Thrustline Mod - PA20 Pacer

[avcan]

First post on this great site!

I have a 150hp Pacer with 26" Goodyears and Micro vgs.
Have read all the posts on the thrustline mod for the PA18, but only one reference to it on the PA20.
Has anyone tried it on the PA20, or can give info on the engine angle?

Keen to know if it is worth looking at on my aircraft, as I find the biggest disadvantage with the Pacer is the lack of AOA available on takeoff, therefore increased takeoff rolls.

Cheers
Craig

[d.grimm]

I looked at that too. Don't know why it wouldn't work. Probably not enough market for a STC. Any Producer type guys try it?

[ag-pilot]

When we replaced the old worn out rubber motor mounts on my 125 pacer it picked the front of the engine up 2 degrees and about 5 mph at 2450 cruise.
Dave

[Erik]

The Thrustline mod corrects the "nose down" of the engine/prop and puts it roughly in-line with the fuselage. Does the Pacer have the same problem as the PA-18?

[avcan]

Ag-pilot,
After you replaced your mounts, did you notice any changes to the takeoff performance, or the speed the tail gets off the ground?

Next time I am out at the hangar I plan to do some measurements and check the engine/wing chord angles.

[ag-pilot]

As far as takeoff goes its hard to say with only 125 ponies up front and stock wings but I will say the thing impressed me compared to a 172. Very underrated A/C.
Dave

[ag-pilot]

As far as takeoff goes its hard to say with only 125 ponies up front and stock wings but I will say the thing impressed me compared to a 172. Very underrated A/C. As I understand it the Pacer has the same negative thrustline as a cub but I think they have less Angle of incidence on the wings so your not going to see as dramatic of results but I could be wrong.
Dave

[avcan]

Yip - we love our Pacer.
With the back seat out we can load in a 10ft inflatable dinghy, 15HP outboard, with all the gear, fishing rods, and two people. Try doing that in a cub!
Sure - performance is not as snappy as a cub, but in the right hands it's amazing what it can actually do.

With the back seat in, you can load up the family, and head off for a weekend camping.

Re the angle of incidence, I know the wing AofA on the ground is much lower than a cub - not sure how much of this is the wing angle of incidence, and how much is the height of the gear.

I'm keen on
1. finding an extended gear STC/mod,
2. looking onto this thrustline thing some more,
3. fitting a freeflow exhaust system,
4. and eventually an 0360.
Then I reckon you've got a good machine!

Cheers
Craig

[BatPacer]

I have spoken with Mark Englerth about this a couple of times and his take seems to be that the mod is not going to produce the same type of results on a Pacer that it does on a cub. Go to his website, http://www.thrustline.com/expect.htm, and read up a bit and then call him direct if you are interested. It's also interesting to note that no -12 drivers are represented in his testimonials. I don't know if that is because the -12 also doesn't gain the same performance increase or if it's just that there are so many more -18's flying around with the mod. One thing I've heard and also experienced in my discussions with Mark is that he isn't going to push his product if he doesn't think it will work on your plane. That's pretty cool.

Paul

[behindpropellers]

I have spoken with Mark Englerth about this a couple of times and his take seems to be that the mod is not going to produce the same type of results on a Pacer that it does on a cub. Go to his website, http://www.thrustline.com/expect.htm, and read up a bit and then call him direct if you are interested. It's also interesting to note that no -12 drivers are represented in his testimonials. I don't know if that is because the -12 also doesn't gain the same performance increase or if it's just that there are so many more -18's flying around with the mod. One thing I've heard and also experienced in my discussions with Mark is that he isn't going to push his product if he doesn't think it will work on your plane. That's pretty cool.

Paul

Thats because it was not STC'd for the PA-12. An example of the PA-12 with the straight line mount is a J-5A with a continental motor on it.

Tim