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/96284
U L Po w e r A ir p l a n e En g in e s vertical installation. The Mosquito Aircraft factory searched for a person able to transform the Jabiru for helicopter use and turned to the well-known race engine tuner DR Tuning in Oostende, Belgium. This was the start of ULPower. Lionel D' Hondt, owner of DR Tuning, was (and still is) successful in tuning all kinds of race car engines for street use. For him it was not a problem to adapt the Jabiru engine for helicopter use. DR Tuning was able to rebuild the Jabiru engine and equip it with the fuel injection for helicopter use. But the delivered power of the tuned engine was not sufficient, so DR Tuning was asked again if it could build something more suitable. Beside the fact that it was illogical to buy the engine in Australia, disassemble, tune it, and reassemble it in Belgium, the Jabiru factory also denied support for the heavily modified helicopter installation. Lionel decided to build his own 2.6-liter boxer engine developing 120 hp. While that engine was running on the dyno, Mosquito Aircraft's business failed, so there was a valid engine but no longer a helicopter for it to power. A cut-through of a ULPower cylinder. Tis image clearly shows how the cylinder foot is screwed to the opposite half of the engine block through the half on which it is sitting. Te cylinder head is fastened to the cylinder top. All ULPower engines exist in two diferent displacements and compression versions. Te higher displacement versions use the taller cylinder (at lef) while the lower displacement versions use the cylinder shown at right. All ULPower cylinders have a 105.6 mm cylinder bore; with two diferent crankshafs and shorter and longer cylinders, the stroke is 74 mm or 100 mm respectively, resulting in two diferent displacements. Tat is the diference between the ULPower 260 and 350 engines with 2.6 and 3.5 liter of volumetric displacement. But additionally on each engine with the same displacement, with two diferent cylinder heads and two diferent compression ratios you get two diferent power outputs. Tat's the ULPower equation for a wide power output choice. 24 NO. 4/ DECEMBE R 2012 Lionel reflected briefly and then asked his partners and suppliers if they would manufacture the parts for the engine so he can start his own production. When he got the answer "If you want to start production, we will go with you," ULPower Aero Engines was formed. After additional development in the years 2004 through 2006, the UL 260i engine with 2.6 liters was born. First flight was in an aircraft called Mission in 2006. The first flight of the 3.5-liter engine was in 2008. Development of the engines was not a problem because DR Tuning was always earning money with car tuning activities. So the aviation engine development was fun and not a big additional investment; the machinery was already there, and no major new investment was needed. Besides that, ULPower is owned by four stockholders, each with 25 percent of the assets. Several ULPower shareholders own another Belgian metal manufacturing company called ROPA that manufactures all ULPower's hardware. ULPower production represents only 5 to 10 percent of ROPA's business. These facts together are a reason for the easy and glitchless production start and steady development of ULPower. Currently, ULPower offers eight engines: six four-cylinder engines and two six-cylinder engines. The four-cylinder engines are: 1. UL260i, 97 hp 2. UL260iS, 107 hp 3. UL260iF, 100 hp 4. UL260iSA, 107 hp 5. UL350i, 118 hp 6. UL350iS, 130 hp. The two six-cylinder engines are: 1. UL390i/iS, 140/160 hp 2. UL520i/iS, 180/200 hp