Franklin power

[elfiero]

Is anyone here using the 220hp Franklin engine? their website saya they are developing a FF kit for the 7. I like this idea and what if any experiances you guys might have had with this....

[gmcjetpilot]

If you go back into the old RVator, Van flew a RV-8 with this engine. They found it's weight was a little high and the actual HP it provided was less than the advertised 220HP. Based on their experience Van decided not to offer it as an engine option. I am sure that has not changed. If the engine company is offering a KIT for RV?s that is news, but I would proceed with caution. Not sure what the attraction is to this engine. Is it cheap? How much? By the time you ?convert? it may end up costing the same if you stayed with the standard kit and a Lycoming?

As far as the status of the company, production and distribution I recall it went thru some upheaval years ago and have not heard from them since. May be they are making a go of it again. TO me the big caution is their "220HP" was not performing well for Van. Why? You can call Van and ask. G

[Captain_John]

I read that piece in the RVator too. They called it Franklinstine. It was an-8 and performance was kinda average they said. Combine it with more weight and you have got yourself a loser.

With that said, I would like to see the website! Can you link us?

It makes interesting food for thought!

CJ

[Mike S]

Just hit google and type in "franklin aircraft engines"


I have been flying a Stinson with a franklin for 18 1/2 years, very smooth, and dependable in my case. They like RPM more than other engines of the same HP rating. I think the weight is less than other 6 cyl of same HP.

As far as I know, the production or NEW engines has stopped a few years ago.
they were being made in Poland by a company called PZL. Still a few new engines arround, I believe, and/or parts to assemble some.

Hopefully they are back in production, but no mention of that has been in the Stinson newsletter, and I would think that they would be quick to let us know.

Mike

[Captain_John]

Got it!

Franklin engines seem to have a 1,500 hour TBO. Hmmmm, another factor.

...no pricing info on the website that I have found.

CJ

[mgomez]

Originally Posted by gmcjetpilot

Not sure what the attraction is to this engine. Is it cheap?

The 6 cylinder Franklin has a reputation for smooth operation. It also has an interesting feature: you can remove a cover to inspect the bottom end, unlike a Lycoming or Continental which require significant dissasembly.

The importer usually gave a cryptica answer to pricing questions, like "way less than a Lycoming," etc.

A gentleman called Dave Brand built an RV-8 with a Franklin, and gave me some excellent advice, which I'll copy below:

My machine is the 254th RV-8 kit sold by Van. It was
a slow build that I initially ordered in December
1996. I drilled the first hole in aluminum on 5-1-97.
I know, I could have started the tail sooner, but I
waited to go pick up both tail, and wings together
when the wing kit was ready. At the time, wing kits
were a little slow to be ready.
I decided to use Franklin
power before I even started construction. I knew that
building an airplane, even an RV, was going to be a
pretty formidable endeavor.
At first, I thought I`d build a light weight little
tube and rag puddle jumper type machine....I`ve
already got a fast, cross-country cruiser, (Bonanza
V35A) what do I need another "fast" airplane for. Then
I went to Arlington `96 and saw Van`s prototype RV-8.
You know, the blue one, AKA Franklinstein. At the
time, it was Lycoming IO-360 powered. One look was all
it took. Ever since I rode with Van in the back seat
of his RV-4 prototype, back about 1981 or so, I`d been
an admirer of RVs. Seeing that first RV-8 though
really got me fired up. No lousy tubes and rags for
this cowboy. Anyway, I figured if I was going
to go to all the trouble to build a cool little sport
plane, it was going to sound, and perform as cool as
it looked. The performance was going to come from
power to weight ratio....a 220 Franklin would supply
the cool sound. So much for the idea.....
I couldn`t be more pleased with
how the wt/bal came out. My empty weight is comparable
to other IO-360 Lycoming powered RV-8s. 1110 lbs.
Actually lighter than some. My empty CG is just inside
the fwd limit. I had been told all along that I was
facing a "serious" weight penalty, (which turned out
to not exist) so I was careful to minimize adding
anything that would tend to move my CG fwd. Skytec lt
wt starter, Ellison pressure carb, miniature Nippon
Dinko 40 amp alternator, Hammerhead aluminum gear,
delete the gascolator, etc, etc. I guess it all paid
off.... No, I didn`t use anybody elses FWF kit. At
the time, none existed. I tried to get help with the
engine mount, but got basically nowhere. Ditto for the
exhaust manifolds. Those are the two biggies in any
engine swap. When push came to shove, I was on my own.
By then Van had converted 118RV into Franklinstein, so
at least there was another one out there I could go
look at. Many thanks to Phil Dyke for his patient
indulgence during repeated photo visits to the proto
type shop. Here`s a tip....Never visit Van`s without a
loaded camera. You never know what you might get a
load of. Long story short, I did it all
myself....twice. A local buddy is almost ready to fly
his 220 Franklin RV-8 using my 2nd mount, and exhaust
stacks. His config is very similar to mine with the
exception of prop, and gear legs. And he`s 10 lbs
lighter yet. I`d be happy to help any
way I can if you decide to go this route. I believe
it`s a good combination, and definately a viable
alternative to the mainstream Lycoming. As SGT Hunter
used to say, "Hey, it works for me".
Dave Brand N254LF

Cheers,
Martin

[osxuser]

The Franklin makes closer to 208HP. All the ones produced by PZL were rated at 208 because apparently they don't like to lie about that kind of thing in the former soviet bloc.

At least thats the story I heard.

[ship]

Originally Posted by osxuser

The Franklin makes closer to 208HP.

This is true. They're own torque specs equate to 208hp @ 2700rpm rather than "220". I confirmed this with PZL several years ago.

As mentioned above, Dave Brand is "the" man to talk to. He is very willing to discuss his installation experience, warts and all.

Franklin/PZL is a nice engine, but the practicality should be carefully considered before making any decisions. IMHO, now that the 390 is available, the 390 would be a better choice vs. a Franklin if only for the ease of installation and future service/support. same power, same weight, better fuel burn.

for the same power, a "6" will always be smoother than a "4", but the "4" will be more fuel efficient by up to 2gph due to significantly lower friction losses.