Here is the latests from Franklin posted on their facebook page..

Franklin Engine Company
We have confirmed our spaces at Oshkosh! Even thou they cost an arm and a leg! We will be there, mom was set on the idea that she could not function in one indoor booth, but had to have two! Gotta love her! So make plans to stop by and see us at Hanger B (Bendix / King by Honeywell Exhibit Hanger) at Booth 2061 & 2062! We will be fully staffed with lots of goodies along with a few new surprises, that will spark your interest for sure! Details to come soon... In addition, we are toying with the idea of raffling off a completely overhauled certified engine!! Or one ready to be assembled! That could be a steal!!

Oh and also, VERY IMPORTANT!!! We have made the decision to remain Franklin Engine Company! Instead of Franklin Aircraft Engines, USA, LLC, that name is being used be other parties and has been in the past, and we have been Franklin Engine Company for years and want to continue to stand behind it! So as any new growing company we are flexing and making changes here and there, and thats one of them. So no more confusion, we are back to the original Franklin Engine Company! Plus I really like the way it sounds! LOL Questions, please always feel free to e-mail, message, or call us! [email protected], or (903) 626-5210! See ya soon!

Great news to hear. Now, if they would just get that 220 hp engine available to burn Mo-gas. That and EZ-Flaps butt dragger kit on my 172 and I could pretend I was a real pilot..ala Walter Mitty!!! LOL
WW

rather than start another new thread....
Other than 15 ponies is there any advantage/disadvantage to a F180 vs. a 165?

porterjet wrote:rather than start another new thread....
Other than 15 ponies is there any advantage/disadvantage to a F180 vs. a 165?

C/S prop would be one advantage of a F180. Does the F180 require 100LL? (I don't think so, but I don't know).

I've heard of Franklin 180 horse engines but never seen one, just the F150/165 & the 220. I think there was an outfit (Northwest Seaplanes maybe?) that STC'd it into the C170 years ago. What airplane did they come in as standard equipment?

To my dedicated followers here at Backcountry Pilot! I must apologize to you all for leaving you in the dark for so long! I know that the majority of you guys are on the edge of your seats waiting for an update and good news! Well we did receive the entire inventory from Oregon, and to be honest, it was much larger then we anticipated! Which is a blessing, but we have been a bit “buried alive” so to speak in Franklin inventory and sorting and inventorying such a huge quantity of stock has kept us busy, very busy! There are parts that we have never seen, that we didn’t know existed, if you can believe that! As well as, parts for, I’m certain every engine, from the 2A-120 to that beast 12 cylinder engine they made a few of! And of course all the engines in between! So right now we have everything housed in two separate hangers and are still sorting and inventorying! Wow, we have hired a few “seasonal” helpers to help us make this manageable and put some order to all of it! I’m hoping that we should be finished by the end of the month, I had to order new metal shelving units which could handle the weight, they should be here by the end of the week!

So as for parts, we should defiantly have you covered, of course there are still some of the rare things like the 220 cams that we don’t have, however we are in the process of reverse engineering those as we speak! Along with the parts inventory there were some bonus items which we acquired, at this time I cannot release that information (you know those legal issues), even though I really want to just spill the beans! I will give you a hint and just say a few original factory documents were included!!

Another thing I want to share is that we have made the decision to remain Franklin Engine Company, instead of using the name Franklin Aircraft Engines, USA, LLC. Franklin Engine Company was the original name of the company, plus it is the name we have used for years and is recognized by our customers. The other name as many of you know is being used by Roman Sadowski and we certainly do not, I repeat, do not, ever want to be confused with him or the operation he is running, etc. So again, we are officially again Franklin Engine Company!!

Ok, on to other topics, our website…I finally waived my white flag and have admitted that I for one do not have the time to properly maintain the site, or the proper training, nor does it represent us the way I would like! So I gave in and handed it over to a professional team who I have been working with for the last few weeks, and it is going to finally be awesome, as it should be! We should have everything finalized by (I’m hoping by next week) and up and running! It will still be www.franklinparts.com. I will have a personal web site rep that handles the site, so I don’t have to do it, and yes, I need that, so it will always be up to date and there for you! I’m really excited!
And so to Oshkosh 2012, we will be there, and are in the process of purchasing mother, or better known as Susan a new truck (sorry about wrecking the other Dodge mom) and 5th wheel travel trailer, to make traveling easier for her! We will be inside this year in Hanger B Booth 2061 & 2062, we are hoping for a large turnout this year, please make plans to stop by and visit with us if you plan on going! We have several things that we will be unveiling so to speak that I think everyone will be very excited about! Again, another reason I have been so busy! I know we have all year to prepare for Oshkosh, but I feel like it just creeps up on me and bam it’s here before I know it!

Oh and in addition to Oshkosh, we are planning on attending the Arlington, WA show which is a week before Oshkosh; we always have such a nice turn out there! Plus we love, love the weather, sure beats this Texas heat!! We are not certain of the booth number yet, but as soon as we are assigned I will let you guys know.

Other than that everything else is still a go at this point, we are still working with the FAA, however we may not settle for the Carolinas with regards to a manufacturing facility, the building we were looking at, for now is on hold, so at this point we are beginning to look for other facilities, which I’m certain one will surface, it’s just a matter finding the one that is perfect for us and our needs. But just because we hit one bump in the road, certainly doesn’t mean we are not still moving forward! Production is still our ultimate goal, and we will achieve it, so please hang in there and thank you all for your support! As always if anyone has any questions, suggestions, would like to know more, or even would like to join us in our efforts please feel free to email me at [email protected] or call at 903-626-5210.

Sincerely,
April Jones
Franklin Engine Company