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VW in Fly Baby, Piet, et al
To All:
In a recent thread about VW powered wooden airplanes, reference was made to wooden airplanes that can NOT be powered by a converted Volkswagen, leaving a false impression -- and getting me lotsa mail :-) The VW has been used to power a modified 'Sky Scout' (sp?), Bernard Pietenpol's single-place, Model T powered design. (The plane is in New Zealand and can be found by a serious Googler.) This has caused some to think the VW could be used to power the two-place Pietenpol. It won't. And the Fly Baby has been powered by the Lycoming O-145 (although not very well). Since a full-blown VW can run to 140cid, some people think the VW would be suitable for a Fly Baby. It isn't. Regardless of its displacement the Volkswagen engine is thermally limited. While you can get it to produce a dyno blip of a hundred horsepower or more, its maximum SUSTAINABLE output is between 35 and 45 horsepower, as determined by the fin area of its heads and the local atmosphere. I know that's going to make a lot of folks unhappy. And a lot more will continue to insist that cubes are the only thing that matters. Sorry, Charlie. What matters is physics, thermodynamics and engineering. But don't let that stop you. If you think you can power a Fly Baby with a VW there's nothing to prevent you from doing so. Of course, you may want to ask yourself why it hasn't already been done :-) -R.S.Hoover |
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VW in Fly Baby, Piet, et al
On Sep 25, 9:31*am, " wrote:
To All: In a recent thread about VW powered wooden airplanes, reference was made to wooden airplanes that can NOT be powered by a converted Volkswagen, leaving a false impression -- and getting me lotsa mail :-) The VW has been used to power a modified 'Sky Scout' (sp?), Bernard Pietenpol's single-place, Model T powered design. *(The plane is in New Zealand and can be found by a serious Googler.) This has caused some to think the VW could be used to power the two-place Pietenpol. It won't. *And the Fly Baby has been powered by the Lycoming O-145 (although not very well). *Since a full-blown VW can run to 140cid, some people think the VW would be suitable for a Fly Baby. *It isn't. Regardless of its displacement the Volkswagen engine is thermally limited. *While you can get it to produce a dyno blip of a hundred horsepower or more, its maximum SUSTAINABLE output is between 35 and 45 horsepower, as determined by the fin area of its heads and the local atmosphere. I know that's going to make a lot of folks unhappy. *And a lot more will continue to insist that cubes are the only thing that matters. Sorry, Charlie. *What matters is physics, thermodynamics and engineering. *But don't let that stop you. *If you think you can power a Fly Baby with a VW there's nothing to prevent you from doing so. *Of course, you may want to ask yourself why it hasn't already been done :-) -R.S.Hoover If Veeduber hasn't convinced you, try reading this: http://users.aol.com/bpanews/3questions.html That Sky Scout he mentioned must be buried pretty deep, I couldn't find in in a few minutes of looking, and I considered myself a pretty sharp Google wrangler until this moment. |
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