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Greetings,
I have a question about use of the lifting eye that screws onto the end of the crank of the 985.
Is it allowable under any circomstances to lift the entire weight of the aircraft (less tailwheel wieght) by using the lifting eye? Rough guestimate 2000 pounds.
I am one of a gaggle that is talking about transporting an aircraft in an enclosed trailer and it has been suggested that we pick the forward portion of the fusalage and run it into the trailer using the crank as the pick point.
I am pretty ignorant as to the inner supports of this crankshaft, but I just cannot immagine this being a good practice. I thought that this lifting eye was intended to be used in the "crank vertical" plane, with the thrusts supporting the load not the way we are proposing.
Thanks for your assistance, Tim.
What is the aircraft? I am not familiar with the 985 so is the prop shaft integral with the crankshaft? Like Rob says there are old engine overhaul stands that support the full weight of the engine assembly from the propshaft. And these engines were the biggest radials too. Like R-4360's, R-3350's etc the engines weight is in excess of 3000 plus pounds, and remember the engine is overhanging and puttting an incredible moment on that shaft. The propshaft is probably the strongest thing on the engine there is that will bear weight. In tension it will more than carry the weight of the whole aircraft assembly. If the plane was say a supercorsair with an R-4360 I don't think there would be a problem trying to lift half that planes weight on the propshaft, and I would tend to think rather than using the normal screw on lifting eye, that cradeling the shaft with a large fabric strap would be better to lift with as it would distribute the weight better on the shaft.
It is too bad that engineering information like that isn't available from the manufacture, in the old days a simple phone call would be all it would take. Now they probably don't have anyone there that even knows it is one of theiir products, let alone know the answer.