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
When Good Electrons Go Bad
When wiring up a homebuilt aircraft, it pays to ask: What do I want to protect myself from?
Editor’s Log
Mary Bernard explores the background of Jeff Ackland and his new Radial Rocket RG, this issues cover story.
All About Avionics
Todays homebuilt aircraft avionics packages often incorporate a number of boxes behind the panel, all requiring a particular type of wiring to go with them (not to mention all the other power draws such as lights, flap motors, etc.). Its advisable, then, to consider the length and nature of the wiring to be included in your project from the moment you start building. Avionics techno Stein Bruch explains the how and why of managing the wiring requirements for your aircraft.
Archive: November 1997
Ron Wanttaja sampled the still-new Van’s RV-8 for our cover story in the November...