Hello,

We are presently looking to upgrade from our Cessna 150 into a plane with a little more payload and density altitude performance. Does the GO-300 engine deserve it's bad reputation? I've been told that parts are becoming unavailable for the gear box? Is this true?
Thanks,

Bill Fyfe
Grants Pass, OR.

[quote=William Fyfe,Aug 20 2005, 06:25 PM]
Hello,

We are presently looking to upgrade from our Cessna 150 into a plane with a little more payload and density altitude performance. Does the GO-300 engine deserve it's bad reputation? I've been told that parts are becoming unavailable for the gear box? Is this true?
Thanks,

Bill Fyfe
Grants Pass, OR.
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I have very clean 58 175 that I am going to put up for sale. The GO engine is great. I will let you fly my 56 172 with the o 300 in it and you can decide. I am in Idaho

The GO-300A in my 58 175 runs great, it has been majored twice and the serial number on the engine matches what the airplane left Cessna with in 1958.

The bad rep came from improper operation, tach red lines at 3200 RPM and people aren't used to the high RPM in an airplane. I normally cruise at 2900 - 3100 and don't pull the power back real quick 9don't let the prop drive the engine) and it is fine.

Rick

Hi Rick,

Tell me more about the power control procedure to control the prop driving the engine. I have a C/S prop GO300E.

Steve
stevenkriss@comcast.net

The bad rep came from improper operation, tach red lines at 3200 RPM and people aren't used to the high RPM in an airplane. I normally cruise at 2900 - 3100 and don't pull the power back real quick 9don't let the prop drive the engine) and it is fine.

Rick
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Steve,

Sorry for the long time to respond, been moving. You don't want to let the prop windmill and drive the engine, i.e. pull the power back and point the nose down. This will put a strain on the prop gear box components and has also been known to cause cylinder failure in geared engines. I always try to keep some power applied when descending and in the pattern.

I normally fly downwind at 2500 rpm, base at 2000 rpm and final at 1500 rpm. Remember that the prop is geared to .75:1, so at the rpm I fly in the pattern the prop is turning 1875, 1500 and 1125 rpm respectively. When the windmilling prop drives the engine the gears are engaging on the backsides of the teeth and creating abnormal stresses on them. When the airplane is flown at lower rpm settings, say like a 172 with an O-300 crusing at 2200 rpm, the prop is only turning 1650 rpm, so the airplane has to be trimmed to a more nose up attitude to maintain level flight, this puts a larger stress load on the gearbox.

Currently some of the gear box components are not available new and servicable used ones are becoming more difficult to find, we are looking to see if we can ge the data for those parts and find someone to produce them again.

Rick