average private/ builder quickly reaches his technical and
financial limits.
A few months ago during a flight test, I encountered one
engine installation that could become one of the best power
augmentation turbo kits for the stock 912 (80-hp) engine.
The Italian manufacturer Marc Ingegno was, until 2013,
known only as an aviation components supplier for things
such as wheels, brakes, and gear/suspension parts. The
metal processing company manufactures parts for fixedwing aircraft, military helicopters and jets, automobiles,
and motorcycles. During the 2013 AERO Friedrichshafen, it
introduced its first aircraft, the Parrot.
Alberto Marchini, owner of Marc Ingegno, leads the
company that is located in the northernmost part of Italy,
close to the Swiss border, in the town of Varallo Sesia. The
company has sold more than 50 turbo kits, which weigh
about 22 pounds (10 kilograms), with the majority installed
in aircraft and in daily use. I was able to test-fly the Parrot,
which was fitted with the 912 engine and Marc Ingegno's
turbo. The flight showed that the engine was delivering
good performance, even in low density altitude in the Italian Alps.
Almost all modern dieselcycle automotive engines and
an increasing number of new
gasoline engines on the market
are turbocharged nowadays.
The kit carries a complicated name, the MI8120PA00
REV0 Kit. It includes all needed parts for the conversion of
any stock 80-hp Rotax 912 engine:
• four-in-one stainless-steel exhaust manifold
• turbocharger (Mitsubishi automotive) with waste
gate for max 1.4 Bar barometric pressure (41.34 inches/
mercury) (0.4 Bar/11.8 inches/mercury overpressure
at sea level)
• silencer
• air filter
• two electric fuel pumps
• fuel pressure regulator
The air filter on the suction side and the oil return line with a small oil-tank
below the turbo.
Marc Ingegno's Parrot during the test flight is landing in a river bed in Italian Alps.
EAA Experimenter
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