[elky] Re: [non] Engines (was re: Fwd: Response to a car dealer)
- From: Jared Ryan <jryan@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2010 10:20:58 -0500
Speaking of Dodge, this is tangential, but I was just browsing yesterday, being
my curious self, and came upon the specifications for the Lycoming engine used
in the Cessna 172 I got to fly.
Four-cylinder opposed air-cooled engine, not unlike a VW, but 5.9L
displacement. WOW. 160 HP. Not a powerful engine but strong torque. A
propellor is tough to spin (it is also the engine's flywheel).
I understand now why the redline is at about 2500 RPM and you tend to cruise at
about 2200. I was thinking at the time, "That is really slow for having four
cylinders", but I didn't realize it had the same displacement as the Cummins
six-cylinder used in Dodge pickups.
I also see why it has two spark plugs per cylinder. Redundancy, yes, but the
bore is over 5". You need two spark plugs to light the mixture completely. If
you run on only one magneto (so only one plug per cylinder is firing), the
engine slows down 200-300 RPM.
Part of the pre-flight is to run up the engine to full throttle and switch to
only one magneto, then to the other, to check for a fouled spark plug. We had
one before our flight, and leaning out the mixture for a few moments corrected
it.
On Nov 2, 2010, at 10:07 AM, Chris Lindh wrote:
> Congrats on paying off the Honda. We've got a ways to go... we're
> loving the Dodge.
Rules: Please play nicely with others.
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