For years — no, make that decades — numerous pilots of light aircraft have told me the Rotax 503 was their favorite two-stroke engine.
These days, it’s much more likely a pilot will go on about how great the Rotax 912 is. Yes, some grumble about the purchase price, the replacement parts cost, or the cost of an overhaul, but I’d expect to hear such groaning about almost any aviation product. Contrasting a few negative opinions is an entire world of pilots who are intensely loyal backers of the 9-series engines.
Around the planet, I have identified more than 66,000 light aircraft