Return-Path: Sender: "Marvin Kaye" To: lml@lancaironline.net Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 23:41:16 -0500 Message-ID: X-Original-Return-Path: Received: from [68.89.254.181] (HELO sdf1.mail.taturbo.com) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 4.3c3) with ESMTP id 828218 for lml@lancaironline.net; Mon, 28 Mar 2005 22:38:54 -0500 Received-SPF: none receiver=logan.com; client-ip=68.89.254.181; envelope-from=gwbraly@gami.com content-class: urn:content-classes:message MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft Exchange V6.0.6487.1 Subject: RE: [LML] Re: Alternative Engines X-Original-Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 21:38:23 -0600 X-Original-Message-ID: X-MS-Has-Attach: X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: Thread-Topic: [LML] Re: Alternative Engines Thread-Index: AcUzxs2kHa2zdivoTXSqToOdVsVQswARdAUQ From: "George Braly" X-Original-To: "Lancair Mailing List" =20 >> I believe there are other Lancair folks who are in the process of = installing V8s in their aircraft. Liquid cooling, aluminum block/heads, good HP = and BSFC figures, purchase/overhaul price is awesome. Lot of really good things = going for it, yet not much heard about. << Hope springs eternal on this issue. People have been trying to build a V-8 aircraft engine for general = aviation ever since the RR Merlin. =20 People keep forgetting that the typical TBO on the Merlin is about = 300-400 hours. There have been at least a dozen efforts in this regard. =20 Can you spell "Orenda" ??? 10's of Millions spent by the government of Canada. Huge engineering = effort over a number of years. If you want to do this, you really need an inverted V-8, with 600 to = 800 c.i., operating at 2700 RPM without a gear box, direct drive. With = the CAM profiles tweaked to cause the torque curve to peak around 2400 = to 2500 RPM. Even then, the cooling (liquid) creates lots of problems = the way it is traditionally done. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has ever made one of these engines = that had an all up weight that was as light as a TCM IO-550 on a hp/lb = engine weight basis. If you hang a gear box and boost the HP with RPM, then you pay a = weight/complexity/reliability penalty for the gear box - - and you take = a large hit on the BSFC. As a not exact example, but one with a gear box, think of the Porsche = Mooney engine. BSFC was only 0.425 - - - not good for the world's = finest group of engine engineers.=20 It was heavier than an IO-360 and less efficient. The V-8 - aircraft engine concepts always encounter (too late) a lot of = reality that is never dealt with realistically on the front end. I have a design for a new generation (not a V-8 configuration) of = aircraft piston engines, that pretty much resolves all of these issues. = I just don't have a few million bucks to get it built, tested, and = approved. Regards, George --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.843 / Virus Database: 573 - Release Date: 1/24/2005 =20