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Lancair Evolution to test Lycoming
FADEC
Lancair Evolution to
test Lycoming FADEC
By Alton K. Marsh
The Lancair kitplane known, as Evolution, a
blazingly fast form of transportation, first flew last year with a
turbine engine, but now itıs flown with a piston engine.
The piston-powered Evolution flew for the first time in June and will
become the demonstration platform for Lycomingıs iE2 series of muscle piston engines once it
completes 10 hours of flight. It needs 10 hours not because itıs a
new airplane, but because it needs to complete an aerodynamic profile
before the iE2 can be mounted on the airframe. The engine is run by a
computer, and these tests are telling the computer exactly how the
airplane performs. Data is transmitted from the Lancair electronically
for Lycoming engineers to view.
The first 10 hours will be done with the present Lycoming O-540
engine. The iE2 engine, capable of generating continuous power of 350
hp or 400 hp during takeoff and climb, is already waiting at the
Lancair plant in Redmond, Ore. Lancair will install it and test fly it
a total of 40 hours, a requirement for an aircraft that is
experimental and powered by an experimental engine. The engine is
currently available only for advanced experimental aircraft. After 40
hours, passengers may be carried.
The agreement between Lancair and Lycoming calls for the aircraft to
become a Lycoming demonstrator for three years. Although Lycoming
doesnıt refer to the engine as FADEC (full authority digital engine
controls), thatıs basically what it is. Thereıs just a push button
to start, a single lever to go fast or slow, and a key switch to turn
the engine off.
Just how fast does it go? Speeds claimed by the manufacturer are 240
KIAS with a fuel burn of 17 gph, or 250 to 260 KTAS with a fuel burn
of 22 gph. The company also reports a speed if you just want to shove
the power lever all the way forward, and thatıs 270 KTAS. You can
actually do that without concern for damaging the engine, because the
computer monitors and manages each cylinder individually. By
comparison, the turbine-powered Evolution goes 300 KTAS to 330 KTAS
depending on which model of turbine engine you install.
Yes, you have to build part of it by yourself. Construction begins
with a two-week stint at the factory during which most of the
difficult work is completed. Following that, it can take six months of
40-hour weeks to complete the aircraft, but mechanics are allowed to
help under kit building FAA rules. What you canıt do is turn your
back on the hangar and return months later to find a completed
aircraft.
By the time the piston-engine Evolution is completed, youıll have
about $600,000 in the project. For the turbine engine Evolution, the
total will be between $700,000 to $1 million. A new turbine engine can
cost as much as $435,000, but less expensive used engines are
available.
http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2009/090604lancair.html?WT.mc_id=090605epilot&WT.mc_sect=gan
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