This Machine Got A Lot Of Attention At The Recent AOPA Expo

By Kevin "Hognose" O'Brien

While we've shown you this beautiful motor before, unless you were at AOPA Expo, you never saw it like this. Bombardier brought a beautiful cutaway of the 300 HP version of their V-6, sitting up on one side, to AOPA Expo in Philadelphia, housed in a Plexiglas case. This motor has come a long way since its days on the test stand as the "Rotax 936"

I knew that all you gearheads out there would like a picture of it, or several, so for the most part I'm going to let the pictures do the talking. Getting the pictures was like doing tiger dentistry, though; there was always a vast mob of engine fiends swarming around the machine. But… during the multi-manufacturer engines seminar the entire Bombardier crew departed their booth, as did most of the conventioneers. Bombardier left one lady in the booth, pleasant, and well informed… to a point. Turns out she didn't know diddly about engines, but this nice lady was the wife of one of the engineers… they drilled her on a few key phrases, dressed her in a Bombardier shirt, and stationed her in the booth while they mounted a full-court press in the engines seminar. A gutsy move, and it worked… she had me fooled for the longest time, and I don't think any of the other showgoers suspected she was anything but a Bombardier engineer or customer support rep.

True, I don't know how it worked in the engines seminar… I was in the Bombardier booth, remember?

The other part of getting the picture… the thing was indoors, in the horrible lighting conditions that prevail everywhere in the dingy Philadelphia Convention Center. Then Bombardier put it in Plexiglas. And they put a mirror under it. And it was surrounded by incandescent lights… little single points of deviltry. I had more reflections to deal with than a convict in solitary for life. I edited some of the reflections out of the best of my pictures.

Then, I discovered that not only do good pictures of the cutaway exist, but an Aero-News staffer took them. Duh. With the plexi cover off… so you might see some of his pictures along with this article, as well.

Kelly Aerospace, which makes some of the components for this (and many other) aircraft engines, was displaying the 220 HP normally-aspirated version of this motor, which differs in the intake and exhaust (duh), having a cast, low-flow intake instead of the flow-friendly, but expensive-to-manufacture, plenum and runners of the turbo 300.

The advantages of the engine are significant, and we covered it in depth at Oshkosh. To recap, both models are 189 CID (3.1L) in displacement, and turn at 6000 RPM, driving a prop through an integral 3:1 gearbox. The shallow V fits into spaces where a lycosaurus 520/540/550 did, making it a natural retrofit for many craft, and has about the same fuel burn for the same HP - but will be certified on mogas. Cha-chingg! to the customer's pocket (and no worries about the threatened End Days for 100LL). It has a fully-redundant engine management system with FADEC. And it's liquid-cooled, which has huge durability benefits, especially in the turbo iteration… and makes automotive-style heating possible.

So when can we fly this thing? After last Oshkosh, Bombardier was supposedly going to N-register their test Murphy craft (there were too many restrictions on the C-registered Experimental) and have the press fly it. The engines, though, are not going to be available to individual Experimental builders, nor, initially, to STC conversion shops. Bombardier is looking to produce the motor in quantity for an unnamed OEM customer before pursuing those narrower markets. They will produce it as a complete firewall-forward package - if they have found a partner. Have they?

They aren't saying, so let's look at the lineup of the usual suspects.

Diamond Aircraft would be a logical partner, but they're moving away from, not toward, Bombardier engines. Everybody in the industry who's mating new prop-swinging engines to airframes these days is looking at cheap-to-run, Jet A-sipping, durable diesels to lower operating costs. SMA and Theilert engines are certified and are competing for those same places on OEM noses with Bombardier, and the "traditional" air-cooled, gas-powered set. Airplane buyers lean conservative on new technology. Most airplane buyers, that is.

Hmmm… who in the industry embraces new technology, uses engines in the 220-300 HP range, and has attracted people who have never flown before to new-airplane ownership? Could it be them?

On the other hand, who has a thriving certified airplane business, and yet OEMs kit engines in this range? Bombardier has said it intends to work with major kit vendors, once they have OEM production rolling. Could it be him?

It sure couldn't be, say, Cessna. After all, everybody knows that they don't embrace new technology in a hurry for their single-engine line. That is, everybody who hasn't seen the 182 with the Garmin G1000 panel. Would they offer the Bombardier?

It would fit nicely in the Piper 6X… now, isn't this a fun game to play?

Stay tuned to Aero-News. When we can, we'll tell ya. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this mechanical beauty.

FMI: www.vaircraftengines.com