13 Horsepower

On Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:44:23 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:


12 Horsepower

After it's successful flight at Kitty Hawk, upon its return to Dayton
the Wright 'Flyer' underwent an extensive overhaul. The engine was
fitted with spark plugs and a magneto, replacing the original make &
break system. Whilst installing the magneto Orville discovered the
original timing was so retarded that the engine's output was reduced
by about half or about twelve horsepower. Timed correctly, the engine
provided more than enough power to carry a passenger.

This evening I was thumbing through a flyer of a different sort, this
one from Harbor Freight, in which they offered a 13 hp engine for
$370. The engine has a displacement of about 25 cubic inches and
claims an output of 17 ft/lbs @ 2500 rpm. The Harbor Freight engine
weighs78 lbs; the 'Flyer' engine ran about 200 lb.

With forty feet of span and more than 500 square feet of area, I've no
doubt that the Harbor Freight engine ...or even a pair of
them ...could power a replica of the Wright 'Flyer,' although I can't
imagine why anyone would want to do so. But the idea of using a
Harbor Freight engine meshes neatly with a recent thread about a
minimum flying machine.

The Wright's drove their eight-foot propellers at about 1200 rpm
through the use of a chain drive. Crossing the chain on one of the
props gave them contra-rotation.

Should a builder wish to produce a kind of power pod suitable for use
on a variety of low-cost, light-weight airframes, the thirteen
horsepower Harbor Freight engine, appears amenable to a 2:1 speed
reduction unit. Since this is the ratio between the cam and
crankshaft of all Otto Cycle engines, suitable belts and gearing is
available at your nearest automotive salvage yard.

-R.S.Hoover

when people talk of lycosaurs and other dinosaur references to air
cooled aircraft engines they miss entirely the measure of progress
that the wright engine provides.
the wright engine and a continental O-200 both have the same
displacement. 12 hp vs 100 hp is not a bad measure of the improvements
in engine technology.
lycontisaurs ...phooey.

is the harbour freight engine a V-twin?
Stealth Pilot

On Jul 30, 6:30 am, Stealth Pilot
wrote:

is the harbour freight engine a V-twin?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It appears to be a one-lunger with a recoil starter.

-R.S.Hoover

On Jul 30, 10:51*am, " wrote:
On Jul 30, 6:30 am, Stealth Pilot
wrote:

is the harbour freight engine a V-twin?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------*----

It appears to be a one-lunger with a recoil starter.

-R.S.Hoover

This is a very insightful and thought provoking topic and I enjoyed
reading it. The HF engine mentioned is a knock off of a Robin engine
and is actually a fairly well made engine. I’ve found it interesting
to see the larger HP rated Generic and B&S V twin engines turning up
in aircraft projects and the re-drives fabricated for them. They’re
less expensive then the imported engines and do a good job for their
purpose. What they lack though is the 40 to 50 + HP range. This
however has yet to stop innovative approaches and solutions to the
problem by end users, i.e. us.

Copperhead144 wrote:

This is a very insightful and thought provoking topic and I enjoyed
reading it. The HF engine mentioned is a knock off of a Robin engine
and is actually a fairly well made engine. I’ve found it interesting
to see the larger HP rated Generic and B&S V twin engines turning up
in aircraft projects and the re-drives fabricated for them. They’re
less expensive then the imported engines and do a good job for their
purpose. What they lack though is the 40 to 50 + HP range. This
however has yet to stop innovative approaches and solutions to the
problem by end users, i.e. us.

The one I looked at at the local HF store looks like the Honda
industrial engines of about 25 years ago. This would probably be about
right since the Chinese have been copying the hell out of small Honda
motorcycles.

Tony

Copperhead144 wrote:


It appears to be a one-lunger with a recoil starter.

-R.S.Hoover

This is a very insightful and thought provoking topic and I enjoyed
reading it. The HF engine mentioned is a knock off of a Robin engine
and is actually a fairly well made engine. I’ve found it interesting
to see the larger HP rated Generic and B&S V twin engines turning up
in aircraft projects and the re-drives fabricated for them. They’re
less expensive then the imported engines and do a good job for their
purpose. What they lack though is the 40 to 50 + HP range. This
however has yet to stop innovative approaches and solutions to the
problem by end users, i.e. us.

I bought the 6.5 hp version 2 years ago for the gocart. Nary a problem,
starts usually on the first pull and runs good after a decent warming
period on half choke. Now its coupon priced under $103...