Eggenfellner engines

[Tomasz]

Originally Posted by RickWoodall

Just a question for the engine folks. Why is making a bullet proof gear box such a big deal. Just asking.

Vibrations and weight.

In cars your wheels turn between 20 to 100 (low range 4x4) times than prop, plus there is suspension, tires itself and CV joints between transmission and wheels. In planes you have prop connected directly to gearbox turning roughly 2x slower than engine. Every single imbalance (also from turbulences!) shakes everything pretty badly. And on top of that you want to shave every ounce of it you can.

[N908RV]

Originally Posted by RickWoodall

The p51 mustangs replicas, the spitfire replicas etc are using suzuki, and gm/isuzu engines in them. They too are spinning in the 5-6000 rpm range. Since i think most can agree that the technology in auto engines is more advanced than lyco's, why is making a bullet proof gear box such a big deal.

I'm going slightly OT and avoiding the debate about the Egg, but just an observation point re: the P-51 replica comment. Take a second look at the Stewart S-51 and see how many actually fly any real hours without failures. We have a nice one locally (it is drop dead gorgeous), but he doesn't fly it much. You can infer what you will from that. There was another S-51 passing thru earlier this fall and was stranded at a local airport due to a partial engine failure. Rather than fix the engine the owner, disgusted at a number of engine related issues just took the wings off and transported it back home. Sorry no details, but it just paints a picture for you.

[rv72004]

Excuse the ignorance , but does the P51 not have a reduction gearbox ?

[DanH]

<<I don't think Jan will want to go there.>>

Let's not start throwing rocks so quickly, please. Truth is, we know very little about the important details, and I for one would like to know.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by rv72004

Excuse the ignorance , but does the P51 not have a reduction gearbox ?

Sure does...

http://www.spitfireart.com/merlin_engines.html

I saw a real, live reduction main gear at a shipping outlet (it was from one of the Santa Monica Spitfires, on it's way to England on loan) and it was a work of art....

gil A

[L.Adamson]

Originally Posted by N908RV

I'm going slightly OT and avoiding the debate about the Egg, but just an observation point re: the P-51 replica comment. Take a second look at the Stewart S-51 and see how many actually fly any real hours without failures. We have a nice one locally (it is drop dead gorgeous), but he doesn't fly it much. You can infer what you will from that. There was another S-51 passing thru earlier this fall and was stranded at a local airport due to a partial engine failure. Rather than fix the engine the owner, disgusted at a number of engine related issues just took the wings off and transported it back home. Sorry no details, but it just paints a picture for you.

There has been numerous engine issues with a Stewart P-51 replica in this area too. But it sure looks good! IMO, they are the best looking kitbuilts......period!

L.Adamson

[TSwezey]

My PSRU has been recalled already and I haven't even really used it. My prop is also going back. But I have to give Jason Day (maker of the Vesta V8 system) credit, he is footing all the repair bills. My PSRU uses a HyVo chain system. There appears to be an issue with the hub. I am sending it up to NJ next week and I am flying up there to insure that I know what is going on inside it. I think it will take some time to get all the kinks worked out of the PSRU. I don't think it will have a catastrophic failure but will degrade over time. Slack check in the PSRU is one of the checklist items. You can tell the level of degradation by the amount of slack in the chain. I have been taking things slowly to let others who are a little in front (with their Vesta V8's of different airplanes) of me to work out the kinks. Once I get the PSRU back down here it is going to be time to fly this puppy!

[Pirkka]

Just noticed this thread. Yeah, I agree that the car engines (depending of the manufacturer for sure) can be reliable.

Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/ select "watch videos" from lower left corned. New window opens, from there under Stunts select "Indestructible truck" to see how much stress Toyota can take...

Same video, or at least parts of it, can be found from many video services.

[rocketbob]

IMO the best PSRU out there is the geareddrives PSRU for the Chevy. It uses a centrifugal clutch which allows the PSRU to slip and disengages the prop for starting. The geareddrives PSRU is the only unit that ever has gotten the attention of this die-hard Lycoming guy.

[TSwezey]

Originally Posted by rocketbob

IMO the best PSRU out there is the geareddrives PSRU for the Chevy. It uses a centrifugal clutch which allows the PSRU to slip and disengages the prop for starting. The geareddrives PSRU is the only unit that ever has gotten the attention of this die-hard Lycoming guy.

This PSRU was on a plane that crashed. What was the cause of the crash?