again.
 

Alex getting it running.

Once the engine was running again a lot of experimentation followed with the prop but the engine/prop combination never produced enough power to fly the plane again, a sad state of affairs!
 

The plane being taxied around at Rhino Park.

Johan, the owner of the plane was getting very despondent, he wanted to fly, he still had to get his license so all this was just preventing him from getting airborne.

Ok, now I can hear the question "What do you have to do with this lot Mr Photographer?"

I have been watching all of this at a distance, actually not much of a distance after the plane moved from Kittyhawk into one of my hangars at Rhino Park. I even tried the plane on for size once!

See, my 1.95m fits nicely into the Savannah!

I have always considered the Savannah good value for money and a great fun plane, often when I was flying somewhere I looked down at a little bush strip or open piece of ground thinking I would love to land there, if only I had a nice STOL plane like a Savannah!

Well, I had a plan, one afternoon, over a few beers, Johan and myself made a deal, the Savannah will get a nice 0 hour Rotax 912EX (I happen to have one "spare") and I will become a partner in the plane. Now the fun started!

The first thing to do was to rip out the Subaru (or "boat anchor" as a friend called it). We needed to find out if the engine mount on the plane was purpose build for the Subaru or if it was just modified from the original.
 

The plane with the Subaru removed, the ugly radiator scoop underneath the plane still needs to be removed at this point.

We were happy to see that the engine mount was the standard one with only one plate changed from the Rotax installation. All we had to do was replace the plate with one suitable for a 912. Easier said than done....

The (very helpful) local agent did not have stock of these plates. We then decided to have the plates made locally but nowhere in the building instructions could I find a drawing or dimensions for the plates. I mailed the Savannah factory in Italy but they never replied! Eventually I managed to find the dimensions after looking at numerous photos and measuring the plates on a flying plane. With the help of Andre (who runs the workshop at Rhino Park) we finally managed to have 2 plates made, there was hope.

While all this was happening I went ahead and did a conversion onto the Savannah with Fred at Springs. It went well, it must be the easiest plane to fly I have ever flown. Now I was really excited, I want to fly the baby!

Johan and myself decided we need to set a target to get the plane flying, the decision was made to try an get it ready for the annual "Bush Pilots Fly-inn" run by CC at Barberton. Maybe a bit ambitious but worth a try.

Other than the engine transplant we also needed to do some work on the instrument panel, we needed to replace some of the engine instruments and install the IC-210 radio. A few small fixes, like a door nor closing correctly also had to be done.

The instruments panel as it was. The "out of order" instruments will now work again as they were intended to be Rotax instruments from the factory. We will replace the instrument panel with a nice new one made out of carbon fiber.

A few more photos showing progress we made this weekend.

With the Help of Andre, Theo and "Sailor" we managed to match up the engine to the mounting plates and drill the holes. We had to ensure the height of the engine and the thrust lines were correct before final drilling of the plates.

Lowering the engine onto the mounting plates for the first time to see if everything would fit.



The team working on the engine, thanks for the help guys!!
 

Before we started installing the engine we also checked a few things on the engine to make sure all was well, we flushed the cooling system and opened the water pump to check for corrosion but fortunately all was well.

Almost in position, the 2 plates that caused all the trouble can be seen below the engine.



In the cowling! What a happy sight!

Now we still have lots of electrical connections to make. We need to mount the radiators and reroute some of the piping. The exhaust system must still be modified and mounted. Lots of small things to do and as you all know these small things take the most time.

Warp Drive prop installed.

We could not resist mounting the 3 bladed Warp Drive prop, now the plane is starting to look like it could fly!

Burning the midnight oil!

Even after a warm day it is amazing how cold a hangar can become at night. With the engine mounted now we need to start on the electrics.

Regulator and starter solenoid mounted

Funny how even small jobs end up taking lots of time and effort. The regulator and starter solenoid has now been mounted to the firewall. New power cables had to be made with lugs soldered on. To ensure a good earth we also installed additional earth straps not just depending on the metal frame of the plane.

Engine probe wires and starter power cables being routed.

Next we need to mount the oil reservoir, for that we need to make new brackets as the ones I have won't allow enough clearance from the firewall. Time to try out Andre's new TIG welder!

Then it is time to build a new exhaust system, a major job, currently I am looking for a person or company who would be prepared to come out to the flying field to do it on the plane, that way we can ensure that it is done professionally. Then the wiring must be completed to the instruments and the battery re-mounted. I have already removed the old battery from the tail of the aircraft along with lots of heavy copper cable.

Can't wait for the weekend to do some more work!

Another weekend gone, at least some work there was some progress on the project. It is amazing how much time even simple things can take. I think a lot of this is caused by having to manufacture many parts ourselves. Yes, the parts are all available from the factory via the local supplier BUT it will waste a lot of time. Parts are only imported into South Africa a few times a year and then shipped via container, it could take 6 months to get something......

Oil cooler installed

We needed t make 2 brackets to mount the oil cooler, not a major task but time consuming since the dimensions are not in the construction manual, so it was measure, make, measure modify till it fitted, well, it is done. Those inlet and outlet pipes still need to be replaced with 90 deg bent ones.

Oil reservoir

Because of the angle of the firewall and the re-enforcement strip at the top the standard oil reservoir clamps that I had did not fit, we ended up making an additional bracket out of aluminum and TIG welded it together, another job done. The oil pipes now need to be connected but first we need to source 90 deg elbows to fit to the oil cooler inlet and outlet. This is to ensure that the pipes are not subjected to sharp bends.

Water expansion bottle.

This was easy, the clamp I had fitted and there was a hole in the firewall, the only problem was clearance between the cap and the top cowling. It looks like it will be ok, the cowling was not available to check since some work was being done on it before it gets painted. Will check the fit as soon as it is back.

We should be getting the spares to service the carbs this week, the engine stood for a long time so it was decided to rather replace all rubbers and gaskets. Then the next task will be the water radiator, have made a few measurements and plans already to more brackets will be made. We also need to make an air duct (baffle) to guide some cool air to the oil radiator.

The major task of making the exhaust is still ahead, at the moment it looks like we will do it ourselves if I cannot find a company who would be prepared to do it for us in the next week or so.

We have also decided to completely re-do the instrument panel, the old one does not look nice and it contains instruments that will now be redundant. The radio (Icom A210) also needs to be mounted in the panel, currently it is hanging below the panel, NOT nice !