Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/108002
intends to present a new engine on a national scale in Italy in February and then again at the upcoming 2013 Aero Friedrichshafen show in April. I.C.P.'s plan to develop the engine hidden from the eyes of the public worked pretty well for almost 5 years, even if I and a few persons outside I.C.P. were informed, but this was suddenly over when the engine was briefly shown to a "limited" circle of persons during the I.C.P. factory fly-in in mid-September 2012. I.C.P.'s M09 engine is now being extensively tested on the ground, and the timetable for the public presentation in 2013 seems realistic. This new engine will be built to the airplane manufacturer's specification, specifically for the European UL (ultralight) and United States' LSA and experimental airplanes. The biggest surprise is that this major Italian microlight/ LSA aircraft manufacturer decided to sell its engine on its own. The precise reasons for such an important decision are still unknown, but often in aviation there is a lot of emotion and passion in the game. I.C.P. primarily developed this new engine to be independent from other engine suppliers. Secondly it was driven by the wish to simplify the airplane manufacturing process. I.C.P. wanted an engine that easily fits in almost any airframe; other engine manufacturers are seemingly not offering this solution. I.C.P. has not just adapted another street engine to light aviation; it developed an absolutely new engine that will be offered as a bolt-on solution to all fixed and rotary wing manufacturers. The M09 is a four-stroke, two-cylinder engine with cylinders in an upright "V" configuration (90-degree "V" angle). The two-cylinder aspirated engine has 1,225-liter displacement and is supposed to to develop from 80 to 130 (150) hp. The I.C.P. engine family will probably consist of up to four different versions; the main difference will be the engine mapping. The atmosphericaspirated engines should develop 80 to 130 hp, while the most powerful one will reach almost 150 turbocharged horsepower. The all-liquid-cooled engine is fitted with a 2.95-to-1 reduction gear that will deliver the max power at 2400 prop rpm. The liquid/oil cooler is the engine's integral part as it will be the air box, three-phase electric generator, fuel pumps, and the ECU (engine control unit). According to I.C.P., the total weight of this engine, with all liquids, muffler/exhaust, and ready-to-go, is 178 pounds or 81 kilograms! Dry weight of the compact "V" twin with the complete exhaust system is 147 pounds or 67 kilograms. If these numbers prove to be true, the M09 will have one of best weight/power ratios of all modern LSA engines. From the very beginning, a tractor (fixed wing) and pusher version (rotorcraft/autogiro) was considered and developed. Compactness and the bolt-on feature were primary design goals. The result of this effort can be seen in the engine wiring; it is so short that it is practically nonexistent, or better to say, not visible at all. Everything is already mounted and wired on the engine. This engine is a dual overhead cam (DOHC) design, which means that in each cylinder head, valves are actuated by two cams; the cams are crankshaft driven by a chain. A lot of attention was dedicated to this detail because there is a I.C.P. is a producer of several light two-seater airplanes such as the Bingo and Savannah, and it is well aware of the manufacturer requirements on aeronautic engines. In I.C.P.'s opinion, the installation of available engines to a new airframe takes too long, and once the first installation is done the manufacturer still needs up to 50 working hours to install the engine on the airframe. Those are the main reasons why I.C.P. decided to build something absolutely new, a bolt-on solution that could be fixed with a few screws to any firewall and be ready to go. The I.C.P. M09 engine was the idea of I.C.P. owner Edi Razzano, himself a passionate motorcycle rider, who worked with Franco Lambertini to design the engine. Lambertini worked for many Italian engine manufacturers such as Ferrari, Morini and Piaggio. This in part explains the I.C.P. engine architecture; Lambertini has designed and developed many lightweight engines in his working life, and some of us will spot one or another part on this engine that has similarities with recently designed engines. EAA Experimenter 27