----- Original Message -----
From: "Russell Duffy" <13brv3@bellsouth.net>
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Sent: Saturday, April 24, 2004 10:36 AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: 2.85 redrive



I'm doing it!  While laying in bed last night, the solution hit me.  It's so
simple that most of you probably assumed that I ruled it out for some
reason.

All I have to do is shim the engine mount to the right as we discussed
before, but rather than let this screw up the relationship between the
engine and cowl, I'll move the cowl with the engine.  All I have to do is
extend the rear edge of the cowl on the left side about 3/4", and refit it
to the fuselage.  Fortunately, I only have it attached with temporary #8
screws, rather than the eventual fasteners.  I'll take a close look at this
today, and take some measurements to make sure it's going to be as
relatively painless as I think.

The only negatives are the fact that the cowl might look a little crooked,
and the gear will be slightly misaligned with the fuselage.  I'm not sure
too many people would notice the slightly crooked cowl, and I can't imagine
1.5 degrees of misalignment being a huge problem with the gear.  It might
even work in my favor for correcting torque.

Now, this won't happen overnight, and in fact, I'm still very anxious to get
Tracy's old prop to do some testing.  Primarily, his prop gives me the
ability to directly compare my engine's performance to his, which is pretty
much the gold standard.  That will allow me to get an intake that works
pretty well.  Once that's complete, I'll convert to the new drive.  In the
mean time, it takes a few months to get a prop from Performance props
anyway, and Tracy's next -C drive production is scheduled for June.

Hey Tracy, or Ed- What's the story on converting a drive from B to C?
Unless there's a huge savings, I'd probably rather just get a new drive
anyway.

Cheers,
Rusty (at this rate my Airbike will never get new wings)

Sounds like a plan, Rusty.

I only have an estimate from Tracy on converting from B to C, and since it
is very preliminary, I do not feel I can divulge it. You can bet Tracy's
price will be reasonable and  a meaningful savings over a new drive
otherwise there is no point in offering it.  After he finishes converting
mine, I am certain he will have a much better feel for the cost and whether
it makes economic sense

Ed

Ed Anderson
RV-6A N494BW Rotary Powered
Matthews, NC.