Appin crash Boxing Day
“..Mr Mitchell said 2022 had been one of the worst years on record for light plane fatalities, with 23 deadly crashes across Australia..”
There was a guy in Melbourne years back trying to fit a Lexus engine into a Comanche. Not sure how that panned out.
Numerous Subaru’s in Gyros and random aircraft such as the Foxcon Terrier. The Cobra Arrow was another that didn’t go so well too with a Subaru. Moorabbin housed a Glastar with Subaru engine also.
The latest trend is fitting used Kawasaki snow-mobile engines that rev to 8,000-9,000 rpm. They have a nice looking gearbox to achieve flight.
I love my stock 272hp 2.4L Subaru engine, however it’s fitted in my WRX and that’s where it should stay!
Numerous Subaru’s in Gyros and random aircraft such as the Foxcon Terrier. The Cobra Arrow was another that didn’t go so well too with a Subaru. Moorabbin housed a Glastar with Subaru engine also.
The latest trend is fitting used Kawasaki snow-mobile engines that rev to 8,000-9,000 rpm. They have a nice looking gearbox to achieve flight.
I love my stock 272hp 2.4L Subaru engine, however it’s fitted in my WRX and that’s where it should stay!
But then there was also 3 Mooney M20's that had Porsche engines in them. I'm unsure what happened to those as well?
Plenty of perfectly good homebuilts out there using air cooled VW and Corvair engines, but I have also seen some shockers, usually when bigger and more powerful auto engines are involved. I have seen a Lexus V8 used successfully in an aeroplane, but I'm not sure whether the supposed benefits would make up for all the extra weight and complexity. I think those conversions tend to be more of the 'because I can' variety.
Continuing the slight thread drift. I had a 300 horsepower car which chewed about 9 litres an hour. What is it about aero engines such as the lycomings that produce 180hp but chew 32 litres per hour. What is the engineering difference that causes this, and is that engineering difference what makes you guys think car engines should not be in aeroplanes ?
I know its thread drift but, if the Appin accident comes down to the donk, if i buy an aircraft in the future, engine choice will matter.
I know its thread drift but, if the Appin accident comes down to the donk, if i buy an aircraft in the future, engine choice will matter.
Hourly fuel consumption is determined largely by the amount of horsepower being used. I read somewhere, many moons ago, that a Holden Commodore, maintaining 100Km/hr, is using about 16HP. This is about 10% of the available engine power.
A typical air cooled aero engine is using about 70% of rated sea level engine power at normal cruise.
A typical air cooled aero engine is using about 70% of rated sea level engine power at normal cruise.
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My amateur guess is it's a combination of rusty drivers/flyers and higher levels of risk taking.
The rules are now so convoluted no one cares to follow them, that's if you can even understand or find a relevant line for what you are doing. When you make everything illegal you just get massive disobedience. The roads now are a good example, tight speed limits, fines for everything, but the state is no longer funding enough police to patrol so speeding is rife, crashes increasing, bad driving all over the place. Even the worst drivers get to know where the cameras are, everywhere else you could virtually do 200kph and no one would bat an eyelid. Almost daily on the freeways I get passed by a car moving at such pace it rocks my car, and I'm not driving slow either.
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Thanks for your input Geoff Thomas, I’m sure nobody realised that an experimental aircraft is not as safe as a 747.
Looks like Kathryn’s website is back up and running.
Looks like Kathryn’s website is back up and running.
Here's the difference in numbers between Lycoming and GM LS3 V8, used mostly for towing gliders.
https://www.etug.com.au/
I flew in one of these and it does feel more powerful with sound of a race car.
The real question is why Lycoming cost $80k vs $10k for V8.
https://www.etug.com.au/
I flew in one of these and it does feel more powerful with sound of a race car.
The real question is why Lycoming cost $80k vs $10k for V8.
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The Mooney Porsche engine was a certified engine with only 41 built during the late 80's and was the first long body Mooney. I believe Porsche ceased their support of the engine some years ago, however prior to this owners had the choice to convert the engine to a Continental IO-550, which also later resulted in the birth of the Mooney Ovation. I know of at least 2 original Porsche Mooneys that live at Essendon.
Last edited by Jenna Talia; 29th Dec 2022 at 12:11.
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The real question is why Lycoming cost $80k vs $10k for V8.
Most importantly would you be able to operate a commercial passenger flight with a car engine, most likely not.
Is the V8 or Lycoming the more reliable for aircraft use, who really knows, but one is certified and the other is only certified for glider towing.
FWIW a Chevy(?) V-8 powered glider tug lost power recently in Victoria. It looks rather sad due to damage from the forced landing. Pilot did a fine job and is OK.
Thanks 43inches
Here is another example, Garmin G5 for certified $5k vs. non-certified aircraft $2.5k
The difference is backup battery option and ceritified version has more software restrictions. The same source code with if statements to restrict certified version.
At the end, both products were made in Asia for a couple of hundreds $.
Here is another example, Garmin G5 for certified $5k vs. non-certified aircraft $2.5k
The difference is backup battery option and ceritified version has more software restrictions. The same source code with if statements to restrict certified version.
At the end, both products were made in Asia for a couple of hundreds $.
It's not accurate to think that putting a V8 into a glider tug is only going to cost 10k. It's going to cost about the same as a rebuilt LYC/CONTI all up.
The bare V8 is probably close to 10k.
The bare V8 is probably close to 10k.