On 28 Sep 2003 15:19:38 GMT, ospam (Rosspilot)
wrote:

I have the 145 HP Cont O-300 . . . would LOVE to get to 180 HP . . . can it
be
done?

Why would you want to go from a smooth running, fuel sipping six
cylinder to a vibrating, fuel gulping four cylinder?

I have a friend with a '74 and the 160 HP ram upgrade . . . his Hawk climbs
out so much faster than mine . . . I just thought logically that 25 more HP
(180) would really improve performance. Although I love the smoothness of my
own engine,
I do not notice any "vibration" in his Lycoming, and our fuel burns are
similar.

A friend has a Hawk and were I ever going to get a 172 that would be
the version I'd want. Man, but that thing climbs. It's no slouch at
cruise either. He took off immediately prior to me for a 50 NM trip.
I was still rolling out when he was turning down wind.

One surprise was how much gas it took me to take a trip. I was
flying a 172 (with the smaller engine) a couple years ago and it took
more gas to go from point A to point B than did my 260 HP Debonair.
The Deb burns 13.5 to 14 gallons per hour (it doesn't know how to run
less than 75% unless I take it up high) yet it took less gas on a 350
mile trip than did the 172. Considerably less.

OTOH our old Cherokee 180 made the same trip and used within 1/2
gallon of what the Deb did. That little difference could easily be
attributed to fueling techniques. I will admit the Cherokee left
about 10 minutes ahead of me (MIE) and I passed them before reaching
Fort Wayne. I was back at 3BS, had the Deb hangered, and was having a
cup of coffee in the terminal before I heard them call in.

But...I did like flying that Hawk. He purchased it new, has had the
engine majored and that is now run out. Last I knew he was trying to
decide whether to get a new one, or just put a new engine in the old
plane. It has close to 5000 hours and he put on nearly every one.

Roger Halstead (K8RI EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
www.rogerhalstead.com
N833R World's oldest Debonair? (S# CD-2)


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