Last year, BRP decided to celebrate their Rotax brand by starting a contest to find the oldest certified Rotax engine still in use. They’ve now revealed the winner, Kenneth Gates from Colorado. He’s the proud owner of a Super Dimona powered by a Rotax 912 A certified engine. The engine, made in 1991, has served him well for 26 years.
In order to win the contest, the competitors not only had to own an aircraft with a Rotax engine but also had to provide copies of log books and their latest proof of maintenance. For wining the contest, Mr. Gates was able to enjoy a visit to the Rotax factory in Gunskirchen, Austria. The factory is famous for having manufactured over 175,000 engines during its 40-year existence. As part of the factory visit, travel expenses were paid for two, as well as two nights in a four-star hotel, and a welcome package.
Thoughts on the Trip
“We were very impressed by the efficient processes used at the Rotax factory and the customer-oriented attitude displayed by the management. Everyone is clearly very excited about continuous improvement and manufacturing the best products. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the people and places of the Wels/Gunskirchen area,” said Gates, a Colorado schoolteacher and ex US Air Force pilot with a 25-year long career.
“It was a pleasure to welcome in Austria the contest winner with his wife and to show them the place where their own aircraft engine was produced. Moreover, they did not only visit the aircraft engines production, they also were among the first to see the brand-new manufacturing area installed recently,” said Thomas Uhr, BPR-Powertrain Vice President.
As of now, there are approximately 27,000 active 4-stroke and 13,000 active 2-stroke Rotax engines hard at work in general aviation.
Featured Image: Andre Von Rooyen
