Tom Wilson
Pumping avgas and waxing flight school airplanes got Tom into general aviation in 1973, but the lure of racing cars and motorcycles sent him down a motor journalism career heavy on engines and racing. Today he still writes for peanuts and flies for fun.
Is the Future Here?
For ages one of the most common laments in aviation is we’re still flying around behind ancient engines. LyConsaurs they’re called, and when in...
Corvair
Azalea Aviation
Bill Clapp at Azalea Aviation offers Corvair engines as a sideline to his main business, Saberwing aircraft. Those planes use his 100- and...
Dynamometer Break-In: Worth It
Running a new engine on a test stand or, especially, a dyno, makes so much sense we don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it.
Circling the Airport
Building Experimental aviation engines is a tough business at best, so engine programs come and go. Furthermore, as sport aviation blossoms into the competition...
Jets & Turboprops
PBS Aerospace
Even with all the recent interest in small turboprops, there is but one place to burn kerosene in the build-it-yourself world. The SubSonex...
Flat Four-Stroke Gasoline
AC-Aero USA LLC
Stroker kits and water-cooled cylinders for Lycoming 360/540 engines are AC-Aero’s specialty. This still-new company seems to have found a steady base...
Certified vs. Experimental
Just as airplanes are legally grouped as certified or Experimental, engines follow the same scheme.
Air-cooled Volkswagen
The air-cooled Volkswagen aero conversion community shares many characteristics. Obviously they are all built from the VW Type-1 engine, even if some have been...
Compression Ignition (Diesel & Jet A)
Continental
Thanks to their complex and high-pressure nature, diesel (Jet A-burning) piston engines are premium devices full of expensive parts, and their penetration into the...
Stroke! Stroke!
Over time, two-stroke engines in aviation have been supplanted by four-stroke units, trading low weight for a perception of greater reliability.
In Case You Missed It
2012 Alternative Engine Buyer’s Guide
If you’re in the market for an auto-conversion engine for your homebuilt aircraft, here’s a definitive guide to the options. By Patrick Panzera.
Design Process: Planform Effects on Span Loading and Drag
Last month we started our discussion of wing planforms with a look at the...
