O-200 RV-3
I owned an O-200 powered RV-3 in the early '80s, and I wish I had never sold it. N31120 was built by a fellow named Whisenand in LA, and was, I believe, the 6th RV-3 to be finished. There were a few O-200 versions built back then, and at least one C-90-8 airplane that I recall, and all performed well on that level of power. I routinely flew out of 6000 foot high strips, and takeoff and climb performance never gave me any concerns. She would still be climbing at several hundred feet per minute at 14-15K.
My airplane had a stock Cessna 150 prop (69-50 I believe...probably the primary reason for the good climb performance) and top speed at sea level was around 155 mph IAS. I used the airplane to commute in New Mexico, and I recall ground speeds of 145 mph or so at 10K/ 2300 RPM.
Handling qualities were excellent with her non-differential ailerons, and overall seemed better than my current Lyc RV-3. With the heavy old O-200 starter and generator, battery on the firewall, and fuselage fuel tank, the CG with the normal length mount and cowling were toward the aft side but acceptable. The new "light-weight" O-200 that Teledyne is preparing to market for the LSA market,
when installed in an airplane with wing fuel, would probably require lengthening the mount 6" or so.
I am planning to re-engine my current airplane with a Jabiru 3300, currently favoring it over the O-200 for two reasons:
1) Weight. The Jab will probably be at least 30 pounds lighter than the O-200-Lite
2) The Vh LSA test point for an O-200 airplane is defined at 2750 RPM (redline) but the Jabiru is defined at a max continous value of 2750 RPM (with a 3300 redline).
I am still running some numbers for incorporating a Jabiru 2200 (85HP) to produce a REALLY light RV-3 (the engine installation would be about 120-130 lbs lighter than my current Lyc installation). I think that the power loading would still give very acceptable performance, but the center of mass of the engine installation would have to be shoved forward on the order of 22" or so, making it look somewhat like a turbine-duster conversion.
Hawkeye Hughes
RV-3, Skyote