The rise of FrankenEngine - An engine for the VP-21

[mm4440]

The costs of producing a reliable small engine is enormous, I recon that the “Franken” parts should be confined to ancillary parts added to a reliable bullet proof ‘core’ to make it more suitable for aviation purposes.
I know from my experience working with the Suzuki G10 that the basic engine weighs about the same as a Rotax 582, and I’m sure that it is not the only 3 cyl auto engine that is that light. Naturally it would only produce about 40hp direct drive, but add a small turbo and you would have 55-60hp ( the turbo conversion weight is reduced by the fact that you don’t need a muffler). The Suzuki runs reliably tilted over at 70deg exhaust down and can be tilted at 90deg if a large enough oil return pipe is fitted between the valve cover and the sump. The crank being 120deg they are easy to hand start. All 3 cyl engines exhibit an odd ‘wobble’ at idle but are absolutely vibration free at revs.

Jeron did a lightened DD G-10 that filled the requirements. Never finalized.

F head, that's Neat for sure.
View attachment 114751

Rover. Can use big valves. Was reported to be a good running engine.

 

[mm4440]

View attachment 116053

 

[mm4440]

View attachment 116053

Bristol Cherub 1920's-30's. on piss gas.

 

[PMD]

I think the Neander is a four stroke

You are very correct. My mind works in strange ways: when I see two cranks and rods, I immediately think of 'folded piston" OPD - but of course no possible way with that design to get small enough combustion chamber to be a diesel. Neaneder has only one piston per every 2 rods, so is just a wierd double crank arrangement. The mere fact it has 2 cranks, 2 rods and 4 strokes explains why it is 2x as heavy as a 2 cycle could be.

 

[SeaBee]

Just dropping these here. They don't really meet the requirements (at all) of ~40 hp and ~80 lb, or air-cooled. But it seems weird to not talk about them.

ONE ROTOR WANKEL

Yamaha WEIGHTS - MAC YG2!! 80HP Phazer 4-strk, 2-cyl, EFI, 88/123 lbs, liq-cool

It's HERE!!! Remember back in 2011 when Ernie tried to do a successful YG4 (Yamaha Genesis 4-cylinder 4-strk 150HP) conversion and ran into so much trouble and headache he abandoned it and never did another one? Remember when I did a YG4 right after it, and it was trouble-free right out of the...

www.rotaryforum.com

 

[AdrianS]

Just dropping these here. They don't really meet the requirements (at all) of ~40 hp and ~80 lb, or air-cooled. But it seems weird to not talk about them.

ONE ROTOR WANKEL

Yamaha WEIGHTS - MAC YG2!! 80HP Phazer 4-strk, 2-cyl, EFI, 88/123 lbs, liq-cool

It's HERE!!! Remember back in 2011 when Ernie tried to do a successful YG4 (Yamaha Genesis 4-cylinder 4-strk 150HP) conversion and ran into so much trouble and headache he abandoned it and never did another one? Remember when I did a YG4 right after it, and it was trouble-free right out of the...

www.rotaryforum.com

I had a quick look - the ego on that site started dripping off my screen so I gave it a miss.

 

[SeaBee]

I had a quick look - the ego on that site started dripping off my screen so I gave it a miss.

Which site? There are two.
And If some random engine owner is an a-hole, is that a good reason to not look at or use that engine?

 

[PMD]

I still cry over the loss of the Norton twin rotor from the world. Anyone know what became of the design and tooling? At one point, it was being developed as a drone engine at IIRC 90 HP and seriously being considered as a certified production project.

 

[AdrianS]

Which site? There are two.
And If some random engine owner is an a-hole, is that a good reason to not look at or use that engine?

The second one.

I'm not saying the engine is no good, just that I gave up on reading the site you linked.

 

[Bill-Higdon]

Kind of sad the best all in 1 place for info on the 4 cycle Yamaha sled engines is Log into Facebook

 

[mm4440]

Polini Thor 303 - PoliniThor 38 hp, ~50#, ~$4500 two stroke, Single.

 

[daveklingler]

The Polling Thor 303 is pretty impressive. I'd have to rearrange things quite a bit to get it to fit in my Quickie cowling, but it might be worth a shot.

 

[daveklingler]

I still cry over the loss of the Norton twin rotor from the world. Anyone know what became of the design and tooling? At one point, it was being developed as a drone engine at IIRC 90 HP and seriously being considered as a certified production project.

As far as I know, there's at least one licensee currently for the Norton twin rotor. UAV Engines Ltd makes them, but they will not talk to you if you mentioned manned aircraft, and they charge a lot for a small engine. A few years back they said they were selling them as fast as they could make them.

Products | UAV Engines

uavenginesltd.co.uk

 

[rotax618]

These guys built a 300+HP engine out of sheet metal.

 

[TFF]

The Crosley Cobra motor was sheet metal and they tried to put them in Mooney Mites besides cars. Ford had a plastic block race engine about 1979 for GTP racing. Although the classic Alfa Romeo 4 cylinder engine is cast, it’s essentially how the guy described the sheet metal one he made.

 

[dwalker]

The Crosley Cobra motor was sheet metal and they tried to put them in Mooney Mites besides cars. Ford had a plastic block race engine about 1979 for GTP racing. Although the classic Alfa Romeo 4 cylinder engine is cast, it’s essentially how the guy described the sheet metal one he made.

Most early Bugatti motors were bolted together.

 

[PMD]

As far as I know, there's at least one licensee currently for the Norton twin rotor. UAV Engines Ltd makes them, but they will not talk to you if you mentioned manned aircraft, and they charge a lot for a small engine. A few years back they said they were selling them as fast as they could make them.

As I remember it: whoever took on the Norton twin for aviation in the US had a suspiciously Rotax-like gearbox on the front. Shame they won't stick their neck out into the LLL (Legal Liability Lottery) world of genav.

 

[Ried]

Polimotor seems to be making noise again. Plastic 4 cylinder engine from back in the 1970s, with a Lotus racer.

Trying to come back with 3D printed parts.

Polimotor's 3D Printed Plastic Internal Combustion Engine « Fabbaloo

A company is apparently 3D printing fully functional internal combustion engines for racing — made from plastic!

www.fabbaloo.com

 

[Dennis DeFrange]

My Grandad built a 6 Cylinder T Model Ford engine back in the 1920s . Way before Ford ever made their first 6 banger . FMC sent reps here to Okla. to talk him into going back with them . He declined . We still have the engine in a roadster and it runs fine . We don't run it much at all obviously because of what it is and internal parts are one of a kind . It was far enough in advance (crank shaft) wise that the throws are rotated to improve smoothness . These kind of people that go out on a limb are getting far apart and few between . Modern day tech. is amazing but these gentlemen were doing these things with very little resources . My hat's off to anyone with that level of talent .

 

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That little crosley engine with overhead cam was strong. As a thirteen year old went to the factory in Indiana with my dad and picked up my car, even had disc brakes. Cost $1,020 and weighed 1020 pounds.