Airboat Lycoming's

Can anyone tell me the difference between the motors on airboats and
the motors in airplanes?
I notice quite a few airboat engines at 1/4 of the price of airplane
engines. I figure if your going to tear down and rebuild anyway, why
spend the extra cash? So far the only difference I can tell is the
certification which brings the cost up.
Lou

In article .com,
"Lou" wrote:

Can anyone tell me the difference between the motors on airboats and
the motors in airplanes?
I notice quite a few airboat engines at 1/4 of the price of airplane
engines. I figure if your going to tear down and rebuild anyway, why
spend the extra cash? So far the only difference I can tell is the
certification which brings the cost up.
Lou

They are very often recovered from wrecked aircraft and MAY have
significant parts (cranks, cams, cylinders, etc.) that are out of
airworthy tolerances.

It is a case of caveat emptor.

--
Remve "_" from email to reply to me personally.

Can anyone tell me the difference between the motors on airboats and
the motors in airplanes?
I notice quite a few airboat engines at 1/4 of the price of airplane
engines. I figure if your going to tear down and rebuild anyway, why
spend the extra cash? So far the only difference I can tell is the
certification which brings the cost up.

The big question is, do they still have the dataplate?

In article ,
john smith wrote:

Can anyone tell me the difference between the motors on airboats and
the motors in airplanes?
I notice quite a few airboat engines at 1/4 of the price of airplane
engines. I figure if your going to tear down and rebuild anyway, why
spend the extra cash? So far the only difference I can tell is the
certification which brings the cost up.

The big question is, do they still have the dataplate?

They may -- or they may not -- there is no requirement for a dataplate
on an airboat engine!

--
Remve "_" from email to reply to me personally.

They may -- or they may not -- there is no requirement for a dataplate
on an airboat engine!
I'm guessing that John Smith is asking because the dataplate might be
the difference between being able to have it remanned and be certified
vs. just being another non-certified engine. Kinda like home
'remodels' where they knock down everything but one interior wall, then
build a whole new house around it. By keeping that one well documented
wall original, the builder avoids the tax consequences of construction
a whole new building vs. just 'fixing up' the existing.

In article .com,
"Ben Hallert" wrote:

They may -- or they may not -- there is no requirement for a dataplate
on an airboat engine!
I'm guessing that John Smith is asking because the dataplate might be
the difference between being able to have it remanned and be certified
vs. just being another non-certified engine. Kinda like home
'remodels' where they knock down everything but one interior wall, then
build a whole new house around it. By keeping that one well documented
wall original, the builder avoids the tax consequences of construction
a whole new building vs. just 'fixing up' the existing.

I forgot to mention that some Lycomings have the S/N stamped on the
crankcase, in addition to the data plate.

--
Remve "_" from email to reply to me personally.

I guess what I'm curious about is, if your going to tear down and
rebuild the entire engine, why not buy one of these airboat motors?

Hi Lou,

I'll rephrase what I think John Smith was suggesting another way:
Buying an airboat Lycoming for your airplane is probably fine, and if
it has the dataplate, it might even be a good investment because you'll
be able to use it in certified engines so it'll have higher resale
value.

John, if I'm putting words in your mouth, let me know.

Regards,

Ben Hallert

Ben Hallert wrote:
Hi Lou,

I'll rephrase what I think John Smith was suggesting another way:
Buying an airboat Lycoming for your airplane is probably fine, and if
it has the dataplate, it might even be a good investment because you'll
be able to use it in certified engines so it'll have higher resale
value.

John, if I'm putting words in your mouth, let me know.

Regards,

Ben Hallert

Thanks, I see quite a bit of airboat motors for sale at 1/4 of the
price of aircraft. I plan on rebuilding anyway, so I figure why not?

Lou

"Lou" wrote in message Thanks, I see quite a bit of airboat motors for
sale at 1/4 of the
price of aircraft. I plan on rebuilding anyway, so I figure why not?

Keep in mind that airboaters are not restricted to approved means of
repairing things. For example, airboaters can fill a cylinder head crack
with silver solder. That works for a while and then they radio for a tow
back to the docks. Would you have the same option of getting a tow if you
were flying behind that crack? Airboaters can install and operate propellers
that have problematic harmonic vibrations. The accumulated fatigue cycles on
the crankshaft may not lead to failure until you are flying behind that
crack. An airboater can limp home on 3 cylinders. Can you? It may be a good
bargain, but do yourself a favor and do a teardown.

D.