Engines

Better batteries for electric aircraft are in the works, but it may be five years before we see significant improvements in energy density, according to a leading battery researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Jeff Chamberlain, who heads the lab’s Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Research Science, told AVweb in an exclusive interview […]

The inability to achieve normal power output (e.g. poor static power) can be an insidious, difficult-to-troubleshoot condition that ultimately affects almost every small engine sooner or later. Sometimes, the cause can be pinpointed quickly, especially via multi-probe engine analyzers. But many times it can’t. The best bet is often analyzing all the power instruments that […]

As a percentage of the total cars sold in the U.S., Corvettes and Camaros are but a tiny slice. Chevrolet sold about 35,000 ‘Vettes last year. The fact that they moved even that many shows that Americans have a taste for vehicles stuffed with far more horsepower than they could conceivably ever need. But need […]

At NBAA, GE had on display its H-series turboprop engines, meant to compete with Pratt & Whitney’s PT6. GE’s Matt Garas gave AVweb a tour of the new engines. view on YouTube

Leveraging its expertise in military and commercial jet engines, GE’s business aircraft engine division has announced a new turboprop engine in the 850- to 1650-HP range that will compete with the market-dominating Pratt & Whitney PT6 series. The new engine, which GE calls the Advanced Turboprop engine, has already found a launch customer in Textron’s […]

In one of the more unusual press releases we’ve seen, RAM Aircraft LP, a Waco, Texas, engine and mod shop, says Continental Motors’ recent acquisition of ECi “will cost everyone in general aviation.” RAM implies that the loss of competition will drive prices higher on certain engine components that both Continental and ECi, as an […]

Pratt & Whitney’s venerable PT-6 turbine is one of the marvels of aviation. But like everything else in aviation, it requires overhaul. In this engaging video, AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli gives us a tour of Continental Motors’ United Turbine division, which specializes in the PT-6. view on YouTube

Rutan Lays Hands on the 915 iS I was in the Rotax booth on Tuesday shooting avideo on the new 915 iS when Burt Rutan, towing a small entourage, popped in. He hadn’t heard about the new engine, but when Marc Becker rattled off the specs, Rutan pronounced it the perfect engine for his new […]

While the industry awaits the certified replacement for leaded avgas, Swift Fuels says it’s moving forward with a plan to market an aviation-approved low-octane fuel suitable for a significant portion of the fleet that doesn’t require 100-octane fuel for high-horsepower engines. The fuel is an unleaded 94-motor octane product approved under an aviation spec, according […]

No one was expecting it, but at AirVenture 2015, Rotax introduced a new engine, the 135-hp turbocharged 915 iS. The company says it’s expected to be available by about 2017. Rotax/BRP’s Marc Becker gave AVweb briefing on the new engine. view on YouTube