Crossflow

[Jungle Jim]

They were based in Collingwood but lately their hangar looks abandoned. I asked locally and no one seems to know where they moved to.

Jim

[Strega]

2 words....

Lycoming & Continental..


PLEASE!

[Jungle Jim]

I agree with Strega. I had a turbocharged, planetary gear drive, Subaru engine in my first plane and although it ran ok, it was always on my mind that it really wasn't a proven system. Also when things do go wrong the Lycoming, Continental and Franklin engines are easy to fix, parts are available and there's no shortage of knowledgeable people that can troubleshoot and repair these engines at most airports. I found that when it was all done there really was not a cost savings over a conventional aircraft engine. Since then I had a Stinson with a Franklin and now fly behind a Lycoming in the Thorp T18. There's nothing worse than having an airframe that is ready to fly but can't because of engine/redrive issues. Even looking at the Eggenfeller conversions there have been about a dozen revisions and versions which leads one to believe the changes/improvements were needed to address "issues" or shortcomings.

Jim

[ahramin]

Lycoming O-360.

Personally, I like the Chevy V8 though.

[AEROBAT]

Mid time O-540's are generaly cheaper than a O-360. What kind of plane are you building?

[AEROBAT]

RV builders drove up the price of O-320's and O-360's it seems. There is a BD4 with a O-540 near Edmonton. Climbs like crazy. Check out Barnstormers for used engines. MOT can't hassle you over importing engines and props.

[Jungle Jim]

With respect to rebuilding one of the conventional engines, this is easily do-able. I rebuilt my Franklin engine with oversight by my AME. You will need to have your torque wrenches and measuring tools calibrated and you will need all the manuals. You will find that the paperwork with measuring and recording the measurements of the components will take longer than the actual hands-on time. It's still quite an expensive venture when you add the costs of sending the parts out for inspection and overhaul if required. It is satisfying when it is all done though.

Jim

[Jungle Jim]

Mapleflag,

No, the need for AME oversight does not apply for a homebuilt or O/M aircraft but some oversight by an experienced person would be a good idea. In the case of my Franklin, I run a tool shop so the calibration of tools was easy. There was still a lot of stuff that had to be sent out for testing and overhaul that I was not comfortable in doing. Examples being, crank, cylinders, mags, engine mount, cam, etc.

Jim

[115B]

Crossflow is no longer in the engine business. They were not good on delivering what they promised; people waited years for their engines, then had problems. In my opinion, they were asking too much from the engines. Too much horsepower promised for long life. The six cylinder Subaru is 3.3 litres; 199 cubic inches, and they were proposing to replace 340 hp engines with it.

Lots of Subarus flying in various applications. At reasonable horsepower ratings, there is no reason it will not be reliable. One of the converters recently published the steps necessary to build an aircraft Subaru. Lots of internal details are important.

Robinson seems to have got the Chevy V8 working very well in his conversions.

[115B]

It was an article; possibly in Kitplanes, detailing all the things one of the conversion experts does to ensure long life in a converted Subaru.