Mighty Lycoming Keeps The GA World Roaring Along...

Lycoming announced its plan to bring integrated electronic engine management to its legacy aircraft engine lineup a few years ago, and what has become known as the IE2 engine series is now coming to market and attracting OEM development partners.

At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, Lycoming's Michael Kraft, then VP of Engineering, explained that this was not just electronic engine management slapped on a "Lycosaurus," but a completely integrated system which promised electronic control of fuel injection and timing on a per-cylinder basis, computer control of systems such as turbochargers, better starting and fuel efficiency, and even automated pre-flight checks.

At AirVenture 2011, Kraft, who has since been promoted to Senior VP and General Manager of the Textron subsidiary, said he was excited to present engines which involve "stitching into the fabric everything we know how to do on the aviation side with some of the most modern automotive technology... into a platform that's got a lot of legs on it for many decades. It's a very open architecture that anticipates not only the engines that we have today...you've got a great stepping stone to a lot of different things."

Kraft noted the IE2 has been chosen to power Northrup Grumman's optionally-manned Firebird and the piston version of the Lancair Evolution, and that in the alternative fuel arena, "this engine sets you up for just about anything that we could anticipate coming in the future."

Aero TV got a full update at AirVenture 2011.

FMI: www.lycoming.com, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews