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0290G Questions

Larry DeCamp

Well Known Member
I purchased a "never run" 0290G for an RV-3 project. There are several RV-3A on Barnstormer with 290G engines. I have heard the crank prop flange is lighter on the G compared to the certified aero version. Can anyone tell me for sure if there is any crank mod required for a 2 1/4 extension and wood prop?
 
0-290G

I have a 0-290G in my Cassutt and I purchased a (for lack of better words) flange back beef up plate from ACS. It fits on the back side of the flange and adds strength to the flange. I also have a 4 inch extension and Catto prop. Works great. 140 hours now. IMHO I would not place a prop on the standard 0-290G flange without the backing plate if you even suspect that you may do aerobatics. I will try to find the proper name in ACS for you as I can not think of what it is called.

Blue Skies to ya

Perry

By the way the Cassutt is for sale.
 
Larry,

I had an O-290-D2 in my RV and loved that engine. However, the -G model is a bit of an odd ball and finding parts in the future will be a challenge. Some but not all the -G parts are interchangeable with the -D and -D2 engine.

If your engine didn't come with a carb, let me know, I have my -D2 carb for sale and it may work.

That said, I would run away from the O-290 dash anything. The reason is the parts availability. After my prop strike, we found that it would cost over $30K to do a major on the engine and that is because you are going to pay top dollar for the hard to find parts. Even then, we had a challenge finding someone who would even agree to overhaul the engine.

If you buy this project, I suggest you sell the O-290-G for whatever you can get out of it and put the money towards an O-320.

If I had a flying plane with a sound O-290, I would run that thing until it died and then replace it. This would give you time to find a good O-320 at a reasonable price.

Check out the engine page on my site, listed below, for the things I had to do to install the O-290-D2 on my RV-9.
 
0-290D

Larry,
I've got a 0-290D core that I'll sell for $2300 and I'll guarantee the crank to be good enough to be yellow tagged. PM if interested for details.
Bill
 
Larry,
I've got a 0-290D core that I'll sell for $2300 and I'll guarantee the crank to be good enough to be yellow tagged. PM if interested for details.
Bill

And I have a damaged O-290-D2 core that I'll let you have for $600. (The crank is NOT good.) I know it has a bad crank but the .010+ pistons should be good. BTW, ECi sells .010 rings for this engine.

As mentioned earlier, I also have the correct carb for the engine.
 
more O-290 questions

Just curious-- Does anyone know the weight of a typical finished O-290 installation with a wood prop on a -3? (engine mount-forward)
 
Katie,

The only RV-3's listed on Dan C's old site weighed in at 763 & 889 pounds and both had O-320's.

My RV-9 was 990 pounds empty with the 264 pound O-290-D2. Expect an O-320 to weigh about 277 pounds.

That doesn't exactly answer your question but it should give you an idea of what to expect.
 
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3 weaknesses of the "G" engine

The prop flange is 1/2 the thickness of other Lycs. Buy the stiffeners from ACS. There is an excess of metal in the case making it 15 to 20 pounds heavier than a "D" model. Lastly, most, if not all, of the valve-stems are 3/8" and are more subject to breaking. We replaced mine with 7/16 and flew it for 260 hours in a Murphy Rebel.
 
Go to the T18 forum... the original drawing that Lou Southerland based his on is the same one Aircraft Spruce offered... if enough interest, I'll scan my planset and load as pdf..

Jeff Maynard
RV-3A
T-18 N118JM
HRII (one day, one day.....)

ACS no longer has the reinforcement plate available (per Osh 365).
 
WTB

I am looking for a reinforcement flange for my 0-290GPU. Do have one or know
where I can buy one. ACS no longer has them available.
Jim in Winter Haven, Fl. 863-651-2108
 
0 290G

The G crank is stock 0 235C. Lightening holes and thin flange. The problems with the G's that led to prop losses in flight were mostly in the cut down metal prop era. I personally would not have a problem running a wood prop with no extension on a G with unreinforced flange. The extra material in the crankcase is normally machined off which should bring the weight in line with a 0 290D. One of the old EAA manuals has detailed weights on the 0 290D2B. The G weights on a proper conversion should be very close. There have recently been some new G parts on ebay motors. Theres still some stuff out there.
 
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