Advance Innovative Engineering Tests Drone Engine | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.23.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Thu, Jan 20, 2022

Advance Innovative Engineering Tests Drone Engine

Light, Compact Rotary Engine Tested in UK MoD, USAF UAV Project

Advanced Innovative Engineering (AIE) has announced the development of its newest small UAV propulsion system, showing a compact, lightweight Wankel engine.

AIE demonstrated the capability of its 38 HP rotary engine, the AIE 225CS - standing for, in the tradition of engine design, a bevy of abbreviations. The 'CS' in the name stands for Compact SPARCS, which itself is another abbreviation for 'Self Pressurizing Air Rotor Cooling System'.

The rotary engine could use the appreciation of its lightweight, smooth design, and the UAV industry seems uniquely prepared for its benefits. Wankel engines went out of automotive vogue with the extinction of the lone Mazda holdout a decade ago, being incapable of beating traditional piston engines in economy or power output. For ground vehicles, trading weight for additional power is easy, but aircraft stand in the inverse. The light, compact rotary powerplant is a perfect fit for unmanned aircraft looking to gain as much payload capacity as they can. 

“The SPARCS is an advanced rotor cooling system that substantially increases engine performance and its life. This technology consistently delivered power even in the most extreme temperature conditions," said Nathan Bailey, Managing Director at Advanced Innovative Engineering, UK. A test engineer in the program said the engine was a cut above the rest in noise, vibration, and harshness. "I have to say, this has been the smoothest engine install that I've ever been involved in. The engine always started and always went to power as advertised.” He noted the solid performance in climbing and flight at altitude, as well as ground temperature tolerance. The AIE 225CS even shortened the vehicle take-off distance while exceeding the stock ceiling with substantially higher climb rates.

FMI: www.afrl.af.mil

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Douglas A-4K

Pilot Applied Full Aft Stick And Nose-Up Trim, But The Airplane Remained On The Runway Analysis: The pilot reported that a preflight inspection and flight control checks revealed n>[...]

ANN FAQ: Q&A 101

A Few Questions AND Answers To Help You Get MORE Out of ANN! 1) I forgot my password. How do I find it? 1) Easy... click here and give us your e-mail address--we'll send it to you >[...]

Classic Aero-TV: PBY Catalina--From Wartime to Double Sunrise to the Long Sunset

From 2022 (YouTube Edition): Before They’re All Gone... Humankind has been messing about in airplanes for almost 120-years. In that time, thousands of aircraft representing i>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.01.25): Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) A transportation system that transports people and property by air between two points in the NAS using aircraft with advanced technologies, including el>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.01.25)

Aero Linx: MQ-1B Predator The MQ-1B Predator is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft that is employed primarily as an intelligence-col>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC