Wed, Oct 26, 2011
Lycoming announced its plan to bring integrated electronic
engine management to its legacy aircraft engine lineup a few years
ago, and what has become known as the IE2 engine series is now
coming to market and attracting OEM development partners.
At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, Lycoming's Michael Kraft, then
VP of Engineering, explained that this was not just electronic
engine management slapped on a "Lycosaurus," but a completely
integrated system which promised electronic control of fuel
injection and timing on a per-cylinder basis, computer control of
systems such as turbochargers, better starting and fuel efficiency,
and even automated pre-flight checks.
At AirVenture 2011, Kraft, who has since been promoted to Senior
VP and General Manager of the Textron subsidiary, said he was
excited to present engines which involve "stitching into the fabric
everything we know how to do on the aviation side with some of the
most modern automotive technology... into a platform that's got a
lot of legs on it for many decades. It's a very open architecture
that anticipates not only the engines that we have today...you've
got a great stepping stone to a lot of different things."
Kraft noted the IE2 has been chosen to power Northrup Grumman's
optionally-manned Firebird and the piston version of the Lancair
Evolution, and that in the alternative fuel arena, "this engine
sets you up for just about anything that we could anticipate coming
in the future."
Aero TV got a full update at AirVenture 2011.
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