Aviation Consumer Engine Article

[Pete of N978PB]

The November issue of Aviation Consumer has an article discussing engine upgrades on C-182s, and include Peterson's work among four others. It's at

http://www.aviationconsumer.com/issues/current/misc/5200-1.html

Note: You may have to be a subscriber to Aviation Consumer to get to the article.

After mentioning that owners of Peterson IO-470 aircraft are "fanatical" about the caliber and quality of Peterson's work, the article then rates our final upgrade product lower than several others based on cost vs. performance improvement measures.

Seems to me that the "performance" element must also include the shop's performance, not to mention the aircraft's aeronautical and handling performance following the upgrade, and also not to mention carburetor icing performance, but AC doesn't seem to consider such other performance factors.

While AC seems to prefer beefier (which also means heavier) engines to the IO-470, they make no mention of the effects of the increased weight up front in an aircraft that some think is already a tad too heavy up front even in its stock configuration.

Pete

[Squeege]

You are right Pete; can't see the article without being a subscriber.

I can tell you that during the CPA 182 Systems & Procedures course I attended last weekend, Tom Carr stated that, in his opinion, the Peterson IO-470 was the best upgrade for weight, performance, fuel-injection and cost.

But we know that already ;-)

Louise

[Todd Peterson]

One has to remember the original concept behind our certification of the IO-470 engine. I never intended to certify an engine upgrade for the Skylane. The engine I ended up choosing was to power the new 260SE/STOL and only later, as an after thought did I market it to the general public for their C182's. As we were the first of have an engine upgrade for the C182 and due to the fact that we have sold more conversions that most anyone else I think those on the outside just assumed that we certified this for the masses. Needless to say they are in error.

As my only goal was to find an engine that met the design requirements for the 260SE it is quite possible there are other engine upgrades more suitable to the C182. We all know that the 230SE and the 260SE flight envelope is considerably different (some would say superior) to the standard run of the mill airplanes out there.

When thinking back to the period I was designing and certifying the 260SE my biggest concern was getting more power without adversly affecting the flight characteristics of the airplane in the 45 to 55 kt range. This obviously is not a problem for those that offer engine upgrades for the normal Cessnas. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the typical C182 driver come down final at 80 to 90 kts then proceed to land on either the nose gear first or make a half hearted flare and maybe hit all three wheels at the same time. Obviously to this pilot a bunch of extra weight up front doesn't make a lot of difference, nor does the change in handling characteristics at slow speeds concern him much. For this pilot the bigger the engine the better I would say. Heck if a guy could certify the eight cylinder, 400 hp, Lycoming engine used in the 400 Comanche it would be great.

In our world however it doesn't make much sense to have an airplane that people purchase for its safety and slow flight ability then destroy most of those flight characteristics with an overweight engine/prop combination. We also learned this with our aerobatic airplanes. You can only install a larger engine/prop combination up to a certain point then the negative consequences to the flight characteristics overcome the extra power and it actually leaves you with an airplane with a lot of power but inferior flying qualities.

After 30+ years of being an IA I also still believe that the reliability of the IO-470 engine is far better than the 520 or the 550. Just a personal opion but one based on a lot of experience.

As to our loyal customers appreciating the caliber and quality of the finished product I can only say thank you. Life is truely great when your building the best airplane for the best people.

Hope to see some of you at the AOPA convention.

[kwmoore]

...indeed. This sounds like excellent material for a T shirt! :p