Panther Sport Aircraft Forums

don't forget about the new D motor 6 cylinder... 125 hp and only 174 lbs flyable weight. Direct drive, fuel injection, electronic ignition the work.... a great engine combination with the panther or cougar.

Doc

PlaneDan wrote:What is a 6 cyl D motor, other than a motor that has 6 cylinders?

D-Motor is a Belgian company that developed a 4-cylinder, flat-head aircraft engine that has some interesting design features. It weighs about 125 lbs (plus builder-supplied battery, radiator, and coolant). Depending on how fast you want to turn it, it can produce between 80 HP (@ 2500 RPM) and 93 HP (@ 3100 RPM). Torque maxes out at 220 NM (162 lb-ft). The engine has something like 35 moving parts. It has dual ignition, integrated 1.1 KW (1.47 HP) starter, and integrated 25 Amp alternator. It uses a standard Jabiru 2200 engine mount. It is fuel injected and liquid cooled, and seems to be very efficient, with a claimed 2.9 GPH consumption at 75% power. The engine has a 1500 hour TBO (planning to raise it to 2000 hrs), and is ASTM certified for LSA-type aircraft in Europe. Very competitive with the Rotax IS model (slightly less HP, but WAY lower cost). Looks like it would make a good engine for the Panther LSA.

They also have a 6-cylinder version of the same basic design that was shown in the US for the first time at Sun-N-Fun 2015, with a claimed 125 HP. Uses the same pistons, rings, and other parts, just two more cylinders and a longer crankshaft. Likewise has fuel injection, dual ignition, integrated alternator and starter, and used an off-the-shelf Jabiru engine mount. ASTM certification is a near term goal, and they hope to be delivering these engines in November.

On the videos, they say that you can come to the facility in Deland, FL and do a "builder-assist" program to build your own engine if you'd like to learn more about it.

Check out www.d-motorusa.com (US distributor) and/or www.d-motor.eu (parent company) for more information.

What is a 6 cyl D motor, other than a motor that has 6 cylinders?

look into the IO-233 engine.. Its about 210 lbs 115 hp
the Fully Aerobatic version with fuel injection is about 215 punds 120 hp
The 6 cylinder D Motor is 174 pounds and 130 hp.. way cool d-motorusa.com

doc

The Rotax 912/914 can certainly work on a Panther. You will need to be carful and build with a "CG forward" mentality meaning mount everything forward of the wing. The new Jabiru cowl may work as it is a bit longer, and has a large inlet on the bottom for a oil cooler ,which is likely large enough for the radiator. you will need to come up with your own engine mount, but if we have any demand for them SPA would do this. I think with its gear box it would work best with a inflight adjustable pitch prop (like any geared engine on a faster airplane).
Hope this helps

Hi

I came across the article in Kitplanes on the Panther and thought I will have a look seeing that I am looking at building some type of light aerobatic capable airplane. Sonex came to mind until I saw this....

How about the Rotax 912 and 914 as power plant for the panther?

Anybody any comments on that?

Len

test

Add one more cylinder and get 400 hp:

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1086 ... lmp1-entry

7500+ rpm would have me reaching for a flyswatter!

Tony

I have been wanting to use this engine in an aircraft for sometime. Any thoughts?

* Four-stroke, twin-cylinder boxer engine
* four radial valves per cylinder
* double overhead camshaft
* central balance shaft to reduce vibrations
* air-cooled cylinders
* thermostat-controlled, engine oil-cooled heads (requires small oil cooler)
* Electronic engine management with
* electronic intake pipe fuel injection
* use of fuel injection eliminates risk of carburetor icing
* overpressure of fuel system lowers possibility of vapor lock
* electronic engine management
* twin solid-state spark ignition - a computer that “learns” in the first few minutes of operation, optimizing performance while minimizing fuel consumption and emissions
* automatic, altitude-adjusting pressure sensor
* Lightweight - The entire powerplant, including starter, generator, exhaust system, oil heat exchanger, and reduction gear unit, weighs a mere 80 kilograms (176 pounds), yielding a low 1.53 pounds/hp for the 115-hp R1200 engine.
* belt-driven, 600-720 watt alternator
* Maximum power of 90 to 115 hp (depending on displacement) at 7,000-plus rpm
* Recommended 1,000-hour TBO (very reasonable if 100 hours flown annually).

Even with the freight costs from Germany, it should be possible to build a Take Off powerplant for under $10,000.

http://www.eaa.org/experimenter/article ... _boxer.asp

A "pumped up" 0-200 would work great. I've talked with DDM about this and they can supply the engines. The 0-200 is such a simple engine and with a performance cam ,and a bit higher compression performs well. We have a lot of interest in 0-200 and o-235s . The Lycoming FWFWD is already in works. SPA will produce 0-200 engine mounts and cowls if people want them. Paul Salter has a mint 0-200 for a Ercoupe project he may consider putting in a Panther or possibly a Cougar.