Engines

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

For at least a year, Rotax has been hinting at a new higher horsepower engine and on Tuesday at AirVenture, it delivered. The new, 135-hp turbocharged 915 iS is a follow-up to the 912 iS introduced in 2012. Although the new engine shares similarities with the 912 iS, it has a reinforced crankshaft, newly designed […]

At AirVenture 2015, Superior Air Parts provided a progress report on their new Gemini three-cylinder diesel, showing off an installation in an American Legend Cub. view on YouTube

Although Continental gets all the press for its diesel program, Lycoming also has a diesel engine, which is it now beginning to produce in small volume. The engine will eventually be certified. In this video, Lycoming’s Michael Kraft gave AVweb a briefing on the DEL120. view on YouTube

Diamond Aircraft’s Austria headquarters is well along with a third-generation hybrid-drive electric aircraft design that it hopes will serve as a certification template for future electric aircraft. The new airplane is based on a DA40 composite airframe, but rather than a geared conventional prop driven by a diesel engine, the aircraft will have a single […]

If it sometimes seems that the entire aerospace industry is given over to developing ways to plant cameras in the sky to spy on people and things, it’s probably because the entire aerospace industry is given over to developing ways to plant cameras in the sky to spy on people and things. Although the actual […]

Engine overhauls give even the most experienced aircraft owners a case of the willies. Beyond the “it’s going to be really expensive,” there are numerous issues to face and decisions to make—choosing a shop; deciding on the type of overhaul, or a factory reman, and what to do about the engine accessories are some that […]

Pawing back through the archives, I can confidently declare that 2002 was the summer of the VLJ—the very light jet. Some were practically swooning over the notion of sub-$1 million jets and there was a thundering herd of them, led by the rock star of VLJs, the Eclipse. During a round of interviewing that year […]

Continental Motors Group said today that it will purchase Danbury Aerospace, a group of aviation manufacturing companies that includes Engine Components International, the San Antonio, Texas-based manufacturer of PMA engine parts. Danbury is a privately held company and the dollar amount of the deal wasn’t disclosed by Continental. Because Continental is itself owned by the […]

At the Electric Aircraft Symposium in Santa Rosa, California, on Saturday, I scribbled in my notebook a wry comment from Tine Tomazic of Pipistrel Aircraft, the innovative Slovenian company that’s an unabashed supporter—and maker—of electric airplanes. Tomazic said he hoped the era of electric conversions was coming to an end and he pointedly noted that […]