Conventional O-320 AA-1C T-cat

[Warren Dunes]

Partly cloudy, cool, and dry with very little breeze, it was a perfect morning to test fly the aforementioned. If you missed my two earlier posts I'm looking for a commuter to fly one 250 statute mile flight about 14 times a month with one 180 pound pilot and 20 pounds of baggage. I also need to be able to carry a 140 pound passenger and another 20 pounds of baggage on an irregular basis. Flights will be in the midwest US, O & D airports at 500 ft AMSL or so, highest terrain feature is about 2000 ft AMSL.

Weighing in at 1109 pounds (full IFR) the STC'd 1684 lbs gross gives 575 useful pounds (383 after 32 gallons). It has a 160 hp O-320-A, Sensenich 74x62, swapped main gear legs, a tailwheel, engine and airframe Mogas, main wheel pants, flow, egt, cht, and aux fuel tank STCs. I need to have my mechanic take a really good look. It was converted a dozen years ago after a student pilot made a "special three-point landing" (two propeller blades and nose gear) putting paid to the nose wheel and O-235.

Thoughts, anecdotes, warnings of impending doom?

Thanks.

(Yeah, it's fast.)

 

[Magman]

Did you actually test fly?

Often even sitting in an airplane gives a new perspective.

Oddly; I seem to have more headroom in the 2 seater rather than the Tiger.

Regarding maintenance a lot depends on the prior caretakers

My perspective is ; not better or worse just different.

 

[Warren Dunes]

Did you actually test fly?

The seller took off and landed. I watched the gauges while he did so, and flew it in the middle. I flew a -B with the 108 hp last week, this is much faster to takeoff (~20%), climb (~50%). WOT gave 175 mph indicated (and ~12 gph). Wheel landings were a tad longer than in the -B.

Often even sitting in an airplane gives a new perspective.

Oddly; I seem to have more headroom in the 2 seater rather than the Tiger.

Regarding maintenance a lot depends on the prior caretakers

My perspective is ; not better or worse just different.

I have less than an hour in either the -B or -C, at similar speeds they seemed, well... similar. But with the O-320 you can throttle it back and get O-225 numbers or open it up and $$$ at the pump. The tail wheel makes it faster too...

 

[k9medic]

Might want to check the mogas STC. If it's a 160HP, that negates most of the STC's like that.

 

[Warren Dunes]

Might want to check the mogas STC. If it's a 160HP, that negates most of the STC's like that.

From what I have (obsessively) read, the higher compression cylinders found in the -B and -D series engines prevent THOSE 160 hp O-320s from being eligible to operate on 87 octane fuel. The slightly lower compression -A (which by my math only spins at 157.5 hp, not 160) was certified on 80/87. This Aircraft has the EAA-SA868GL for the 320 and EAA-SA867GL for the airframe.

 

[Warren Dunes]

Oddly; I seem to have more headroom in the 2 seater rather than the Tiger...

Keeping in mind that I am overdue to have my eyeballs re-calibrated: Looking at the 3-plan drawings in the POHs the AA-1's canopy is ~20% shorter than the AA-5s. So it "peaks" over the pilots seat in the two-seater, but over the rear seat passenger's knees in the four. The same height, but at different arms aft...

 

[mondtster]

From what I have (obsessively) read, the higher compression cylinders found in the -B and -D series engines prevent THOSE 160 hp O-320s from being eligible to operate on 87 octane fuel. The slightly lower compression -A (which by my math only spins at 157.5 hp, not 160) was certified on 80/87. This Aircraft has the EAA-SA868GL for the 320 and EAA-SA867GL for the airframe.

If this is an "a" suffix o-320, it is a 150hp engine unless it was altered in some way to convert it to 160hp. If it is truly 160hp, you're going to need to make sure the proper documentation is there for that conversion.

 

[Warren Dunes]

If this is an "a" suffix o-320, it is a 150hp engine unless it was altered in some way to convert it to 160hp. If it is truly 160hp, you're going to need to make sure the proper documentation is there for that conversion.

It is an O-320-A, which Lycoming says is a 150 hp engine. But what do they know? The STC allows a higher maximum rpm and calls it 160 hp but the math is more like 157 hp. (This sort of thing happens when the marketing majors are not properly chaperoned.)