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In 2004 Lost
Hill entered the market by producing an HKS engine mount which allowed
installation of the engine onto the Skystar Kitfox line of aircraft.
Since that time Lost Hill has designed mounts for the T
Bird, the Rans S-4, and S-7. This year they unveiled mounts for the Quad
City Challenger light sport aircraft.
About 3 weeks before Airventure 2005 a customer who owned a
1996 model long wing Quad City Challenger approached Lost Hill to do an HKS engine
mount for his craft.
The kit requires the main root rube to be shortened
slightly to
allow installation into the root tube of the engine mounting yoke. Also the
rear spars have to be trimmed slightly. Lost Hill supplies all of the
necessary components to upgrade to the HKS engine, including new aileron
control arms, in their mounting kit plus concise information on the
modifications necessary. The mounting kits mounts right up to the original
Challenger root tube with just three bolts.
The HKS engine oil reservoir tank is located in the area
directly in front of the engine under the wing, with access via an access
panel. Lost Hill also moves the CDI unit, electrical system and fuel pump
into this area.
The exhaust system and oil cooler are mounted under the
engine. The HKS Challenger motor mount is available in kit form or can be
installed at by Lost Hill at their location.
For customers just wanting the mount the kit sells for
$600.00, if the mount is purchased with an engine from Lost Hill the price
is $400.00
Lost Hill reports a cruise speed on the HKS Challenger of
75 mph at 5400 rpm. Climb rate is estimated to be in the 500 feet per
minute range with a fuel burn of 2.5 gallons per hour.
Currently the company is working on HKS engine mounts for
the Hornet and Rans 6 ES. |
