Company Staying The Course On New Engines, Leading The Way On Fuel Initiative

By Gene Yarbrough

Lycoming Engines press conference Wednesday morning indicated little in the way of new engine technology or innovation but was heavy on preparations for future industry changes. Michael Kraft, Lycoming Senior Vice President and General Manager, said the company is developing a six cylinder FADEC engine designated as the IE2 program based on the O-520 platform. The engine features full authority engine controls from an automotive type engine management system with the addition of detonation prevention injection similar to high performance military aircraft of WWII.

Kraft stated the company’s primary focus is on pending regulations and particularly fuel developments within the aviation industry. The company has released Service Instruction 1070: “Specified Fuels” which has been revised to remove obsolete fuels and add additional approved fuels to the list and has published “Automotive Fuels for Aviation” which details technical aspects of fuels suitable for aviation use and the concerns that go into approving those fuel types. Lycoming is not approving any oxygenated fuels with ethanol or methanol at this time. Kraft said that Lycoming is keeping abreast of the unleaded aviation fuel development efforts and by evaluating, testing, and approving these fuels in their engines the company is “preparing the system for coming unleaded fuels.”

Kraft also noted that even with the pending Congressional changes for Part 23 aircraft legislation it will have little immediate impact on aircraft engines as they are certified under Part 33, but he expects there will be a similar initiative in that arena soon. Kraft indicated even with regulatory changes the advancement of technology of aircraft engines is limited with leaded fuels and that many innovative ideas within the company have been put on hold until lead is removed from aviation fuels.

Kraft was asked about Lycoming’s position on diesel engines, he stated that Lycoming has had at least 5 different diesel programs over the years and is not currently working on diesel development. Kraft did indicate Lycoming has partnered with SMA to provide service and support for those powerplants and considers SMA as Lycoming’s diesel division.

FMI: www.lycoming.com