REFLECTOR: Running without prop

[Brian Michalk]

Okay, I'll jump in here.

The maximum torque delivered by a power pulse is going to be determined 
by the speed of the charge burn rate.  This has a lot to do with the 
compression ratio.  A high compression ratio is going to deliver a 
higher burn rate.  Take a small engine and run it at 5:1 CR, it will 
probably do fine at lower RPM's.  It also makes it easier to start.

This is also related to the discussion on the IVO prop used on big 4 
cylinders.  The four cylinder delivers a large power pulse in a short 
time.  This has to be taken in context with the RPM.  Kurt's V6 does 
have a redrive, but what it really does is converts torque for RPM.  The 
power pulse on Kurt's V now takes twice as long as it would have, if the 
power was identical without the redrive.

What I wonder, is if one took the rotational inertia of the MT, and 
duplicated it by adding a plate to the IVO to increase the rotational 
inertia, would the IVO still fail?  There's no question that the pulses 
on the IO360 are larger than on the Franklin.  Maybe increasing the 
inertia of the system could reduce the negative torque pulses?

Lots of cool ideas that could only be tested with instrumentation.  I 
wish I had time and money on my hands to do instrumentation like this.  
It would be a lot of fun.

Alex Balic wrote:
> The magneto structure/flywheel is sufficient to run the small engines- it is
> enough flywheel for a single cylinder- and it is a little heavier than you
> think- it is not straight aluminum- it has iron magnets molded into it.
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