Firewall Forward
Ah, the engine. That all important item at the pointy end that turns the big fan on the front. There seems to be lots of debate about engines when you look through the forums on the internet.... The dreaded internet. A wealth of misinformation in a lot of cases...
Anyways, we've been going back and forth between us on engines for some time, in the hopes that somebody, somewhere will do something about the prehistoric stuff out there by the time we need an engine. It doesn't look like that's going to be the case, so it looks like we're stuck with the tried and true.
While there are some popular automotive conversions out there for the RV's, like the Eggenfellner and Crossflow Subarus, I think we're going to go with a regular Lycoming (or clone). While both companies converting the Subaru's are doing a great job redefining experimental powerplants, there's still two nagging problems. If it wasn't for these, we'd definitely be buying us one. After all, I have one in my Subaru WRX that's pushing 314HP at the wheels. That's quite respectable considering that it's four wheel drive and the losses involved through the drivetrain whatever they may be.
I'd like to point out that I'm not writing this to start another huge auto vs. aircraft engine debate. This is just my opinion, and like everyone else, I'm entitled to it. If you want a debate, search the archives of all the discussion forums. I'm certain this has been covered a thousand times or more!
So, the two nagging problems....
Nag number one is... What happens if I develop a problem with my engine a thousand miles from home, and land at a nearby airport. What A & P is going to help me fix it? Do I call the car dealership? Basically, you're on your own. While I do agree that the auto engine (whatever it's original manufacturer) will be a lot more reliable than a traditional aircraft engine, have more recent technological advancements, and have some form of decent engine management, someday, something might go wrong with it. Now, your miles from home, your wife is complaining about missing work tomorrow, and you didn't pack your roll-away tool chest. You're basically on your own. Maybe you could scrounge some tools from a shop on the field, but you have a lot of potential hassle. Now, the chances of this happening may be slim, but it still MIGHT happen. I know that with an aircraft engine that one day it WILL happen!
Nag number two is.... Resale value. When you sell on your beloved aircraft with an auto conversion, are you still going to give it it's annual inspections? Every year? How easy is it going to be for the new owner to get an A & P to sign off on something he knows not a lot about? By installing an auto conversion, you've automatically limited the market to which you can pass along your pride and joy. Aircraft engines are expensive, and everybody knows it. This helps to prop up the price of your plane, unless the engine is run out, but even then, it's still worth a fair amount of cash.
Anyways, enough of that...
So that's settled then.. An aircraft engine it is... There are a few to choose from.... Lycosaurs, the new Jabiru 8 cyl, there's even a turbine in the pipeline... Now a turbine would be cool, but it's very new. Hmmm.. How about an Allison T63? It'd fit, but it'll also add about two more years to the project.
While the Jabiru looks interesting, it seems to make it's power higher up in the RPM range. It doesn't look like it'll take a hydraulic prop, a requirement for aerobatics.
So to fit our mission of not taking an eternity to install & debug in the first place, cross countries, some mild aerobatics, reparability in the field and resale, looks like we're left with a Lycoming (or clone).
Now all we need to figure out is how to spend as little as possible for as much as possible. No mean feat. Bear with me, as I'm still researching our best options. I'll post stuff here as I find out what's what.
The contenders are...
Aerosport Power, a popular choice amongst homebuilders, particularly RV's.
Mattituck TMX360, a reasonable price and with FADEC as an option.
Superior XP360. This caused a sensation when it first appeared, but the hype seems to have died down while the prices went up..
ECI's Titan engine. I haven't researched this one fully yet... More to come...
8/24/2004 Update
Yeah, I know Oshkosh was ages ago now, but I figure I should get to writing my bit about what I saw there. Lots and lots of planes for one thing, and also some interesting engine stuff.
We took the time to attend the SL-360 engine build seminars that Superior were hosting, and I must say I came away impressed. I had intentions of ordering our engine now, so it was out of the way, but they recommended I wait as long as possible before I did. The main reason we attended the seminar was to assess the feasibility of building the kit engine myself. While I feel more than capable, the thing that turned me off this was warranty. There's a lot of cash gone into this project so far, and with the best part of $20k going into an engine, I figure that a warranty would be 'nice'.
So, an XP-360 it is then. Price doesn't seem too bad relatively, and the quality is excellent. We'll be taking the forward facing intake option to elliminate the protrusion from the underside of the cowl.
3/20/2005 Update
He we go again.... I've been doing a bit more research, and I'm now erring towards the TMX engine from Mattituck with the FADEC option. This will help financially, as the FADEC equipped engine seems a little cheaper in TMX form. I'm off to Sun 'n Fun in April, and I'll be vetting all the engine suppliers there. I plan on placing our order for the engine then too. Counting down the days!
4/17/2005 Update
Well, it happened! The engine is ordered! The choice was an easy one to make after talking with the various engine people. It was to be the TMX IOF-360! At Sun N Fun, they were offering free shipping and the appearance package. Worked out pretty good. Options we took were the forward facing sump (Ryton lightweight sump, rather than the aluminium version) and Titan cylinders. We went for the Titan cylinders over the Superior ones for the NiCasil bores that are more durable and more corrosion resistant. I also spec'd an inline starter from the Sky-Tec people. Now I can't wait until it arrives!
So, in the heat of it all, I didn't really get much in the way of pictures apart from a disassembled engine and a cut away cylinder. Well, here they are anyways.
These are all the parts laid out on the bench... This one has the standard sump.
Here is a cut away of the Titan cylinder assembly. This was on the ECi stand.
I stole this one from Mattituck's site... I'm sure they won't mind the publicity! These are the standard colours.
5/12/2005 Update
I got home and it looked like the UPS man had been. Funny, I didn't remember ordering anything that large recently. It was two cases of aviation oil, some regular Exxon mineral oil for break in, and some Exxon Elite for normal running. I didn't notice one case was mineral oil at first, so I figured Cameron or Mike had ordered some extra oil and had it sent to me to take advantage of some special deal or something. The next day, I got an e-mail from Mahlon at Mattituck letting me know I should be receiving some oil for our new engine! Sweet! I already got it thanks! A pleasant surprise.
So far, I've been extremely impressed and happy with the guys at Mattituck. They have been great. I have seen a lot of posts on various forums on the web from Mahlon Russel, and he's a very knowledgable guy. He's also been at Mattituck for a long, long time! I can't remember whether he said 20 years or 30 years at Sun n Fun. I suspect it was 30 years because I remember making a comment about him being there for half the total life of the company! Mahlon was a big influence on where we bought our engine, not because of him telling me, "Buy from us!", because he didn't. All the Mattituck guys are up front and honest about what they sell and do. They're a certified shop for building XP-360's from Superior too, so they know those engines and praise them highly. Our engine will have a lot a Superior parts in it by the time it's finished. Basically, Mattituck tells you your options and let's you make up your own mind, and I liked that a lot. If you're at a point where you're trying to figure out your engine choices, give Mattituck a real close look.
6/26/2005 Update
I found this picture on one of the forums. I can't remember where though. It's a much better picture of the TMX than I have at the moment, so I hope nobody minds me stealing it. If you recall taking the picture, let me know, and I'll credit you!
8/28/2005 Update
I got an email from John Sannizzaro the other day. He took this picture of the TMX when he went to the build school a while ago. He's known as Captain John on www.rivetbangers.com. Thanks John!
7/28/2005 Update
At Oshkosh, I was looking to order a propeller. I already knew what I wanted. For me, it was a no-brainer. It was to be the MT 3 blade. I wanted something twith no RPM restrictions, which would work well with the FADEC. So, the Hartzell was out.
We got the chrome spinner too. An expensive option, but worth it. All in all, we got a show discount, and a ten week lead time. Prop will be delivered assembled to DTW. I had to order it now since I want to get the engine running before the winter sets in. That way, I've jumped a major hurdle. That should put on a good schedule to fly next year sometime!
8/7/2005 Update
Last Friday, I called Mattituck to check status on our engine. They're right on schedule, as promised. Engine has been assembled, and is scheduled to be test run this week. Pretty cool! That means it will be shipping on August 15th. It's like waiting for Christmas!
Also, we decided to change the colour of our prop, from the grey with white tips that I ordered to black with yellow tips. We're probably going to paint this bird in some sort of military scheme (Royal Navy colours maybe), and most military planes have this colour combo for their propellers.
8/14/2005 Update
Last Thursday. Mike Yusek called from Mattituck to let me know my engine was ready! Woohoo! They crated it up, and shipped it Friday, so it should arrive sometime late next week. It's going to be like Christmas!
I ordered up a bunch of stuff from Van's to get me on the way with the engine. I ordered a baffle kit, a governor bracket, the intake snorkel kit, and of course a complete set of engine mounts. Wow! That adds up!
All I need now as far as big ticket items go, are an exhaust and two alternators. Then, it's all small stuff, that will add up too, I'm sure.
Today, the engine arrived! Woohoo! The shipping company actually tried to deliver it on Wednesday to the hangar, but sonce nobody told me, nobody was there to recieve it. I'm glad I called the shippers on Thursday now, as it enabled me to reschedule a delivery for today.
So, here are the two boxes everything came in. Big one obviously contains the engine. The small one has all the FADEC goodies in it, despite the fact it says ECi Aircraft Engine Crankcase on it!
I was like a little kid waking up at 4am on Christmas morning and running down to see if Santa had been! It didn't take long to rip off the wrapping!
Here are some more shots of it. Looks nice doesn't it? The grey is the same grey as the Instrument Panel.
The data plate shows that we have a TMXOF-360. Note the lightweight Ryton sump from Superior. Our engine is mostly Superior parts, with ECi cylinders.
Here is the Aerosance fuel distribution block. The rather large protruberances are fuel pressure sensors. I don't know why the have to be so big. There's barely enough wire in the harness to stretch between them.
Cameron came by to see, and we couldn't resist offering it up to the airframe....
One thing led to another, and before we knew it, it was on!
In all honesty, it's only on temporarily. We wanted to see how much room we had for the FADEC ECU's. There's enough room for them on the firewall, but we're going to have to figure out something else for the oil cooler. I really don't want it on the baffles, but there may be no other choice. We'll see how we go.
We also had a bash at putting on the harness. Unfortunately, it's not fitting very well. I've no idea how Mattituck fitted it to the engine. All I know is we couldn't get it to run to the fuel pressure sensors up top, and the manifold pressure and temperature sensors down below. It looks to us like the harness was made for an updraft engine, and we have a forward facing sump. I need to speak with Mattituck or Aerosance about this, as it will not work as it stands. I'll take some pictures of it so they can see them when I call.
Once we had messed around a bit, we took the engine off and put it back on the shipping crate. The plane almost had a heartbeat for a second!