The ES tends to be nose-heavy
with the IO-550. I imagine the reason is that it was originally designed
for either the IO-550 or the IO-360. The nose-heaviness was something of a
problem on my first ES, on which I used the metal Hartzell 3-blade prop.
On my current ES I have the 4-blade MT prop, which is 22 pounds lighter.
The c.g. came out about an inch farther back, and the handling, particularly on
final and touchdown, is much better than the first plane.
If you went with a heavier
engine, you'd definitely need to balance up in the tail; otherwise, the c.g.
would probably be forward of the allowed envelope.
As for cooling, the cowl inlets
are probably plenty big enough. If someone is having overheating problems,
they are probably either having leakage around their baffling, or have not
opened up and flanged the exhaust outlets at the bottom rear of the
cowl.
Jim Cameron
N143ES
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