Message-ID: <027b01bfa97a$7acfb480$0464a8c0@station4>
From: "John Barrett" <2thman@olympus.net>
To: "Lancair Mail List" <lancair.list@olsusa.com>,
	<Bahahud@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Continental Quality Woes
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 13:25:49 -0700
Mime-Version: 1.0

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>I wonder how it is that the automobile and truck makers can change their
>engine designs regularly and still produce engines that perform well past
>2000 hours with serious mistreatment and sometimes zero maintenance while
>Continental and Lycoming have been producing effectively the same engine
for
>over 50 years and they still cant get it right.

>Compare a $45,000.00 Continental IO550 to a $45,000.00 Cadillac with a
>northstar engine.  This engine has a cost problem.  IT NEEDS TO BE TUNED UP
>AFTER 100,000 MILES.
>Seems to me that 100,000 miles at an average of 50 mph is 2000 hours.

On the surface, this seems like a reasonable question/comparison, but one
needs to consider the different operating regime - 65% to 100% of power used
most of the time during those 2000 hours for aircraft engines, and the
operating environment - major altitude changes with very significant impact
on engine temperatures.  Also you have to convert the high revolution power
of the auto engine to max torque at a much slower rotation for the prop -
enter the PSRU discussion.

I sure as hell don't want to be confused with admirers of air cooled piston
aircraft engines made by Continental and Lycoming - I think these guys have
their heads in the dark ages or somewhere similar that has no light.  That's
why I'm using the Engineair V8 instead, but there is surely a huge
difference and there are significant hurdles to overcome when you talk about
using that auto engine in a high performance aircraft.

Regards,

John Barrett - LIVP
CARBINGE- "The World Hinges on Us"
360 385 1000


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