Building My TMX IOF-360

[DeltaRomeo]

...this was originally posted in the VAF Yahoo Group by "dannylsmith" <dsmit132 'at' bellsouth.net> . Duplicated here...

Last year at Oshkosh I sat down with Mahlon Russell and discussed all
the options available from Mattituck and decided to order a TMX IOF-
360 with the Red Gold package. It's their premier offering and one I
think results in a great engine for my RV-7A. The engine is built to
the very highest standards available anywhere and with the FADEC it
brings the Lycoming 360 into the 21st century much like the auto
engines we all drive today. Yes I know the basic engine is much like
it was 50 years ago but the TMX does have a bunch of improvements in
it. I have a Whirlwind 200RV on order and expect this setup to be
pretty smooth.

The other thing I did was to go to Mattituck and watch John Haas
build my engine. John is a real engine pro and knows how to build and
fix aircraft engines as well as anyone anywhere. He had gathered all
the necessary parts and painted the case, cylinders, pushrod tubes
and valve covers to match my paint scheme. He answered all my dumb
questions and showed me how they measure and test all the parts they
use to assemble an engine. Everything he does is double checked by
another inspector (John is also an inspector who checks other
builder's work.). By the end of the first day John had the engine
built and ready for the run in the test cell. Very impressive!

On day two I joined Cal in the test cell. He attached all the FADEC
sensors and cabling, fuel supply, added oil, installed a test prop
and engine monitor connections. The engine started promptly and ran
flawlessly through the complete test run. Cal and Mahlon once again
answered all my questions. Cal then removed all the FADEC cabling and
readied the engine for shipment. Boy was I impressed with my new
engine ? I just love it!

I stayed over for day three because Jabe Luttrell, Vice President ?
Engineering for Aerosance was coming to do the fuel mapping for a new
Superior engine being developed for a new application (Military I
think). It was very interesting to see Jabe change the setting and
then watch the engine respond to those changes. Jabe was indeed an
impressive guy but one thing I found really impressive was Mahlon's
knowledge and understanding of the FADEC system. We all know from the
RV and Lycoming Lists how knowledgeable Mahlon is on all the Lycoming
engines but as a customer of Mattituck I found it really reassuring
to know that he knows the FADEC system just as thoroughly.

The final thoughts on my trip to Mattituck have to do with all the
people that work there. Everyone I talked to were real pros at what
they do and seemed to really like what they do and where they work
and that is a rare thing these days. That tells me that Mattituck
can't be too bad of a company if their people are happy and like
working there.

If any of you are shopping for an engine I would recommend that you
stop in at Sun `N Fun or Oshkosh and visit with Mahlon and watch John
build and disassemble one of their engines. If you can't do that just
call Mahlon and talk to him. You may decide to go with another vendor
but you owe it to yourself to talk to the guys at Mattituck before
you buy. They stand behind their products and their work! I know from
past experience with them when I was an aircraft manager in a flying
club and Mattituck overhauled all our engines.

BTW, I do not work for nor do I get kickbacks from Mattituck. I'll be
lucky if I can shame Mahlon into buying me a beer at Sun `N Fun! I
hope to see some of you Sun `N Fun and Oshkosh!

Danny Smith
RV-7A Finish Kit / TMX IOF-360 / Whirlwind 200RV

[zkvii]

...this was originally posted in the Lycomming Yahoo Group (Jul2005). Duplicated here for the records / archives... The thoughts are just as valid today a year down the line, Carl

Hi everyone,

Well I've just got back from my trip from the UK to see our new engine being built at Mattituck, NY and thought a few comments / ideas might be of interest to some on the group.

As an 'internet purchase' a new Experimental Lycoming clone must rank up there and after organising / agreeing the basics and options with Mahlon in April my flights and trip was booked for beginning of July.

Travel: I used public transport to get to Mattituck, from NYC with Long Island Railway has a two trains a day to / from Mattituck one very early and one late afternoon. Transfer was simple and the process painless, compared with getting a car and driving on the wrong side of the road - easy decision.

Accommodation: Mahlon / Office helped sort the local Motel out - clean and functional - a place to sleep! Within walking distance to bar / restaurant.

Mattituck site: First impressions - much bigger than I expected, we see the 'face' of Mattituck as Mahlon on the Lycoming (and other) lists, what we don't see is the other ~40+ people (don't know exact numbers) providing all of the 'hands' and other support. The parts inventory and customer engine count on the shelves was impressive in its own right and as I later learnt this enables options that would otherwise be very difficult to provide. Also two separate fully dedicated indoor test rigs with custom mounts, good monitoring and control.

Mattituck people: Jay, John, Cal (& the rest), passionate about what they do and completely professional - a really nice bunch of guys.

The approach: I chose to go with an IO-360 (vertical sump) with the Aerosance FADEC option, this is known as the TMX-IOF360 in local terminology. As it is a "TMX" experimental engine the actual selection of parts / manufacture for the major components was then discussed with Mahlon and I went with his current recommendations, however if you specifically want a Superior, or ECI or whatever I understand that can normally be accommodated. I also choose the dynamic balance, port and flow matching which is part of the 'red gold' option. Aerosance and Mattituck have been in close development / refinement of the FADEC solution over the past years and the knowledge and experience once again shinned through.

The build: The first day I spent with John, building the engine. He had completed a lot of the sub components (eg. Cylinders & valves were built) and all the dynamic balancing / flow / measurement work had been completed. I had lots of questions (first time I've really seen inside a Lycoming engine) and John methodically explained / answered all my questions. Also some of the 40 experience years of engine building was imparted, eg. when / where to use different types of grease / oil / combinations. Much of this information just 'flowed' over me, but the understanding of the internals is now infinitely more than before. The actual assembly was fairly straight forward with the only change being a push rod on #4 exhaust that didn't provide the required rocker clearance and was replaced with a shorter one. This was one of the occasions that a 'kit' engine - no matter how good would have been a problem, in our case, John just went and got a different part off the shelf. At multiple points independent inspection was completed of key steps, eg. crank shaft / push rod assemblies, internal safety fixtures etc.

The testrun: I was expecting the build to be the most informative part of my trip - I was wrong. The second day was spent with Cal in the test cell and was equally if not more useful. The day started with getting some of the accessories and rear components sorted and then watching Cal mount a Dynafocal engine onto the rig. This took less than 90 seconds, for all four bolts including explanation and photos! Experience counts - but never the less VERY impressive...... (For the record: Level 'aircraft', level engine, top two bolts finger started, engine nose up, biscuits 'cocked' bolts jammed up against engine, lower engine, "POP" the bolt are started, drift home the bolts. - sounds simple!) Update: I used this for the mounting on the aircraft and it made the process a non-event (<30 minutes). The rest of the morning was spent installing the FADEC harness with its various sensors, probes and lines. We had a missing fuel line that was over-nighted from Aerosance for #2 cylinder and got ready for testing after lunch. The then 'Jiffy' oil system was used to put 8 units of high pressure oil into the engine. This is a great method of finding any oil leaks before a single stroke. As Murphy (the customer) was watching, of course something leaked! The oil filter adapter had a slow leak under pressure, again a 'kit' would be stuck with this, in this case Cal just went and got a new one of the shelf and it was replaced. Then it was first run, fired within a couple of blades and everything just worked fine. Oil pressure needed a bit of tweaking and the idle likewise but everything else went smoothly. The FADEC system has some PC software which provides monitoring of its 'modes' and you can see (and hear) it working through the process once up to power where it goes through a leaning calibration and stabilisation process. Full power tests were fine and looked very smooth on the test rig. The final step of the day was to let things cool a little and then complete a compression test on each cylinder, all were fine, 76/80,76/80 77/80 and 78/80, this is before break in obviously.

Wrap up: The final morning was spent draining, de-rigging and sorting the 'extras', goodbyes and then back to NYC by train.

I'm sure there are other engine manufactures / groups / companies around the world that can compete with Mattituck, but for me in hindsight - I was extremely impressed with the company, the people, the depth of experience, the professionalism and not least the end product and overall I have personally gained great value for my money which I believe would be hard to beat.

Even if you already have an engine built / running / on order, I would still totally recommend if you can get to Osh / Sun'n'Fun / a Mattituck weekend - it is well worth it. If you haven't yet got an engine - I think you know what I'm suggesting.......

If people want to talk directly to me more about my experiences feel free to contact directly off-list. I've got some of the photos / trip log sorted on the website, although I need to complete the words at some point.

Blue skies,

Carl

PS: I have no specific interest in Mattituck except as a happy & impressed customer.