Are You Flying a "Beater?"

Jay Honeck wrote:
You aircraft is supposed to be able to reach red-line RPM at full throttle.
If it's not, your prop is misadjusted, or something is up with your engine.

That's absolutely not true. On a fixed pitch aircraft, depending on what
pitch you have installed (climb prop vs cruise prop), it's more than
possible to reach or exceed redline on the tach. My Powerflow exhaust
just makes that easier.

--- Jay

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Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
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Jay Honeck wrote:
One caveat: This is with a constant-speed prop. Fixed pitch props may be
different.

You should have said that to begin with.



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Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
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Dylan Smith wrote:
I'd agree with above redline, but *at* redline? The majority of aircraft
engines are certified (and I would dare say designed) to be run
continuously at max rated power, which is usually achieved at redline
RPM and sea level pressure. There are one or two exceptions you'll find
in lower horsepower aircraft (such as the turbocharged Rotax engines,
which incidentally sound very odd to fly behind if you're used to a
lumbering old O-320 - the 912S is geared and you're cruising with the
engine running at something like 5400 RPM)

Switch from 150hp pistons to 160hp pistons, and throw on a Powerflow
exhaust, and you'll be able to exceed it. Most people have their prop
repitched to be more of a cruise prop, but that's not neccesarily
required (it's not on my AMR&D STC). For me, I repitched slightly, but
wanted to keep the impressive climb (for a 140) that I aquired from the
mod.


--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

Jay Honeck wrote:
My degree is significant because we're trained to analyze technical issues
far better than some dumb ass english major.
Your degree -- or any degree, for that matter -- pales into insignificance
five years after graduating from college. What matters here is airplane
experience.

Ah, but I always mention my years of experience working on airplanes,
which also far exceeds yours.


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Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

Jay, I concur with your statement. Will you agree with this one? "Other
considerations aside, it's safer to not operate near red line."

Smarter? Yes.

Safer? If so, immeasurably so.

At full throttle your engine wears somewhat faster, and you spend more $$$
on gas when running near redline. (Of course, on the other hand, you get
there faster, so you're running your engine for less time, total.)

I submit that doing so is not "unsafe," or the incredibly anal FAA would
have already forced the manufacturers to set our redlines even LOWER than
they already are.

As evidence, just watch the training fleet that circles my hotel every day,
hour after hour. From full throttle, to idle, to full throttle, to idle,
day after day, for months and years on end. THAT is 100 times harder on
your engine than simply running it for an hour at full throttle, yet I don't
see trainers falling out of the sky.

Our engines, as old and technologically outdated as they are, are incredibly
reliable, at least partly because they are designed to turn very slowly
(relatively speaking) -- even at full throttle.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Dylan Smith" wrote in message
...
The only plane I've flown where that wasn't the case is a turbocharged
Europa with the Rotax 912S engine.

914?

Paul

Disclaimer: I'm going back to my high school drag racing days here, so if
I'm way off, please let me know...

Wouldn't mods such as pistons and exhaust systems possibly result in a
change in the engines theoretical redline?

If so, and if one wanted absolute accuracy, would it not be necessary to
recalculate the redline?

I seriously doubt that you would see a significant change in redline, or
that it would have much impact, but it would seem that if you are making a
modification that affects redline you would not be able to use redline to
benchmark the changes without a recalculation.

Of course, you could simply use the "redline" on the tach, but that might or
might not be valid...

"Jay Masino" wrote in message
...
Dylan Smith wrote:
I'd agree with above redline, but *at* redline? The majority of aircraft
engines are certified (and I would dare say designed) to be run
continuously at max rated power, which is usually achieved at redline
RPM and sea level pressure. There are one or two exceptions you'll find
in lower horsepower aircraft (such as the turbocharged Rotax engines,
which incidentally sound very odd to fly behind if you're used to a
lumbering old O-320 - the 912S is geared and you're cruising with the
engine running at something like 5400 RPM)

Switch from 150hp pistons to 160hp pistons, and throw on a Powerflow
exhaust, and you'll be able to exceed it. Most people have their prop
repitched to be more of a cruise prop, but that's not neccesarily
required (it's not on my AMR&D STC). For me, I repitched slightly, but
wanted to keep the impressive climb (for a 140) that I aquired from the
mod.


--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

"Nomen Nescio" ] wrote in message
...
A car engine at max output will fry in 10 - 15 minutes 'cause it's not
really built
for sustained output.

Don't know why this is often quoted on here. Here in Europe we
have lots of cars with small engines and (in the old days) 4 speed
boxes that in order to maintain motorway cruising speeds had to
be driven at high RPM and full throttle. I drove my old Ford
Fiesta at full throttle for hours at a time up and down motorways
in 4th gear for nigh on 10 years.

Paul

Blanche wrote
Since when is upholstery safety critical? Personally, I consider it
the last thing to worry about.

Obviously you've never spent any length of time flying in seats with no
padding under or behind you, and didn't mind the bruise in the shape
of the metal frame remaining on your lower anatomy for 3 days.

Or perhaps my lower anatomy is quite adequately padded as is, with no
need to resort to artificial padding.

Michael

Bill Denton wrote:
Wouldn't mods such as pistons and exhaust systems possibly result in a
change in the engines theoretical redline?

I suspect the piston change "might" chage a tiny amount, although other
160hp O-320s still have the 2700 RPM redline. I doubt the exhaust would
change it. As others have said, the redline would be more related to
engine tolerances and balance, as well as valve train design (spring
tension). None of those things change with the piston or exhaust change.


--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com