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/178050
aluminum two-seat Spitfire Mk. 26B from Supermarine Aircraft of Cisco, Texas. Weighing 523 pounds installed and making 430 hp at the crank, this fuel-injected V-8 drives a patented, dual-belt 1.82-to-1 Michael O'Sullivan–designed reduction unit from the flywheel end. It is managed by a custom-mapped Motec electronic control unit that gets signals from redundant flywheel triggers. The proprietary mechanical throttle body puts positive cable control back in the pilot's hand, eliminating the automotive throttle-by-wire link. Cost is about $70,000, and it's available now. www.SupermarineAircraft.com BMW V-12 Conversion by Titan Aircraft Seen at the Titan Aircraft exhibit at AirVenture, this BMW 7-series injected engine weighs about 40 pounds more than the current Honda engine often used by T-51 builders and provides 326 hp. Titan has fitted its own redrive. The engine's separate induction and computer for each bank of cylinders give it a measure of redundancy. It's effectively two straight sixes on a common crankshaft. This compact (19 inches wide), 5.4-liter V-12 with 9.5-to-1 compression is certainly not a Rolls-Royce product, regardless of the stickers adorning the valve covers. There is also a 5.0-liter, 8.5-to-1, 296-hp version, with the same outside dimensions, from an earlier BMW. It might be "boostable." The V-12 BMW is about twice as expensive as Titan's Honda or Suzuki conversions—around $50,000, which is proportional to the increase in torque. And yes, you can use this engine with Titan's new airfoil and longer wing T-51 (that's actually closer to scale of the original P-51). It should allow cruise in the 220- to 240-mph range, with a stall in the 50s, according to Titan Aircraft. www.TitanAircraft.com Supermarine V-8 This 6.2-liter LS-3, Chevrolet-based crate engine conversion is flying in some 20 airplanes, notably the Photography by Tim Kern Engineered Propulsion Systems Flat-V Vision 350-hp A44-POC Running for a couple years now and nearing early production, this twin-turbo diesel is a proper, clean-sheet aircraft design poised to replace legacy flat-six, air-cooled power. Interestingly, the case is designed in compacted graphite iron (the prototype has a solid 4130 steel billet case), which allows an extremely compact design that needs no cylinder liners and prevents thread failures, as well. Engineered Propulsion Systems has also designed its own aviation-dedicated turbocharger rather than adapting an automotive unit. Smooth enough through its 1.366-to-1 integrated gearbox to run a metal Hartzell propeller (the only diesel that can do this). This 320- to 420-hp 677-pound (installed weight of the prototype), five-main, liquid-cooled, 4.4-liter (87 x 93 millimeter) flat eight-cylinder engine has been tested at actual density altitudes higher than 15,000 feet, where legacy diesels usually won't start. An SR22 is being readied for imminent flight test. The videos of the Colorado tests are proof enough on the company website. www.EPS.aero EAA Experimenter 31