Has anybody had anything to do with the Franklin engine conversion in 172's.
What sort of performance could you expect and what sort of fuel flow?
There is a gross weight increase with the conversion, does the new engine increase the empty weight by the gain?
How does the Franklin machine compare with an XP?
Hope some of you can help,
thanks SP
I have a 172G that has had a Franklin in it since 1966. Rather than rebuild it I put a PZL factory new engine in it in 1998.
I cruise at about 150MPH at 8,000 ft. Burn aobut 10.5 GPH.
I put a preoiler on it and a graphic engine monitor with egt and cht for all 6 cylinders and an oil filter. Damn, it's a great conversion. Off the ground quick, 1500 feet per minute climb at sea level. I've had it to 15,500 feet and a previous owner had it to 19,000 feet.
I fly about 2 hours twenty minutes and stop for fuel as it has the original 36 gal fuel capacity. Good safety management. Cross country and over the Rocky Mountains easily. I left L.A. at 10AM and was in Seattle in my house at 6PM. Two fuel stops.
Short field performance is outrageous. It is only 10 HP less than a 182 but weighs 700 pounds less. There is a weight increase but I don't know exactly how much. It really hasn't been a factor as the 220 HP really makes a 172 into a real airplane.
I have a 1963 172-D with a 220 hp. PZL from 1996. I fly with edo 2440 floats & a sportman stol kit. I have better take off performance than a 180 on floats. We fly at about the same speed.
Thanks for the replies Sam and Buck, would you blokes have access to your empty weight's without going to the aircraft? Does the Franklin conversion have the increased gross?
I was also interested in this. I saw a company who specialize in Franklin engines and contacted them for the engine, but they also didn't have one at the time I contacted. It's gonna be a long wait for this Franklin engine to get.
A friend of mine has one.
He told me that tech support and spares are almost non-existent.
To me, that is a major detail!
Tony
C-GICE
Jae Hwang wrote:
> I was also interested in this. I saw a company who specialize
> in Franklin engines and contacted them for the engine, but they
> also didn't have one at the time I contacted. It's gonna be a
> long wait for this Franklin engine to get.
Owning a franklin means if the crap hits the fan, which seems more then often in a Franklin, then you cant just go to the local shop and order up a new jug.
I owned a 172 with franklin and aqua 2400 floats, it was a great bird when it was running, but ended up replacing two jugs in it (1100 hours on engine), ended up selling it a few years latered, upgraded to a 67' 180H which does just as good and you can get parts because its pretty much interchangable with every 180 and 185 out there today.
Back to my orginal paragraph, you really have to be in that 'group' of franklin owners, i often got my jugs out of Franklin Engines in CO and a guy in FL i think it was....he was pretty old and not sure if he still does parts (seemed it was a hobby of his)
One thing i noticed was my franklin hated normal unleaded, even mixed....when a cylinder blew, it blew hard (quarter sized holes though piston)
But it could take a load! living in Alaska, we do alot of big game hunting, i was able to take roughly a half of a moose and guy off no problem.
Would i ever buy a plane with frankin again? prob not simply because of the parts factor. Unless the price of parts on these engines go down and more parts are readily avail, i am sticking to cont/lycom
Maybe your engine problems were related to the fuel you were using or your mixed fuel experiment..."One thing i noticed was my franklin hated normal unleaded, even mixed."
The 220 hp Franklin requires 100LL due to its compression ratio. By you using mixed fuel, you lowered the octane rating and thus created detonation problems. I guess that explains the "quarter sized holes though piston."
An expensive lesson learned in experimenting with fuel.
