[cnpeters]

I am wanting to read more on engines (will be putting in the standard Lyco/clone O-320) and the FF - in looking at the Bingelis' "Firewall Forward" and "Engines" book, there is quite a bit of overlap in the chapter titles. Is the latter an update over the former? Do folks recommend getting both or just "Engines" as per the Builderbookstore starter pack recommendations?

 

[robertahegy]

I have the FWF book. It is a good overview, but somewhat generic. You will need to get model specific info from your MFG manuals for specific questions. Certainly worth having, but not all the info you will need will be in it. I haven't seen the Engines book.

Roberta

 

[briand]

I bought the Sky Ranch Engineering Manual for Piston Aircraft Engines. A lot of the stuff is intuitive but there is still a lot of useful info.

One interesting thing I learned just the other day while reading is the pressure difference required between the top and bottom halves in the cowl for different Lycs. to achieve proper cooling. I have read a lot of posts here about baffling nightmares and most went over my head. Now I more understand the importance of baffling and what it actually does. Buy it.

 

[gmcjetpilot]

Classics but dated

I agree with briand, Skyranch is the best, but it is not an builder manual. If you want to know every thing about aircraft engines however, there is no better book IMHO.

As far as Tony Bee's (RIP) great books, I have the red, yellow and blue covers. I bought them in the 80's. Nice reference but somewhat dated. Also a lot of it does not apply to RV's (fabric, welding steel tube, fiberglass planes) as you say.

Of the three books I have the FWF (red cover) might be the most useful to a RV kit plane builder. I never read "Engines". FWF gets into vacumn instruments, venturi tubes, mechanical gauges (capillary type) and so on. Alla good stuff but chance is you will have a digital engine monitor. Still the basics are good to know.


The whole plane building thing has changed for one reason, WWW, world wide web and Google. There is not much you can't find on the web or in many special lists like this and others. Now you can go into the work shop of 100's of builders all over the world from builder web sites. When these books where written it was not that way.

FWF does have some pearls of wisdom. I am keeping them for reference.

If it helps you in any way, avoid one gotcha, boo-boo, a major/minor mistake or reduces time to get into the air, it is worth it. You can sell it when you are done. You also may find them used on eBay. Some one one the list may sell you the whole set. To me books are a bargain and well worth it. Read it, keep it or sell it. I think you will want to hand on them. If you are new to building its a good primer on engine installations.

 

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

I bought the Firewall Forward and the Engines book last year and found them intersting. then, when I was at Oshkosh last week, I leafed through the "sportplane builder techniques" (I think the name is) and bought that. I wish I'd bought it before.

a lot of folks point out that bingelis' books are aging, since they're mostly from the '70s, but he's an outstanding writer (and can draw), and I've learned a lot in the last week.

Just other day i was reading the section on "how to make a rib" and it pointed out that the notched nose ribs are not as strong as the fluted ones. Guess which ones we use in RVs? Probably not an issue, but it did help me understand some of the structural issues more too.

Is it a one-book-and-you-know-everything book? No. But it's really good reading.