Lyc IO-360-A3B6D

i used to fly a mooney with this engine in it, and it was very smooth and reliable. has anyone ever used this particular IO-360 in an RV? what about the mccauly prop that goes with it? seems like all RV's have a hartzell (not that there's anything wrong with that!), but i always liked that engine prop combo on the mooney.

dan, you used to fly one of these, what do you think?

A*b6*

I flew behind an IO-360-A1A + Hartzell (M20F), then an IO-360-A3B6D + McCauley (M20J), and now I have an IO-360-A1B6 + Hartzell (RV-7).

I personally DID notice a pretty significant difference in feel with the counterweighted crankshaft.

FYI, the only difference between an -A3B6 and an -A1B6 is how the prop is indexed relative to the engine.

The "D" engine, i.e. the -A3B6D or -A1B6D, means it has a single-drive dual mag. As you may know, on my RV-7 I have one Slick mag and one Lightspeed Plasma II. With a dual mag, you'd be forced to go with either the dual mag or dual electronic ignition. Don't believe you can use a single mag with an accessory case set up for the dual mag (please correct me if I'm wrong).

In any case, I'm not sure what else to tell you. I'm very happy with the angle valve IO-360-A* series engines, and I'm very happy with the counterweighted "B6" crank setup, despite the higher weight & cost.

I'm also happy with my Hartzell 72" prop. Heavy, but good CG and fast. While my last Mooney did have a McCauley, I haven't flown the RV-7 with a McCauley prop, so I don't have any perspective there.

)_( Dan
RV-7 N714D (708 hours)
http://www.rvproject.com

Good day

I have an IO-A3B6D in my -8 and really like it. I was too cheap to buy a CS prop so I put a Catto 3 blade on it and am very happy with the smoothness and performance.

Cheers

The IO-360A1B6 Is fwd facing FI? I know the A3B6 is. In either case, I noticed that many certified aircraft switched from Harzell to McCauley in their newer models. (Mooney M20F was IO-360 A1A + Hartzell, the M20J was the IO-360 A3B6 + McCauley. Similerly the Arrow II was a IO-360 C1C + Hartzell, and the Arrow III was IO-360 C1C6 + McCauley.)

I don't know if this data is worth a crap or not, but it could be that the two-balde McCauley is slightly better for some reason. Especially with the counterweighted cranks. It's be interesting to see a comparecent between the standard Hartzell, blended Hartzell and two blade McCauley (Square tip from Arrow or Elliptical tip from M20J).

Of course I'd also like to see the three-blade Semi-sciemtar McCauley compared (I love the way that prop looks ).

i'd be interested to know that as well. i think mccauley makes a great product, and i've always wondered why no one uses them on rv's. that semi-scimitar three blade is a great looking prop, and i like the looks of the elliptical two blade from the M20J. i'll probably end up with a three blade catto, but this would be interesting.

I have a related engine to the Mooney in my RV6, it is a parallel valve counterweighted crank 0-360-A1F6D from out of a Cessna 177 Cardinal with a McCauley prop from out of the Mooney 201 on it. I have an Ellison TBI injector on it with the Lightspeed ring gear trip electronic ignition system installed. I also have a single mag in the dual mag drive hole, so YES it can be done Dan!. To do this you have to use a Bendix 1200 series mag (it has the same drive mechanism that the dual mag uses) that is used off a Lycoming 0-360 used in the Piper Navajo as I recall. I can look up the actual model number for any of you that really want to know. The Bendix 1200 series mag is the best possible mag to use on any Lycoming engine since it has about twice the spark power over a Slick mag or the smaller Bendix mag.

The dual mag Lycoming engine is a great setup in any RV6/7 due to the fact that the accessory case has direct provision for both an oil filter & governor that fit in the RV's WITHOUT any cutouts required in the firewall. The counterweighted parallel valve 0-360 is really the BEST engine for use in the RV's since it is about 30 lbs lighter than the angle valve IO-360's. With new Millenium cylinders & 9:1 comp pistons & the Ellison injector it makes virtually the same 200 hp that the angle valve I0-360 makes, but fits in the RV6 without cowling mods (granted that's not a problem for RV7's since the cowling does allow an I0-360 to fit).

As for using a McCauley prop on the RV, I have detailed all the problems on how to fit one up, and the resonant vibration issues that I have encountered in the Propeller section of this site about 6 months or so ago (pull it all up in that section and read it because it is VERY enlightening!).

By the way, the above Lycoming/McCauley combination in my RV6 has netted a consistent 213 mph cruise speed @ 8000 ft. Not bad for all things considered!! Also, the big paddle bladed McCauley prop from the Mooney 201 seems to provide a better climb rate than the Hartzell props, along with better high altitude cruise performance (not to mention the fact that it looks WAY meaner on the RV6 than ANY Hartzell prop!!!).

tloof,

thanks for the info! that's what i was looking for!