benson engine queston

[taint]

is a ea-81 subaru engine worth my time putting on a benson gyro straight drive? is the performance very good or sluggish,hard to lift off? or just to much weight.thanks

[JEFF TIPTON]

I don' t know how well they perform, but it has been done. This owner enjoyed his performance.

[WHY]

taint

just two questions , what is your personal weight and is the Bensen modified with different blades ??

Tony

[taint]

taint

just two questions , what is your personal weight and is the Bensen modified with different blades ??

Tony
212 lbs,it has orig aluminum riveted blades 10 ft long ea. and 7 & 1/4'' wide. and a 24 inch hub bar.its all benson ,no changes except the hub bar which needed replaced.it had a 1600cc vw on it.thanks

[Gyro28866]

I don't remember his name, but he has McCutchen Skywheels on this one.

[taint]

I don't remember his name, but he has McCutchen Skywheels on this one.
i think you posted this in the wrong place

[JEFF TIPTON]

Actually the picture shows David Herrmann, and this gyro does have Skywheel rotorblades.

[Doug Riley]

Taint:

Those riveted Bensen blades are classics, but they are inefficient power-hogs. Your performance will not be as good as the Soob-powered gyro in the picture.

McCutchen blades are quite a bit more efficient than Bensens. They have a better airfoil, and they have no rivets, lap joints or jointed top skins to add drag.

I think a light, powerful 2-stroke is a better engine for a stock Bensen.

[gyromike]

I have flown a couple of direct-drive Soobs on Bensens. It'll fly, but the machine will be over 100 lbs. heavier than a Mac-powered Bensen. The biggest improvement was swapping out the 23 foot rotor to a 25 footer. It was still no rocket ship, but it flew much better.

[Gyro28866]

Taint
I was referring to the pic that Jeff posted.
That was taken at Shelbyville flyin.

[Gyro28866]

Maybe you can get Billygyro to discuss his last machine.
It had a soob with redrive, with over 500 lbs of thrust, it should have been a home sick angel.

[helicopter ed]

here is way to have sucess using EA-81 direct drive on a bensen or any light single place. pilot needs to be 180 lbs. or less. Prop needs to be 2 blade Warp 60" set at 6 degrees on tips. [52" X 26 Tenn. works ok, but Warp 60" is big improvement, but needs 4" longer mast and rods Rotor needs to be Rotordyne
24 0r 25' blades set at 3 degrees positive. Have 20 years of sucess with this formula, remember the 180 lb. limit on pilot Also keep machine as light as possible. Weight is not our friend with this reliable bullet proof dependable engine. helled1

[earthbnd misfit]

I have done this mod, but the ea81 was turbo charged.

[BUD ONEAL]

I flew the sub powered bensen for several years direct drive. I was the second person to fly this combo.Don Bouchard was the first. It was great on the bensen but only with rotordynes. After Ernie built the Dragon wings and I got my first Dominator and put the direct drive on it then it was a great little machine untill I gained weight. Once I hit 190 I could only fly when the weather was 65 degrees or lower. The redrive solved all of the probrems.