Continental A-65 Parts Getting Out of Sight

[Dusty]

Re: Continental A-65 Parts Getting Out of Sight

sad note about going experimental is you'll have to send your original dataplate to the FAA and PERMANENTLY retire that aircraft as a Taylorcraft. Includes the engine dataplate.

Care to point out the FAR? I understand they strongly prefer certificated engine/prop combos, and reward you with a shorter test flight period for using one. How ya gonna show em it's what you say it is if you've pried all the data plates off?

bc65: maybe you can come be my DAR.

That's part of my issue. You can buy all (certificated) new parts, bolt them together, and call it a homebuilt. Buy a new airplane, take it apart, bolt it back together, and you'll never get it signed off as experimental (if you do, PLEASE let me know!!)

I'm well aware of what needs done (there's a 135HP 1-time STC Tcart flying in AK - it's a GREAT performer), but it's an experimental that I'm trying to get - what business of anyone's is it how many tanks I run or what motor mount I use? Experimental.

I may not know how to get an experimental airworthiness certificate, but I do know how to patch fabric - No problem getting tanks in the wing without recovering.

So, once again, has anyone actually made it through this process?

[larrysmith1016]

Re: Continental A-65 Parts Getting Out of Sight

sad note about going experimental is you'll have to send your original dataplate to the FAA and PERMANENTLY retire that aircraft as a Taylorcraft. Includes the engine dataplate.

Yeah, that seems like a harsh thing to do to one of those classic old birds. C. G. Taylor would turn over in his grave.

A few years ago I saw a nice O-200-powered F-19 that had gone experimental. I would have bought it except for that E. Broke my heart.

I'll stay with the dependable A-65-8 as long as I can. And the original airworthiness certificate and TCDS.

BTW, if anybody needs oil pump kits, including both gears and oil pump cover, let me know. We may be able to do a little wheeling and dealing if we buy 2 or more sets. I'm about to buy a set and maybe a rear case, which is said to be serviceable, just to have around when I need it. I like the pump bearings to be at new tolerances (.002" clearance on the shafts and oil pump cover.) When the pump starts to wobble then you get grooves cut into the pockets and then you start losing prime. If you compare the A-65-8 pump to the C-85 pump you see why the A-65 pump wears so quickly. The idler gear on the A-65 pump has only one bearing.

We have two aluminum accessory cases and a magnesium one coming from California. So we're hoping we can come up with nice rear cases for two engines, and another engine is awaiting rebuild. Making three total.

So lemme know if you need new oil pump kit and/or rear case--- this is the HEART of your engine, young fella.

Fresno Airparts doesn't have any more rear cases and their oil pump kits are a little too pricey.

One more question. Harry Fenton says some people have converted C-series cylinders to A-65/A-75 use by boring the A-65 crankcase for the slightly larger bore. Bolt pattern is of course the same. Now I know this is not legal for a certificated engine, but has anybody in this group ever done that? There are so many C-85/C-90/0-200 cylinders available, and the A-65 cylinders are so rare, that maybe it's time to be thinking about doing it when the engine is installed in an experimental like a Fly Baby or Pietenpol or Spacewalker. You don't have to turn the engine up so high. You got a bigger bore but not all that much increase in HP, thus you're not overstressing the case, according to an old salt here in WNC who said his father did that many years ago.

Your friend,
Larry

[jgerard]

Re: Continental A-65 Parts Getting Out of Sight

An A65 is quite an amazing engine. A friend of mine wanted to buy a better climb prop for his C85 powered J3 cub. I we went over the particulars about what is allowed by the type certificate and he decided he wanted the longest prop he could get. What he ended up with was a brand new 1b90/cm7443.( not approved for his airframe/engine combo but it's what he wanted) I told him him it may need to be re-pitched to get max allowable rpm. What I didn't expect was that he was only able to pull 2300 max in level flight. MY A65 will turn a 1b90/cm7442 2600 in level flight and 2300 at takeoff. With only 1" less pitch (and an aerodynamically cleaner airframe) on the prop my A65 is smoking a bone stock C85. TORQUE BABY! The C85 is not a torque monster. They normally swing a 71-72" metal prop. I suspect to get the required max RPM of 2575 on the C85 with a 74" metal prop it would need to pitched down near 38-40" Drop the 0-200 crank STC in the C85 and its a whole different engine. So my point is a well built strong A65 is worth every penny it costs compared to what it would cost to convert your Tcraft to a C85. A C85 with the right prop turning the proper RPM will still have a slight performance advantage over an A65 powered ship but at what cost. Even with the rising cost of overhauling and maintaining the A65's you still have one of the best ratios of power/dollars spent/operational cost.

[taylorcraftbc65]

Re: Continental A-65 Parts Getting Out of Sight

Interesting comments aftre my post guys, thanks. The reason that I'm even thinking about the possiblity of needing to go to another engine is that even though my engine has very few hours since rebuild on it, every time I go away for two to three weeks, I come back, and I have to pre-oil the engine because the oil has drained out of the pump. My friend Jim told me that in order to fix it, I would need to also replace the accessory case because that is what wears on the old engines. When mine was rebuilt, it had ALL the hop-up mods done to it, as best as we can tell, it is an 85 horse motor. It turns the metal prop that is put on for the 75 horse mods several hundered RPM above the 75 horse redline at cruise if I firewall it. I don't, I set my throttle by RPM at 100% cruise. Any comments/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated as I DO worry about the inability of the oil pump to keep it's oil from draining back into the sump. Brie