Viking V-42 Twin

Outside the exhibition hangers at Sun ‘n Fun, Viking Aircraft Engines had its usual location and as I walked up, I was greeted by, well, a pair of Vikings, and that wasn’t even the most unusual thing I saw at their tent. What was more unusual was the backdrop: a twin-engine aircraft!

If you are not familiar with Viking Aircraft Engines, Jan Eggenfellner and his team have been modifying automotive engines for flight use for over 30 years and have over ten years of specializing in converting Honda’s K20 series engine. Of late, quite a few of these engines have found their way on to the front of Zenith aircraft, notably the CH750. 

After years of developing engines and firewall forward kits for other airframe makers, Viking is now preparing to offer its own aircraft kit, a high wing twin called the V-42. The V-42 nomenclature stands for four people, two engines, or as the Eggenfellners noted in their case, “two people and four wiener dogs.”

Why a twin for a first kit offering? Because, according to Jan, he wanted some differentiation amongst a field of single engine kits, saying, “I think there is a market for a light, EAB easy-to-build twin. The overall goal is to provide a twin that people can afford to build and fly.”

At first, “easy-to-build” and “affordable” sound like aviation oxymorons but based on what I saw at the show it certainly looks feasible. The entire aircraft has been designed and virtually assembled in the computer, the parts formed with pre-punched holes and assembled with pull rivets. The principal difference between assembling this kit and those of others offering pre-punched holes is simply one of size and having enough space to do it. If you are wondering about space, the one-piece wing is just over 38 feet long with a chord of roughly five feet. Did I mention one-piece? This isn’t a wing to build in the spare bedroom, and probably not in the garage, either. My garage measures only 30 feet deep. Plan accordingly. Also, the rivets are big; if you don’t have a pneumatic rivet puller, get one or go ahead and schedule your carpal tunnel surgery now. 

I observed that the wing does not have flaps and was told that by removing the flaps and associated structure, the wing is lighter and stronger, plus has more area for carrying more load, resulting in lower wing loading overall. The lower wing loading, combined with counter-rotating engines, fixed gear, and the absence of flaps are all intended to make this a fairly easy aircraft to fly, “Like a twin-engine Cub,” noted Jan. 

If you’re like me, you want to know the numbers, so here are some of the more pertinent ones:

Cruise Speed: 160 MPH

Stall Speed: 58 MPH

Range: 1000 miles

Fuel capacity: 80 gal

Fuel burn: ~5 gal/hr per side in cruise

Engines: 150 hp (x2)

Takeoff weight: 3,100 lbs

How does a twin hav a combined ten-gallon per hour fuel burn? By using Honda K-series based engines that run in the Otto cycle for takeoff power, and Atkinson cycle mode for higher efficiency during the cruise phase of flight. These will be higher horse-power engines derated to 150 hp. 

For other numbers, I was told to figure approximately $75,000 for the chassis on its gear, and around $150,000 for a “bare bones” completed aircraft, going up from there depending on choices of avionics, paint, and interior. 

The goal is to have the prototype flying sometime this summer, and from there begin refining one area of the aircraft
at a time prior to releasing kits. 

For an aircraft of this size, one might assume that this would be one of those with the mandatory builder assist, but the V-42 can be offered as an EAB kit, and my guess is that it probably will.  (That will make for some serious boxes in the driveway). Whether or not there will be a builder assist program is to be determined, in response to that question. At this time, January 2027 is the target date for the first kit to be available, with Eggenfellner saying it will likely be the rudder. 

We’ll be keeping an eye on development and will be looking to have a flight review of what could indeed be an every-person’s twin available in a later issue.

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This article first appeared in the 2026 August Issue of KITPLANES magazine.