Welcome to the Culver Aircraft Forum

From what I can find the appropriate Marvel-Schebler part number for installation on any Franklin 4AC-199 90 H.P. engine is A10-2302.  I found this in a "Service Parts List Model MA-3A as used on Franklin Aircraft Engines" attached to a copy of a Franklin 4AC-199 Operators Handbook & Parts Catalog.

Which engine do you have?

By the way, my LCA is NC37818, s/n 329, one serial number after yours.  Wasn't yours in a museum in Fond du Lac WI a few years back?

I'll assume you have the Franklin 4AC-199E3. Based on that, the numbers you are showing seem rather odd to me.  The standard propeller for the Culver L-AR-90 (essentially a Cadet with tricycle gear and a 4AC-199E3) was a Sensenich 70AF56, so that should be the right propeller for you. You may still be interested in an adjustable pitch propeller, but I don't think the fixed pitch prop is responsible for these odd numbers (unless possibly you are using a different model than the AF).  With a 56 inch pitch (fixed) prop, I would expect approximately 2300 static RPM and approximately 2500 to 2550 RPM in level flight with full throttle (with a true airspeed of about 115 knots @ 2500 RPM), with the climb RPM somewhere in between. 

The very low static RPM and very high full throttle level flight RPM are what I find particularly odd.  Have you verified the RPM with an optical/digital tach?  Mechanical tachs are often inaccurate.  Your airspeed indicator could also be inaccurate.  I've found a few old Aeromarine airspeed indicators that read about 10% higher than they should.   Beyond that, I would investigate the engine (things such as ignition timing, throttle operation, carburetor adjustments, etc.) as a cause prior to changing props.

Unfortunately I don't know of any good solutions for an adjustable pitch propeller.  Culver originally used Freedman-Burnham ground adjustable propellers on the Cadets, but changed to fixed pitch Sensenich props sometime fairly early in production.  Here's a link to some photos of Freedman-Burnham propellers including one on a Culver:  http://www.notplanejane.com/freedman.htm.  I believe an airworthy Freedman-Burnham will be fairly difficult to come by.  They've been out of production for a long time.  I don't know of any certified adjustable pitch propellers currently in production.  Sensenich makes them for experimental & LSA. 

The cowling of the GC-1 Serial Number 1 NX17688 (on the Swift website page) certainly looks familiar.

I also suggest paying close attention to Service Memo 5, whether it applies to your Culver by serial number or not.  This service memo does not apply to my airplane, s/n 329, built well after the service memo alteration was incorporated into production starting with s/n 179.  However I found out the hard way that someone in the airplane's past didn't like those big pulleys sticking up out of the floorboard (even with the cute little covers on them), so they re-drilled the pulley brackets and installed small pulleys that would not extend through the floorboard, thus doing a very good job of recreating the issue and events that resulted in the service memo, an experience that I could have easily lived without.

I been busy working on my wings and unfortunately many or most of the butt (90* such as rib to spar) glue joints are loose.  I’m considering removing all the ribs and starting with fresh spars.  I have a few questions to the wing building experts;
1)   Does the Culver wing have any washout?
2)   Were the original wings built in a jig, or does the steel tubing line everything up?
3)   If they used a jig, are there any drawings or old pictures?

Thank you,  Phil

Phil,

I'm almost certain that the Culver wing has no washout.  Washout would probably defeat the lift distribution that the elliptical taper is attempting to accomplish.  Washout would also probably have made the wing slots unnecessary.  I don't know of any airplanes that use both wing slots and washout together.  I do believe that the airfoil is a NACA 3414 at the root and tapers to a 3408 at the tip (meaning the airfoil tapers from a 12% thickness to an 8% thickness).

I've seen a picture of the fuselage assembly in the factory, but not of the wing. 

Brett

I believe Antique Airplane Association may own Type Certificate A-748 to the L-AR-90, and Lark 95. AAA did rescue the remains of Spinks aircraft.  Spinks acquired the type certificate from Helton, who acquired it from Lark Aircraft, who obtained it from California Aero, who acquired it from Superior, who acquired it from Culver (to the best of my memory and knowledge).  I am uncertain if the FAA would consider the Antique Airplane Association the legitimate owner of the type certificate, and if the AAA actually obtained ownership of the type certificate, or just the Spinks' remains.

I believe the lineage of the type certificates for all other Culver models ends with Superior Aircraft (except for the PQ-8A which became the Jamieson J-1, and the Dart series which went to Applegate-Weyant, then Dart Aircraft Corporation).  I'm not sure it will be so easy getting the FAA to admit that the type certificates are orphaned.

Joe, I'm getting a "This content is currently unavailable" message when I click on that link.