Tbo?
 

I am looking to purchase a Riley Rocket and see several aircraft at or near TBO.
I understand the TBO is 1400 on the engines.
However, what is the experience with the Riley conversion and the 337P's in general?
Can I reasonably expect to make 1400?
Would you recomend avoiding anything over 1000 hours?
Thanks,
James Lyle

TBO ?
 

tbo
 

I have a 1975 G model Riley. Tbo is 1400 hours. I am now 850 hours over tbo and still getting good performance. I do however plan to get new engines this spring. Run the plane often and get the engines cool. I average more than 250 hours a year in the air.
Jerry
N34EC:D

The key point in Jerry's message is that he flies 250 hours a year. Very few 337s fly that many hours. The likelyhood of making TBO on an engine is inversely proportional to the amount it has been *consistently* flown each year. In my opinion, if you fly the airplane over 100 hours per year consistently, you are likely (but not sure) to make TBO. Less flying than that makes TBO less likely.

In my last P337, I bought the airplane with 1400 and 700 on each engine. I planned to replace the high time engine as soon as it showed signs of being ready, i.e. oil consumption, low compression, particles in the oil.

After abou 150 hours of flying, the *low time* engine bit the dust at 850 hours (particles in the oil). So I was faced with the need for a dual engine change, which is what I did.

If you buy high-time engines, be ready to pay for an overhaul or reman. If you don't, be ready to pay for an overhaul or reman anyway... ;-)

Kevin