At this year’s AirVenture, Lycoming has blown the doors off the notion that engine manufacturers aren’t capable of fresh thinking and innovation. Lycoming revealed Monday that it’s about to certify a new closed-loop FADEC system for its large displacement engine line, the O-540 series. The new system is called the IE-2 and it will eventually apply to the company’s entire line of powerplants. Lycoming’s Ian Walsh told AVweb that the IE-2 system is a fully integrated solution with individual cylinder control with electronic knock detection and fuel and ignition controls with state-of-the-art sensors. Walsh says the IE-2 equipped engines are effectively brand new engines, with a redesigned accessory section. Certification is planned for the end of 2008 or early 2009.
Speaking of certifications, Lycoming also announced that its highly successful experimental IO-390 engine will be certified as an IO-360 replacement, something it’s calling the Echelon STC. Lycoming’s initial approval will be in the Cessna Cardinal, but other models that use the popular O-360 line will also be addressed. Presumably, as Lycoming’s FADEC project expands, the certified 390 will eventually become a fully electronic engine. For now, the Cardinal Echelon is full, firewall forward solution offering more horsepower at an affordable price.
Like the airframers, Lycoming is bullish on the LSA segment and it announced a new clean-sheet 100-hp engine for these aircraft called the IO-233. This engine, based on the all-but-bulletproof O-235 series, appears to be highly sophisticated, with electronic throttle bodies and ignition and car-like starting. You can see a near-production version of this engine in Lycoming’s AirVenture booth.
For a detailed discussion of these products with Lycoming general manager, Ian Walsh, click here.
Find Lycoming on the web at Lycoming.Textron.com.
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Podcast interview with Lycoming’s Ian Walsh
