ORIGINAL: JohnBuckner

You have to be careful when talking about K&B engines as the variety and modifacations over the years has been hugh and there was a time back when that you could go to any field and see almost nothing else.

So having said that I am going to address the .48ABC Screaming Fortyeight. This engine along with the Screwhead Sixtyones were the last ditch effort by the original family owned company to compete with the imports around fourteen years ago.

I feel both were failures and the company was finally closed down in Lake Havasu Az. It was bought by Randy L. of RJL who seems to have sold mostly existing stock of these two engines and there may have been some new production runs.

I purchased two of the .48's and two of the Screwhead .61's when the first hit the stores.
The Screwheads had a totally new porting senario and they were superbly powerful for a while and I completly enjoyed flying turnaround pattern with them. That is untill both at around ten hours blew the complete top of the engine off at the crankcase.

The forty eights were a completly new design unlike the Screwheads with modified liteweight crankcases and their major problem is they shared the old rather crude carbs used by all K&B's.

These carbs all relied on the rotating spray bar for midrange control and in my opinion they just never got it quite right. I originally purchased those Screaming 48's to use on a twin but after first running them that I did not care to use them in that kind of application. In the years since they have served yeoman duty in variety of airplanes and currently are back in the boxs, holding not much interest for me.

Now if you want a truly spectacular engine with superb throttling and all around performance then try one of the new AX line like the 55 for example.


John

All just an honest opinion as a past user of those engines.