> > The punk street racer kids like light flywheels because they are

 > > snappy but the people winning races are running heavy
 > ones.
 > >
 > >    Ken

 Sorry to disagree Ken, but on our best drag bikes we use lightened
crankshafts
 and clutch baskets. Inertia is inertia, rotational inertia is the
same. It will
 take you longer to accellerate the heavy flywheel no matter what
else happens.
 There are EXCEPTIONS to normal pratice of lightening rotating
parts. AMA class C
 flattrackers found out that stagger fire V-twins work better on
dirt. The Harleys
 had found their nitch. If you have enough power to cause wheelspin
at any speed,
 (like a modern rail dragster) you might need a heavier flywheel to
damp the load
 and unload cycles caused by the tires. Bill Jepson

   Yes different rigs react different, in general I have found that
the lighter weight rigs run better with lighter flywheels and the
heavier rigs run better with heavier flywheels and then it all
depends on what you are going to do with it.
    In a plane however I think it is well worth the extra 16 lbs even
if it gains no extra power as there is no debating that it will help
kill gear damaging vibrations and every installation is different and
we need every bit of insurance we can get.

  Tracy's damper may work fine on his plane, engine and prop
combination but it may not work on another one with maybe a turbo
pushing high boost and it may not work on my coot with the five blade
prop and the 100 hp nitrous kick that I give it, also I water taxi at
slow speeds a lot which my be damaging as there was a lot rattling
with the Ross box that I had.

  All and all I think the extra 16 lbs is well spent and I would work
out the weight and balance and try to shave some extra weight
somewhere else, what I usually do when I add weight to the coot is
find a lighter weight copilot but I am down to a 95 lb one now I
don't think I can shave off any more in that aria.

  Ken

 
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