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.
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.
Rotary (Wankel)
American Rotary Engine /Auto PSRU’s
We’re combining these two very separate companies under one heading because they join to offer a Mazda 13B rotary engine...
Radial and Rotary (Traditional)
Classic Aero Machining
For those seeking an authentic, full-gyroscopic rotary experience, New Zealand-based Classic Aero Machining has developed brand-new seven- and nine-cylinder Gnome Monosoupape engines....
In Case You Missed It
Alternative Energies
Chip Yates is a man with a plan—to follow Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic flight in an all-electric plane. The flight’s planned for 2014; in the meantime, there are battery challenges to solve. By Dean Sigler.
What’s New
Drill holes without a template using a transfer, get around an airport with a foldable mobility scooter, auto-darkening smart welding helmets are introduced, and relays can save your avionics.
