QuickTalk 29 - QUICKIE HINTS

GLOBAL ENGINE UPDATE from Jim Masal

As of September 15 I have flown off 43 hours on Bob Giles' Global Quickie and it has been signed off for flight out of the test area. We are still experiencing teething problems with the plane but the engine has been performing nicely. The re-welded case mount point and the heavier steel tube engine mount have held up without problem. The engine is now turning an Ed Sterba 52x32 prop at 3300 rpm and a noticeable increase in climb power. In fact, the plane now has a tendency to roll right and pitch down in the stick free condition due to the torque (VWs turn clockwise). Although an engineer calculates a theoretical 150 mph top speed, the ship doesn't quite make 115. Still, this Onan Quickie owner prefers the comfort of the extra climb power, and most especially after a recent short flight through a moderate rain shower when the Global had plenty of oomph to stay up (unmodified wing) though with a loss of 10 mph. Giles would still like to turn a factory suggested 3600 rpm and he's thinking of dropping prop pitch to 30.

Steve Hickam in Tucson has a Global mounted on his Quickie and expects to be in the air by the first of the year. Paul Wright in merry old England told me when I shipped him a cowling a couple months ago that he expected to be flying his Global Quickie by now, but he hasn't been in contact. Tom Solan must have pickled his by now or else the lines are down between here and Georgia.


Another opinion from Ike Isaacson who bought a crashed Quickie for rebuild: "A friend built a Fisher FP-101...and got a GMT Global for it. This thing flew on the edge of a stall; it was a high drag version of a Quickie Onan. Because of high drag, it couldn't accelerate. He sold the Global and put on a 377 Rotax and it flew great. The Global really shook, too, just like a 1/2 VW would. It's a good design, but just can only make so much power. I do like VW engines and have one in an almost finished Sonerai."


ROTAX: Talk about the lines being down, since the first exciting news there has been nothing much heard about McCaman's and Hawkes' R-503 Quickies out in Camarillo. Can anyone stimulate anything out there?

Ed Miller who has been helping some of you with details of his Rotax 447 installation flew his Quickie into OSH from Chicago and it was a very nice example indeed! So was Ed. He was very frequently beside his airplane answering questions and being helpful. For a few guys who could drag themselves to the airport at 7 am, Ed gave them the treat of taxiing his plane up and down the grass alongside the show area. The pull starter is a real luxury and I found that at idle it vibrates similarly to my Quickie but with almost any power at all it smoothes right on out. I would have loved to fly it. Ed was very happy with the engine but had the plane up for sale.


In a conversation with J.P. Stroud, I clarified a bit of information about mounting vortex generators on the Quickie canard. J.P. says he and Swanningson drew a line along the 50% chord of the canard (resulting in a spanwise line) and then affixed each pair of generators at 10 degrees with respect to this line (noses on the line). With respect to airflow over the wing, this puts one VG more in line with flow than the other.

J.P. further reports that he has shut down his Onan in flight, at altitude, and over an airport, and found it easy to air start. He said the prop wouldn't quit wind-milling until below 80 mph and that it will start for him at airspeeds of 90-100, though initially it may take a 120 mph dive. Altitude loss in such a start was 1000'.


Letter from Jerry Fueslein to Jim Prell

I was just talking to Craig Catto and he gave me the following info.

At Camarillo, one builder has a Rotax 503 with dual carbs and is getting about 1300 fpm at 90-95 mph and is topping out at 155 mph. T.O. roll is about half what it was with the Onan. He now has a 48x50 prop. I don't know what his gear ratio is. He is turning 5200 static and 64-6500 max straight and level. Sounds like he has the best combination for best all-around performance.

Another builder has a single carb 503 and is ONLY getting 145 mph. I think he has a 46" prop.

Craig says the main difference between the 447 and the 503 is in the crankshaft and crankcase, the 447 being lighter. There has been some problem with the 447 when worked hard on 2 place ultralights (crankshaft failure). Apparently it uses the same crank as the 377.

I believe they are running the 503 engines upright. Had to add some lead in the tail as the 503 is heavier. Has to hold left rudder because of P-factor and reverse prop rotation. That's all the info I have now.


In other Quickie engine news, Chris Young writes, "I'm more likely to put my BMW motorcycle powerplant in if I could think of a crankshaft extension. BMW is 787cc and 45 hp at 5,000 rpm, smoother than the Onan and is an opposed twin also." Meanwhile, out in Arizona, Dee Brown is hot into the development of a Hirth engine installation in his Quickie, "Rated 36-38 hp. By using a second carb and clean exhaust ports to 3 cylinders it develops 50-53 hp and should cruise 180 mph. I'm doing a carbon fiber beef-up on spars and firewall to handle the extra loads." These engines are modular and can be built up to 2, 3 or 4 cylinders. These are 2 strokers weighing around 50 lbs.


From Jim Prell

I finally put my money on the table and purchased a new Suzuki 440 (44 hp at 6,5000 rpm). Price, including shipping was $816. I still have to buy a Rotax gear box for another $190. The Suzuki has several improvements over the Rotax:

1. CD ignition.

2. Ignition timing is automatically retarded to TDC for much easier starting (Rotax engines have fixed timing).

3. Mikuni carburetor which has a real mixture control manually adjustable from the cockpit.

4. Improved forced air-cooling. The Rotax has cooling from oriented 90 degrees to the relative airflow while the Suzuki fins are angled somewhat into the flow.

5. The Suzuki comes with a two-stroke oil-injection pump built right into it. No mixing of gas and oil, the complete oil-injection system is already hooked up and ready to go.

6. Suzuki has the latest metallurgy and Schnuerle-porting, which accounts for its higher power output compared to Rotax. Fuel economy is much improved also (or so the Ultralighters claim...I'll believe it when I pump the gas myself).

The reliability of this Suzuki will only be proven with many hours of flight time...would you want to come up to K.C. and fly off the first 40 hrs?...this way I can safely stay on the ground and watch somebody else be brave!

(ah so, round eyes...you would let ME fly it and miss out on even more experiences in the plane that is "more fun than anything else you can do in the daylight with your clothes on?????" I have sometimes felt that flying a Quickie is an excellent way to check your standing with the LORD. It is either your time or it is not. - ED).



You can order a PDF or printed copy of QuickTalk #29 by using the Q-talk Back Issue Order Page.