X-Mozilla-Keys:                                                                                 
Tracy Crook wrote:

Steve's friend is Felix Raschiatore who is putting a 13B on his already
flying Glasair.  I've been working with both of them on the project

(mostly

just advisory) but they both plan to use my EC2 EFI/ignition controller.
They both plan to use the Marcotte drive but Felix (and I) are starting

to

wonder if they can really deliver.  Last reason they gave  for delay was
gear supplier went out of business.  I almost cancelled my plans to
manufacture my drive because the Marcotte looked real good.  Glad I

decided

to go ahead.

Tracy

I used to believe the Marcotte two inch offset upward was beneficial for
the prop shaft but now I think it is a drawback for most airplanes. It
results in less room for one rad under the engine. I also believe that
with
careful design a planetary can be made lighter for a given torque
capability.

Paul Lamar

I agree with you but to be fair, a clean sheet design for a planetary drive
would be comparatively expensive.  We just can't afford the luxury of
choosing exactly what size &  ratio we want.  Fortunately, the Ford & GM
transmission gears arn't too far from optimum.  I chose the Ford gears
because the ratio was better for rotary engines (2.08 for the GM Turbo 400
Vs 2.176 for the Ford C6).  If I had my choice, I would have gone to
something like 2.33 (about what Powersport used).  If it were not for the
existence of automotive planetary gear sets, my drive would cost 2  - 3
times more.

Tracy

I agree. The Ford C6 gear set only weighs six to eight pounds.
The weight savings are in the housing, bearings and the output
shaft and flange. 

Paul Lamar
 
The Aircraft Rotary Engine Newsletter.              Powered by Linux.

http://home.earthlink.net/~rotaryeng/            http://www.linux.org