Thanks Harry... I can certainly get the serial number. The gentleman at the storage/display hangar and I bonded. They were excited someone was excited about the engine. If there is a dataplate, I will get a photo before I leave here.
Best, John On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 9:51 AM, Harry L. Francis <[email protected]>wrote: > Congratulations, John ! :) > > I once tried to find the IL-116 in San Diago, also. It was about 10 years > ago. I visited the museum, and was told no such engine was there. I was > quite disappointed, as the engine had been located and written about in > Coupe Capers. As I was on a business trip, I did not expand my search. Darn > it ! > > I would have loved to have been the Couper who found it ! :) > > I suspect the engine may actually be the one that was certiified in > the prototype Coupe, called the "Jeep". It may have been in s/n 1 coupe that > was owned by Bob Whipperman in California, and is now hanging in the > Smithsonian - NC 15692. Pictures of NC15692 with the IL-16 engine installed > are on page 20 of "The Ercoupe, A Touch of Class, by Saletri. > > Wouldn't it be great to identify the engnie s/n, and find the original > certification of NC15692, having the IL-116 engine installed ! WOW ! > > I expect the engine was removed and the Continetal 65 was installed before > sale. > > > Fly Safe - Have Fun > > Harry Francis > N93530 > Elliston, VA > > --- On *Tue, 5/5/09, John Craparo <[email protected]>* wrote: > > From: John Craparo <[email protected]> > Subject: [ercoupe-tech] ERCO IL-116 > To: "ety" <[email protected]> > Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 1:31 AM > > > > Today I was in San Diego, so I thought I would follow up on something > mentioned here some time back. I believe someone asked if any of the > original ERCO-built prototype engines were in existance. Included in the > responses someone mentioned the San Diego Air and Space Museum. > > I have family in town and visit the museum several times a year. It is > great talking to the docents and some allowing you to pore through their > logbooks and scrapbooks. Today I decided to inquire about the engine. > > I started by going on a tour of the basement. Here is where they do the > restorations. .. engines to airframes. Today they were working on a P-26 > Pea Shooter, a Corsair, and a 1903 Wright Engine (and what the mechanic > called its pissline carbureator) . When I asked the group of volunteers > sitting around a workbench about the ERCO engine, several were puzzled, then > one said it had been moved or maybe even sold. He brought me to the Senior > Curator Tom Beres who took the time to talk to me about Ercoupes. > > He explained the engine was stored out at Gillispie Air Field in the > Museum's hangar there. I took the 30 minute drive in traffic to Gillispie > trying to get there before they closed at 3:30. I made it in 15 minutes > leaving me an hour and a half to find someone who could help locate the > engine. When I made it to the grounds at Gillispie, I found a miniature > version of Silver Hill waiting for its Steven Udvar-Hazy. Among the old > airframes and full ships on the ramp, I found someone who might be able to > direct me. When I told him what I was looking for, he said it was no longer > there. He then paused and said, "I could be wrong though." > > He pointed me to a hangar where a fully restored P-19, a WACO, a beauriful > 1929 glider built by the students at San Diego High, and a 1911 Bleriot hung > from the rafters. The men in side brought me into a room filled with > engines on stands. Each one looked like it was ready to be installed as a > zero time power plant... behind a diesel rotary Packard engine, the tiny > ERCO was wedged against the wall. We moved several engines and the IL-116 > came into full view. I snapped a bunch of pictures which I have posted in > the Ercoupe Tech yahoo group pictures area. They await our moderator in > order for you to view them. > > I hope a few of you find these useful and of interest. > > Best, > John > > > > >
