Single Source Engines?

[xtricity]

Otis

[xtricity]

Geor

[xtricity]

Theo

[xtricity]

Orie

[xtricity]

Worl

[quesauce]

Minor point of clarification: I'm not wondering about the quality of parts or problems specific to each of the alternative engines. I'm mostly concerned with the long term availability of parts and, consequently, the viability of the companies that manufacture them.

Mr. Helms, thank you for chiming in regarding UL Power. It's great to hear about the investment you recently made in tooling. That bodes well for the future and I've been unable to find much online regarding negatives to your product. That, in and of itself, is a minor miracle given the proclivity of most people to spout negative things online. Kudos to you.

This is, in fact, exactly what I'm looking for in my research. I think smaller shops (not just in aviation) don't do a good job of celebrating and communicating their successes. Rachel has done good work in communicating the amazing progress of SPA through her stream of news. Seeing that kind of information and hearing from vendors like UL Power about their continuous improvement exercises is great.

[Robert Helms]

Great song Tony.

Hi everybody. I'm the UL Power guy.

My recommendation:

Make a list of what is important to you. Rank these based on level of importance. And then score all the engines.

Weight? We are lightest.
Horsepower? We have 8 choices.
Technology? We are the most modern.
Company longevity? We evolved from a company called DR Tuning that has been building race car engines since the early 70's. We recently invested over $1,000,000 in new equipment and tooling to build the engines. We have a succession plan in place so there is no single critical person.
Parts? Wicks Aircraft Supply carries our parts.
Ecu? We have an optional dual ecu.
FWF Kit? Dan and Rachel have it ready.
Fuel? Auto gas with up to 15% ethanol, or 100LL.

We are just another choice. Lots of good engines on the market.

[Jinkers]

I've been pondering the same questions, nice to know I'm not alone. fortunately I am just getting started and have plenty of time to decide. At the moment I've narrowed my choices to Lycoming or Corvair. My only hesitation on the Corvair is the hostile terrain (Rocky Mountains) I have to fly over anytime I head west.

I'm not worried about he engine itself, it's the electrical system. I've never been stranded by a mechanical failure on anything but I have had electrical failures in cars and motorcycles that have left me high and dry. I had a complete electrical failure in a Cessna 172 once, in the mountains no less, and those magnetos kept me flying. There are ways to minimize the risks in the electrical system, and mags have there own issues. That is where most of my engine research and analysis time seems to be spent.

[Tony Spicer]

I would love to hear others thoughts and opinions about mitigating those risks.

Here's the solution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU

Find enough things to worry about and you'll never get out of bed in the morning!

Lucky for you the Panther is a firewall aft kit, so no need to decide just now.

Tony

[Lowrider]

I feel your pain but like most things today the risk of legal peril stops a lot of well meaning enterprises from developing new technology or "multipurposeing" existing technology. We certainly have the technology in the auto industry but the market is soooo small it is difficult to pay development cost let alone anticipate profit at some point. If they could sell 100,000 units a month, Honda or some one else would already have put the engine on the market for a reasonable price maybe under $5K. I looked hard at a GM V-6 for my RV-4 but ended up with a Lyc and paid 3X what I should have for the 1930's technology. I feel your pain!!