After having finished construction of the aircraft I began ground testing in earnest. I had done a few taxis and high speed runs but nothing at full throttle. I assumed in error that advancing to full throttle on my 100HP engine would naturally get me aloft. But to be sure I decided it was best to do a static thrust measurement. I strapped the aircraft to my truck with a digital fish scale in the line. The maximum static thrust measured was a disappointing 350lbs at 4300 RPM. I was hoping for 400lbs and something close to 5800 RPM. The engines’ max 100HP occurs at 5800 RPM. So something is wrong.
Either my engine is not producing the necessary power or the prop is a mismatch or both.
