A good friend of mine that does the machine work for my engines built the engine for George. It was a narrow deck O-320 bumped up with 160 HP pistons. George had also done a cold air intake, had tried various carb and single point injection configurations, tuned exhaust, etc. George was particularly proud of having lightened up the O-320 configuration so his installation weighed 2# less than his previous O-235 installation. The O-235 was pumped up to 140 hp, so stepping up to 160 wasn't such a huge stretch. Building performance engines (turbo drag bikes) was George's other passion to go along with aviation, so building HP was not a new concept for him.
He did not crash on take off. He had an engine issue while in the pattern and requested an immediate landing, which was granted. However, it appears that he overshot the landing, then attempted to make a tight turn to land on the crosswind runway rather than running off the end or attempting a go around. I appears he stalled during the low level tight turn. One could hardly blame the crash on overpowering the plane. The issue was an engine that wasn't running correctly, then apparently the pilot's attempt to switch runways with a tight turn while low and slow. George had called me the day before the crash to discuss the engine problem, but I missed the call. It was too late when I tried to return his call. I used to fly to Pueblo for breakfast with George pretty regularly. He was a good friend, quite knowledgeable and is sorely missed. -Jeff Scott Los Alamos, NM > Just before his accident, George McHenry removed his modified Lycoming > O-230, about 110hp, and installed an O-320, 150hp. He was testing it when > the incident took place. I spoke with him just days before to discuss my > installation of an O-290 130hp (I'm taking extra precaution with CG, etc.). > George was very knowledgeable and helpful. He will be missed. Blue Skies.... > > Rodger > Anchorage, AK
