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If it's a 440A (most common one used on aircraft), the full gasket set is Winderosa Part Number 711048. The top end set is 710048. I usually buy them from Manufacturers Supply mfgsupply.com

Heat is your friend when pulling things off the tapered shaft. Heat expands the gear or pulley so it releases it's grip on the shaft. Be prepared for it to pop off with a bang and don't stand in front of it. A pneumatic impact wrench really helps getting the bolt off. I think the Rotax manual...

Have you tried running it with the kill switch disconnected to eliminate the possibility of a partial short in the ignition switch? You'd need to work out a way to shut it off, which can be dangerous with a spinning prop nearby. I once had an ignition switch go bad and the first sign was an...

The Wright Flyer generated 90 pounds of thrust from 12 hp. The key to low-speed efficiency is big props (over 8 feet in diameter on the Flyer) turning slowly. To be efficient, ducted fans need fairly tight clearances between the duct and the blade tips. Maintaining those tight clearances on a...

I once ran a free-air Rotax 277 on it for about 30 hours with no problems. It was the only way I could keep the temps in range on that engine. I did notice the yellow color on the piston crown after running 100 LL. I now only run it occasionally when I have to fill up at an airport to get back...

The Sky Pup is indeed a well designed airplane and it flies just fine without ailerons. I flew with Steve Wood back in the early 1980's when he and his partners originally designed and flew the prototype, originally dubbed the "Blue Light Special" because it was made from blue foam. I recall...

If you watch the EGT, you can see it increase at a partial power descent. Different engine / prop combinations have different critical throttle ranges, but all of them I've ever seen are just fine descending at idle, because as you mention, the idle mixture is set very rich. There might be a...

The Gypsy was made of aluminum rather than wood and it had ailerons. A friend of mine built and flew one back in the 80's. He used a Rotax 277 instead of the Chotia and it flew remarkably well. I always liked the looks of it.

The Chotia engine was a work in progress. I flew one for over 50 hours and it was about as reliable as the chain-saw and go-kart engines that were the norm back in the early days. That's not saying much. Off-field landings were to be expected. The climb rate on the Chotia powered Weedhopper was...

Weedhopper prop diameter is somewhat limited by ground clearance but also by prop tip speed. I don't recall what the RPM of the engine was but it is a direct drive, so the prop turns a lot faster than on reduction drive engines. When the prop tips approach 85% of the speed of sound, the prop...

Might be an old Hegar. They made cog belt drives back in the 80's as I recall, although I don't recall I ever saw one on a 277. Here's some info that you might find relevant / interesting http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=371760 One thing to be mindful of. Most (maybe all?) 277...

One caution about compression test. If you've got electronic ignition, it's a good idea to ground the plug leads during compression test as damage can occur to the ignition system if it fires without a ground. You can just keep the ignition switch in the off position and it should be OK but I...

Rotax seals are made of some kind of material that goes bad with age, not hours of use. There are more modern materials, like viton, that will last for decades but these aren't what you get when you order the standard parts from aircraft or snowmobile suppliers. The center crank seal is a...

There are two different stators for Kawasaki engines that are only about 0.010 difference in diameter. I've never learned how to tell the difference between them except that the 'big' stator won't fit in a 'small' flywheel. It will bolt up to the engine just fine, and you can even get the...

I don't know what type of plastic it is, but if it's HDPE (like many kayaks are made of) it can be repaired by 'welding' with heat and HDPE rod or sheet. http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html

The recommended max RPM for the 277 and most other air cooled Rotax 2 strokes is 6250. It sounds like you are a little over-propped, but not bad. Better to run with more load on the engine so long as your CHT is in the green. I melted pistons in two different 277 engines by being under-propped...

I learned a lot about plugs and jetting from this web site which is no longer up, but I copied it to a PDF.

Is your fuel tank venting properly? An unvented tank will run for quite awhile before the vacuum slowly builds up and prevents fuel from reaching the engine. A collapsed squeeze bulb (sucked in by the vacuum) is a dead giveaway for a poorly venting tank.

The ignition and the CHT both require a ground, so if you lost the ground, the CHT would fail to read but the engine would still run. The ignition switch closes the circuit to ground to kill the engine. If there is no ground, the circuit is open and the engine still runs. If you remove the...

Does it have a gearbox? If so, worn out spring washers in the gearbox can make for a rough idle, particularly if you've got a heavy prop, like a Warp Drive. I keep my 377 idling above 2000 just to ease the stress on the gearbox.