What are the pro’s and con’s of putting a 160hp 0-320 in a kitfox 7SS? What prop. would work well with the motor?
What are the pro’s and con’s of putting a 160hp 0-320 in a kitfox 7SS? What prop. would work well with the motor?
I’m putting an IO-340 in mine. Kitfox installed an O-340 in their silver/green demo bird and flew it for a year.
Pro- gobs of power!
Con- 2-3 hrs endurance if you run it hard.
I’m using the Whirlwind 200 STOL prop.
A 320 will work in a Kitfox 7. Yes it will weigh more, but I think I read that Palmers Freedom Fox is over 900 now with the 915 and constant speed prop.
Build it light as you can and enjoy!
Jeff
KF 5
340KF
I think that when folks say "it will ruin your airplane" they mean usable load capacity rather than anything performance related. If your flying "light sport" at 1320 gross then an 0-320 will ruin any ability to fly with a passenger/luggage and any reasonable amount of fuel. If you register at 1550 gross things are much better but still not a lot left for baggage/camping gear.
Jim Ott
Portland, OR
Kitfox SS7 flying
Rotax 912ULS
Thanks, I am looking into the whirlwind, and a friend suggested I look at the MT prop also. Thanks for the help.
Old thread resurrection. Care to share numbers? Just picked up a 320-B2B for my STi.
S7 STi O-320 currently flying
My typical takeoff is 1500-2000’/min and I have seen 2600’/min. The airplane has more.
When I fly with Mountain Fox here in Indy I’m burning 2.5-3 gph. He is running a 912is and whirlwind 3 blade on a -7.
My prop is pitched at 14 degrees for climb. I cruise about 110-115mph at @5gph. I plan to add a couple degrees to see if I can get a faster cruise and keep some of the takeoff performance.
Jeff
KF 5
340KF
curious to see Ridgerunners numbers as well. Jeff you are running that whirlwind 80" GA prop correct?
S7 STi O-320 currently flying
Yup GA200L STOL
Jeff
KF 5
340KF
I'm really wondering if you typed the correct numbers? Every 320 I've ever run is around 8gph at 65%. You did say when flying with someone else, so possibly you have it throttled waaaay back? Also, do you have mods to it, i.e. FI, PMag, etc? I don't really expect to see 5gph on my 320/KF7 running over 100mph. Great news if achievable...
Cobb
My numbers are not as good as Jeffs, I have to keep my take offs flatter due to airport restrictions due to sky divers. Don't really want a wing ornament. But my 320 will climb at 2500'/min at around 85mph. I'm running a prince p-tip 72-50 carbon fiber fixed prop. At 2300rpm I'm cruising at 110-115 mph and burning about 5.3 GPH I can lean that down to around 4.8-4.9 GPH. At 120 mph I burn about 5.7GPH. All of these numbers are at 7000'. I'm at 960 lb. empty weight. From a stop I can take off in less than a hundred feet, and I will cross the numbers on a 5000' runway at a little over 110 mph. Once I change to a tail wheel these will change. I'm also putting on strut fairings and wing fences.
Les
Model 7 SS flying
160hp 0-320 lycoming