In a message dated 11/1/2018 2:57:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, flyrotary@lancaironline.net writes:

In a message dated 11/1/2018 2:30:33 PM Eastern Standard Time, flyrotary@lancaironline.net writes:

On 11/1/2018 12:58 PM, lehanover lehanover@aol.com wrote:

On the racer, I built a small steel flywheel just big enough to fit up a 5 1/4" Tilton dual disc clutch pack. The front side needed to have about 1/4" spigot so as to clear the flex plate which has a slight conical shape.  I just bolted the flywheel on over the flex plate. Never a problem on the  95 RX-7. a big problem on a sports racer I built. The driver defeated the rev limiter by shifting into 1st rather than 3rd while already turning about 9,500 RPM. The transmission was a Hewland FT-200, dog ring style, so it went right into the selected gear.  The flex plate has only 6 welds to keep the ring gear on the flex plate. The ring gear broke next to one weld. The free end tried to machine the bell housing into 2 pieces. The ring gear also rolled outboard about 30 degrees. It wanted out and almost made it.

On the replacement ring gear I TIG welded an additional 6 welds and added 12 welds to the back of the ring gear. 

Since you do not need a wear surface for the airplane installation, just a piece of aluminum plate could be used to produce a similar flywheel. The flex plate is just used to start the engine and delivers no torque loads to the gear box. 

Lynn E. Hanover

Len, if Tracy's damper plate is used, it bolts to the flex plate, just inside of the ring gear. So for our purposes, the flex plate does deliver torque loads to the gear box.

Charlie

So, make a flywheel just big enough to pick up the bolt pattern of the damper plate and bolt it on over the stock flex plate. So the flex plate is not loaded at all except for starting the engine.

Or, buy a racing steel or aluminum flywheel and bolt the damper to that.

Lynn E. Hanover

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