First Flight, first Cross-Country of Maule/SR 305 Announced

It was just over a week ago, that the Maule M-9 took off from Moultrie (GA), with its new SMA SR 305 doing the work. Now, that Maule is in Oshkosh, some 800nm away from its home base, and it's working "great," according to the SMA crew here.

We had a look at that Maule, and saw that the installation looks every bit "OEM." ANN talked with engineer David Wright, a technical advisor at Maule, and he told us, "It went together the way we planned it... and it worked." We kept probing for unanticipated problems, even of a minor nature, and he was convinced that this was as straightforward an installation as he's ever seen. "There's 18 hours' flight time on it," he said, "and it's been absolutely trouble-free."

As part of pre-flight testing, the aircraft was tied down and run at full throttle, until it overheated. Only... it never overheated, even in the Georgia sun. "It got up to [operating] temperature, and just stayed there," Wright said.

On the trip up to Oshkosh from Moultrie (GA), the single-lever control yielded about 11gph in cruise, at speeds that were, he said, "...what we planned."

"The engine is easy to fly," due to its inherent nature. The prop, a Hartzell 3-blade that looks like it came from an aerobatic ship, turns 2200rpm. It turns 2200 rpm in takeoff, at cruise -- all the time. Only the load changes, as called for by the single-lever control. One more nice touch: Maule got a particularly appropriate N-number: 305SR. [Interestingly, SMA's TB-20 test sled, in England, got registration "GOSMA." --ed.] Compared with the usual gas engine, Wright said, takeoff started just a tad slower ("You have to get the turbo to spool up," he said, "and that takes a few seconds"), but once it got going, "it's at least as fast" as the gas-powered model, he said.

The diesel Maule, just a few days in the public eye, will be delivered starting next Spring. Oshkosh show pricing was pegged at an introductory $200,000, "and we have orders," David told us.

But wait -- there's more:

In just a few weeks more, a Vulcanair P-68 twin will be taking off with a pair of these new 230hp engines, which will represent not only the first flight of the SMAs as the only power on a twin, but also the first SMA flights in Italy.

Back in Florida, Aerodiesel Propulsion, on the Atlantic coast in Ft Lauderdale, has formally agreed to do the STC work on getting the SR 305 into a PA-28 Dakota. Expect an Archer STC shortly after the Dakota approval. (SMA believes that Dakota will be flying to Sun 'n Fun '04.)

SR and SR

SR 305 in SR21tdi: if you're looking for a diesel-powered Cirrus, the formal announcement of the Cirrus SR21tdi project was made by SMA. As the official company release notes, "SMA and Cirrus expect to be able to release more detailed information on the project and aircraft availability toward the end of the year."

More STCs in the works...

Additionally, SMA's own work on the C-182 and TB20 is progressing on two continents, with ten people dedicated to the programs, and over 300 flight hours' accumulated on the two test aircraft, so far this year. (The 182 program has traveled from Embry-Riddle, to Reilly SuperSkyrocket, and back now to SMA, as of last November.)

SMA's order book is filling up, as well, with "over 200" firm orders for engines or aircraft upgrade kits. To support anticipated roolout, SMA plans to have five US distributors, and 3 Canadian, set up by the end of this year. In June, Tule River Aero-Industries, in California; Aurora Aviation in Texas signed up this month. Spares are in the pipeline, and SMA's 24/7 hot line is either already up, or is just about to be.

This is a 'performance' engine:

There's little doubt that SMA is looking to surprise some traditionalists with the power that this 4-cylinder machine produces. "This is a performance engine," said Miriam Dunn, SMA's marketing boss. "In fact, [a conversion] is not an 'engine swap.' People shouldn't think of it that way. This is an aircraft upgrade -- you can fly into the 21st Century without buying a whole new airplane.

The diesel engine's strong marketing suit outside the USA is fuel cost, a product of both the economy of the engine (gph) and the price of diesel vs avgas. SMA's Chairman and CEO, Antoine Grenier, told ANN, "The US market asked for performance, and they are getting performance. In Europe and most other places, they also look for increased range, safety, operating costs, fuel costs... and they are getting that."

Mr. Grenier told the crowd at Oshkosh, "We are now ready to change the cost of flying." And the technology: fewer moving parts, fewer parts overall, compression ignition vs. spark, less fire-prone fuel...

FMI: www.smaengines.com