Today's Message Index:
----------------------
1. 05:05 AM - TF51 Kit with Engine PSRU and extras - for sale (Skyrider)
Message 1
| INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
| NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
| LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
| SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
| Subject: | TF51 Kit with Engine PSRU and extras - for sale |
--> FEWMustang-List message posted by: Skyrider <skyrider@direcway.com>
Since you are on this list FEW Mustang list you must already be familiar
with the FEW kits there's not much more I need to say about those. There are
photos and details at fighterescortwings dot com . So I'll provide more
details about the engine-PSRU.
First some background: I used to be a professional race engine builder. I've
built hundreds of engines and I was Manager of the engine R&D department for
a major automotive OEM. Presently I am a Principal Engineer at Raytheon
Missile Systems in Tucson Arizona where I have been in charge of developing
military UAV's and such. I have had more than 15 homebuilts and projects
since the mid 70's and I have built 7 to completion and several airframes
for other people, some buy-and-rebuild projects and so on. I have a large
hobby shop, well equipped, including a CNC mill.
I developed this engine over several years in the mid 90's for an airplane
called the Viper. It was a single seat go-fast composite with dual
turbochargers on the engine. It was featured in an article in Kitplanes and
shown in Sport Aviation. It was on the back outside cover of the Wick's
Aircraft catalog a few years ago. I'll email you a photo if you like. Jim
Kern at Task/FEW and some other companies were even interested in building
parts for it or in kitting it.
The turbos I originally had on it were selected and the TEC was tuned to
allow this engine to make about 450HP at sea level and to hold that all the
way up to about 20,000 feet. The engine has about 9 hours of running time on
the ground, on the Viper airframe, in flyable trim (not just a jury rig for
a test stand). The airplane was destroyed in a ground accident at that point
due to a brake lock-up on a taxi test. The prop tips struck the ground so
the blades are ruined but there is no damage to anything else due to the
broken blades. The MT composite blades are just wood cores coated with a
thin fiberglass so it just turned the blade tips into a million toothpicks.
The turbos are gone now, but you don't want them on a Mustang kit anyway.
You could run this engine normally aspirated or run a centrifugal blower
(e.g. Vortech or Paxton). If you run it normally aspirated then you can run
relatively low octane gas. It will run cooler too. It mostly depends on how
much power you want versus cost and complexity. If I were to finish the FEW
for myself I'd add a Vortech blower parallel to the dry-sump oil pump and
add a belt drive to the existing drive stack. Real P51 Merlin engines had
centrifugal blowers.
For this engine I had Donovan machine their aluminum V8 block (their version
of S.B. Chevy) with a 0.4 inch taller than stock deck. The same model
Donovan blocks
have been run on fuel in dragsters and made 1340hp, so this block is strong!
I
used 6.0in. long chrome moly rods from Crower, the heavy NASCAR Grand
National rods (800+HP strong). Ross Racing made the required pistons. This
geometry (a much larger rod-to-stroke ratio than a real S.B. Chevy) will
lower the RPM of the peak horsepower point. That brings it much closer to
what an airplane application needs. So this is NOT some sort of hot rod car
engine, it was developed specifically for an airplane. I used the highest
quality, strongest, most bullet proof parts, but kept the engine tuned like
you would tune a tow truck or a motor home. This is unique to this engine
versus a GM crate motor. So this engine can make more power at a lower RPM
and run a lower PSRU gear ratio and that will make the engine quieter and
last longer (all else being equal)(and perhaps sound more authentic). If I
finished the FEW kit for myself, I was intending to run a Vortech blower on
it and I like to run dual batteries. With the batteries mounted on/near the
firewall, the blower, and the oil tank in front of the firewall I think the
weight and balance won't be too far off. I also considered moving the engine
an inch or so forward to help even more. I hate ballast. Here are the
details:
426 cu.in. small block all aluminum V8:
Donovan Aluminum small block casting (all S.B.Chevy external bolt
patterns), 4.125in. bore x 4.0in. stroke
AFR aluminum heads, 2.05in. SS intakes and 1.65in. solid Inconel
exhaust valves.
CompCams roller-tip rockers
Chrome moly large diameter pushrods, hardened guides.
Crower Turbo cam
Crower 6in. 4130 Grand-National rods
Crower 4130 forged steel crank, 400 sized mains
Ross custom 2618 forged pistons, ~8.25:1 C.R.
Total Seal Rings
Fluidamper, 7.25in.
5-stage dry sump oil system, HTD drive belt
Milodon dry-sump pan with swing-gate pickup.
Electromotive TEC (Total Engine Control) system (crank trigger DIS +
MPI fuel injection, 150+ parameters can be tuned via a PC's serial port)
Custom intake manifold (long runners) with large integrated throttle
body.
All required sensors to run the engine (MAP, CLT, TPOS, etc)
Delco Alternator + External aircraft regulator with OV control
Aluminum water pump
All accessories run with 8mm HTD timing belts (stronger, reduces
bearing loads)
All hoses are Aeroquip AQP racing hose (no inferior aircraft grade
hoses)
High-torque mini starter
Coolant header tank above PSRU
Airborn vacuum pump
{I also have a new aluminum radiator that I bought for the FEW kit. It
will be included}
Propeller Speed Reduction Unit (PSRU):
Magnesium case (Universal back plate & front cover)
Timken roller bearings on back of prop shaft (at driven sprocket)
Roller bearings on front of prop shaft
Chrome Moly prop shaft & flange
Billet Steel "outer mass" flywheel with 153T ring gear
1.82:1 ratio with heat treated sprockets
3" wide Morse Hy-Vo chain drive
Adjustable crank-trigger ignition sensor & mount on front of case
Built-in torque and thrust strain gages on prop shaft (built-in dyno)
MTV-29 3-blade prop hub with electric pitch change and "constant
speed" electronics box
Matching Kevlar spinner (not for FEW)
(prop blade roots available for rebuilding new blades, FEW needs
different blades anyway
Instruments & Avionics:
The Viper was a completed airplane, ready to fly, IFR equipped. It had
5
traditional 3.125_inch diamater pitot-static and vacuum gyro
instruments. It
had a complete stack of Terra radios which are about 4" wide and will
fit
nicely in a Mustang kit. Plus I have a handful of other instruments
that
will go with it. The Viper had a "glass cockpit" setup for everything
else,
but that is not available (you wouldn't want it in a Mustang anyway,
too
modern looking). When the Viper was destroyed I removed everything and
was
intending to use it all in the Mustang. So now all of this is
available with
this FEW kit.
I will not split up the engine package to sell the engine or PSRU or prop
hub separately. It is a good package as it is. I will sell the
engine/PSRU/Prop hub separate from the FEW kit. Likewise I won't sell the
instruments and avionics until someone buys the FEW kit in case they want
them too. If they don't want the instruments and avionics, then I'll sell
avionics after the kit is gone.
FEW and CamFire and others are selling their V8 PSRU's for about $10K. This
one is at least as strong, probably stronger (and has the built-in dyno!),
but with the magnesium case it is fairly light. My Donovan bare block alone
costs more than most complete, ready-to-run GM crate motors do. This engine
would cost at least $20K if you went shopping for a similar one. And the MTV
propeller was almost $13K new. Assuming the blades are 50% of the cost then
there's $6.5K value left in it. That totals up to about $36.5K. I still have
the blade roots and was intending to just make new blades onto them were I
to finish the FEW kit. You could do that or just buy new blades from MT or
have a prop-maker rebuild new blades on the MT roots.
You can see from the FEW web site that the kits are $69.5K, their crate
motors are nearly $10K, their PSRU is $10K, their plumbing is $1.25K, their
prop is $15K, prop governor and drive is $1.4k, radiator is $0.4K, so that
is $107,550. If you discount their prop 50% too (for the blades) you have
about $100K even. Then, go add the prices of airspeed, altimeter,
directional gyro, artificial horizon, turn and bank indicator, ROC meter,
and the Terra radio stack with Comm, Nav, Transponder/marker beacon
receiver, encoding altimeter, and a handful of engine instruments and your
back up between $110K and $120K.
As for the FEW kit, it is the fast-build TF-51 version. So the fuselage
halves and bulkheads are already mated from the factory, I added the
windshield bow, canopy tracks and canopy+skirt. It is the TF51 bubble
canopy. I closed the empennage assembly. I have done zero to the wings,
which have the bottom skin plus the upper skin with all the ribs and spars
factory installed. I have a couple of large wooden crates with all the other
bits and pieces. The only sub-kit missing is the landing gear. The spinner
is also missing but paid for and FEW owes one to this kit. What very little
work I did on it is first class. Aside from those items I just mentioned, it
is essentially an untouched kit.
As for price, I am looking at moving out of state in a few months and
probably to an apartment. So I really don't want to move all this stuff with
me. So let's just say I am very motivated to sell and the quicker and easier
the transaction the less I'll probably take. Make me an offer. I also have a
22' enclosed trailer available.
Thanks,
Daryl Elam
Other Matronics Email List Services
These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.
-- Please support this service by making your Contribution today! --
|