REFLECTOR: A question about engines

[Jim Sower]

<... I’m not committed to any particular one at this point ...>
Keep that thought. The alternative powerplant sector is evolving 
incredibly fast ... Auto conversions with FWF packages available now and 
more coming on line it seems like every month. Diesels. The whole lot. 
For my part, I look at my cutting edge airplane and have to wonder why 
it should be powered by an engine that every was of technology on it was 
in place, stable and mature the day I was born (1938).

<... Is there a single source for information on the tradeoffs between 
Continentals, Lycomings, Chevy’s, Subarus, Mazda’s, etc? ...>
No.

Deciding on an engine at this juncture has all of the intellectual 
allure of buying todays cutting edge GPS system and sitting it on the 
shelf for 3 or 4 years before you install it. You have years before you 
have to make a decision on an engine. Wait until you need it, perhaps 
monitoring progress in the industry, and then make an /informed/ 
decision. The facts of the matter today will abaolutely NOT be still 
true and relevant four years from now.

Just do what's right in front of you for a while ... Jim S.


Randy Wharton wrote:

> I bought my XL kit last summer after taking the company XL-5 for a 
> spin and loving it. 271TC has a Continental 550 on it, and I’ve just 
> kind of planned on putting the same on mine. But I’m really getting 
> daunted by the $40-45000 price tag, especially when I hear guys 
> talking about Chevy V8s, Subaru’s etc, even though I know that water 
> cooling adds a new level of complexity, not to mention weight to the 
> plane.
>
> I know that if I throw the question out there about what people 
> recommend, I’m going to get a ton of different answers, because 
> everyone probably loves the powerplant they have, but I’m not 
> committed to any particular one at this point. I’m quite sure that the 
> Conti 550 is the premier powerplant, assuming that a Conti 550 is in 
> the budget, but what I haven’t found is a source (pamphlet or article, 
> or something like that) that lays out the pros and cons . As with any 
> engineering task, there are advantages and disadvantages that have to 
> be weighed according to how the engineer wants to play the game, and 
> much of it comes down to a personal choice.
>
> Is there a single source for information on the tradeoffs between 
> Continentals, Lycomings, Chevy’s, Subarus, Mazda’s, etc? I’m guessing 
> probably not. But in any case, I’d welcome a discussion on what the 
> considerations are for various options. I know it’s a nebulous 
> question, so I’m ready for a massive download of information. Thanks!
>
> Randy Wharton
>
> N248RB XL-RG
>
> http://clik.to/velocity
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>_______________________________________________
>To change your email address, visit http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector
>
>Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
>user:pw = tvbf:jamaicangoose
>Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
>Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html
>