ULpower engine

[ditobrazil]

Hi everyone,
I?m going for the 12 as my first aircraft building project for many reasons already poited out. In Brazil LSA doesn?t apply also, so my 12 will be considered experimental anyway. That doesn?t necessarely mean I?m going for any change in the original project, except for avionics, wich for pricing reason will be brazilian. That potential freedom also made me look for engine options. I focused on fuel economy and diferent tecnologies, trying to keep van?s goals for weight and performance. So far my research brought up this new belgian project www.ulpower.com
Since I?m completely unexperienced, I thought the forum would be a good place to share.
Things I found positive in the ULpower engine:
- lightweigh (~8kg less compared to rotax with everyng instaled)
- Multipoint fuel injection and FADEC
- Fuel economy (reported ~3 galons/h by users)
- traditional 4 flat cilinder with air cooling

Thank you all in advance,
Rodrigo

 

[rv6ejguy]

Pretty cool little engine and they have a fair number flying. The price though, hurts. I'd see little incentive to use this over a 912S at this time without a lot more field experience and bigger dealer network and again it is heavier than the 912.

I don't think the 3 gal./hr. figure is very representative for cruise fuel consumption. Given their figures and typical power settings, 4.5 or so would seem more likely.

They seem to have pretty realistic answers and info on their site which is nice for a change.

TBO is unknown so that is a bit of a problem for those plunking down 12K Euros.

Hope they continue pursuing it.

 

[rv8ch]

Brazilian avionics

... That doesn?t necessarely mean I?m going for any change in the original project, except for avionics, wich for pricing reason will be brazilian...

Hi Rodrigo,

Can you tell us more about the Brazilian avionics that are on the market?

Thanks,
Mickey

 

[ditobrazil]

Brazilian Avionics

Hi Mickey,

there are some new companies here aiming the experimental market. To me, the most promissing is http://www.flighttech.com.br
Their EFIS/autopilot unit claims to be comparable to the good ones. They started sales at the brazilian biggest sports aviation fair in july 2008. Unfortunately there isn't much technical information on their website, and it's in portuguese. It seems they have a long way to prove themselves, but at least they have a good pedigree, since the company is being incubated at the Aiforce technology Institute, the brazilian MIT.
Hope to have helped,
Rodrigo

 

[Geico266]

Rodrigo, Stick with what works and is tried & true. Rotax. There is a reason Van's picked it out of all other engine companies. Trust me he looked at everything.