Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry Burtz, Calif
40 Delux
Pietenpol's were all homebuilt and likely used a 2 blade homemade propeller. What is scary is that one blade likely grabbed more air than the other blade which resulted in high bending loads on the 1.625-inch diameter main bearing.
Early Funk airplanes used a dry-sump inverted Model B Ford engine and these airplanes were factory-built and benefited from the larger 2-inch main bearing. The propellers on Funks likely had less miss-match between the 2 blades.
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Thanks, Terry. The question remains, however: How long did the original thrust surface last, what with having to pull the airplane through the sky?