RV-8 production cowling.

This is the production RV-8 cowling.  It includes a different inlet location then our RV-6 because we needed better cooling during taxi.  By moving the inlet away from the prop spinner we get higher velocity air off the prop to improve cooling on the ground.  Also shown is the proposed exhaust header configuration.  This header is being built now and will be run on our engine test stand to demonstrate performance and re-map the computers controlled fuel injection.  The molds and cowls are being built by James aviation in Greenville Florida.

Powersport Aviation Spring 2002 Update

RV-6A N225PS Modifications Completed

Click this link for more pictures of the finished plane

As you may notice from some of the new pictures on our site, our RV-6A demonstrator aircraft N225PS has  received a complete facelift over the last two months designed to reduce drag and and further improve cooling.  The updated firewall forward installation features a new smaller radiator and a custom oil cooler replacing the oil to water cooling systems we have flown with previously.  We have also reworked our cowling with a smaller air inlet moved all the way forward to provide a longer internal diffuser, and reduced external and internal drag. To cap off the front of the aircraft we have updated our 72" three blade Mt-propeller Electric Constant Speed with Mt's new scimitar blade design, and a new spinner that matches our newly refinished cowling. Mt claims a 4% increase in efficiency over their previous design.

We took the opportunity during this down time to thoroughly inspect the test engine we have been flying with.  This engine, serial # RE-001 has seen severe duty through our dynamometer test program, vibration analysis and propeller tests, as well as its 111 hours installed on N225PS.  We are pleased to report that after 215 hours of operation which included extreme overheating and sustained full throttle dynamometer load tests as low as 2000 rpm, that the engine was in very good condition.  All "O" rings survived the elevated temperatures, and the rotor housings were in excellent condition.  Upon reassembly we replaced the development rotor housings with Powersport's production pieces which feature revised peripheral port timing.  The rotor seals were also replaced to compliment the new rotor housings.  The reduction drive was inspected, found to be in good condition, and returned to the aircraft.

Along with the cowling, the rest of the N225PS’s fiberglass parts have also been painted, and the engine compartment shines with the polished components of the new smaller and lighter cooling system. The result of all this work is a really beautiful and unique aircraft, which stands out in a crowd, and looks like it has something special under the cowl, which it does!  With 215 HP of very smooth horsepower and the very low drag cowling we expect to have improved upon the exciting performance we have already achieved.  Before the recent updates we had a 2,250 ft/min sustained rate of climb, and a 212mph TAS top speed!

Spring is said to be just around the corner, which will make our flight testing easier.  As new performance figures become available we will post them here for you to review.  Our plans are in place for the AirVenture convention and we look forward to meeting with many of you there.

First Production Run Engine Assembly Completed

The Powersport staff has assembled and shipped 9 engines for our customers.  Each engine received a chrome like polish on prominent aluminum pieces to make the engine look as good as its 215HP performs!  After final assembly each engine was run in on our mobile test stand.

Powersport Aviation Winter 2002 Update

Powersport Aviation Articles in Custom Planes and Sport Aviation

Powersport Aviation has been in the news a lot lately with a large article in the March issue of Custom Planes, and mention in an excellent article promoting rotary engines for aircraft by Paul Lamar in the February issue of EAA’s Sport Aviation.   We would like to thank Custom Planes and Sport Aviation for their interest in the rotary engine, and their support of our company.  This publicity has informed even more people about our products and website, sending over 900 hits to our website in the last couple of weeks!  With so many people stopping in, we felt it would be a good time to update the site and give you something new to look at!

First Production Run Engine Assembly Continues

The Powersport staff has been assembling engines for our customers, and have shipped 6 units to date.  Each engine receives a chrome like polish on prominent aluminum pieces to make the engine look as good as its 215HP performs!  After final assembly each engine is run in on our moble test stand.

A proper break in is critical to the reliability and overall performance of the rotary engine, and this 2 ½ hours of running insures that all engines are broken in properly and produce their rated power.  After running, the engines are protected internally with fogging oil, all fluids are drained, and they are packed in sturdy crates for shipment.

RV-8 and RV-8A Engine Mount Frames Completed

While behind schedule, the RV-8 and RV-8A engine mount frame designs are now finalized and in production.  Chris Armstrong continued his use of Solid Works software to model the complete fuselage/ mount frame/ engine interface to develop both the RV-8 and -8A mount frames. The mount frame(s) bolts to the fuselage directly where Van’s intended, and utilizes Powersport’s proven CNC machined aluminum engine mounts with Barry Controls vibration isolators to complete the package. We offer our apologies to the customers were effected by this delay but are sure that all will be impressed with the quality and fit of the package. As with our other installation components, these mount frames will be available separately to those customers who have made other rotary engine choices.

Mazda 20B 3-rotor Torsional Dampener In Production

RV-6A Demonstrator Cowling Modifications Underway

RV-8 Cowling Design Finalized

During the fall we spent additional time performing cooling system and airflow tests on our RV-6A demonstrator.  The data collected from these tests has allowed us to refine the design and inlet shape shape of our RV-6 cowling, and to transfer these concepts to the RV-8/8A cowling project.  The cowling design for the RV-8 and RV-8A integration is now finalized, and your can see its clean shape below! The final cowling uses what we are calling the turbo inlet, since it takes great advantage of the small frontal area of the rotary engine to give the RV-8s a distinctly turbine powered look.  Vans Aircraft generously allowed us use of their 3D model of the RV-8 forward fuselage so that we could design the cowling to blend seamlessly into the aircraft lines.   The images below include some showing surface curvature colorization that shows that the match from the cowl to the forward fuselage is excellent.  It will be up to the mold builder to ensure that this close fit is maintained through to the finished part.   To date we have commitments for 5 RV-8s, and 1 RV-8A packages which is very close to the 8 to 10 orders required to offset the costs of mold production. We hope to see this beautiful cowling in the air soon!

Powersport Aviation Summer 2001 Update

The torsional resonance testing (see Spring 2001 Update below) Powersport performed on a Mazda 20B engine revealed that it will require a torsional damper to reduce the resonance in the accessory drive end of the Mazda 3-rotor 20B engine when used with our reduction drive.  The design work for the torsional damper has been completed and Powersport will soon be able to offer our reduction drive and this pendulous damper as a package for use on 20B motors.

The new Bearing Carrier and Pinion Outboard Support Bearing testing has been completed, and the nuisance oil leak has been sealed!  Powersport's engine and reduction drive completed 30 hours of 5000 RPM test run time to verify the design of the new Pinion Gear outboard Support Bearing and Bearing Carrier.  The engine and reduction drive performed very well and we consider the design of the reduction drive finalized, and proven to be very strong and reliable.   The new oil seal has been in the reduction drive for 20 hours now and has not leaked a drop.  The final configuration is now back in our airplane and flying almost daily.

Powersport RV-6A flew into Airventure on Wednesday morning and stayed through Sunday.  We parked in "Auto-Conversion Row" this year where people could easily see our plane alongside several other auto conversions and make comparisons.  We also chose not to have a booth this year, instead staying around the plane and talking with lots of very interested flyers.  We gave a forum on Thursday evening that was very well attended.  After Ray Richardson covered the history of the Powersport program, Steve Weinzierl presented some of the engineering principles used to design our reduction drive.  Keith Holm covered information on our Engine Management System.  Leon Johnson demonstrated our multifunction display and engine data display and collection software, and Chris Armstrong showed some of the engine to airframe integration work that we are doing for the RV-6A, RV-8, and Lancair 235.  

Since returning from  Airventure 2001,   Powersport's RV-6A received its Annual Inspection and now has been flying almost daily in some of the hottest weather in the history of the area.  High 90 degrees and very high humidity.  The new cooling system has performed quite well.  The larger radiator has been keeping the water temps below 200 degrees and the oil to water cooler has been keeping oil temps in the 215 to 220 range.  At Oshkosh we reported that the oil to water oil cooler was not working as well as we hoped, but in recording the data on our engine data collection system for the last few flights we have found that the "backup" oil temperature gage is 15 degrees higher then the data from the primary ECU temperature sender.  We have more confidence in the ECU data but will be calibrating both sensors to verify that it is correct.  The good news is that we are flying a 215 HP Rotary engine and keeping it cool in extremely hot weather.

On May 4^th, after nearly 2 weeks of preparation we tested our PSRD-300 Reduction Drive on a Mazda 20B 3-rotor engine for torsional resonance. Professor Ronald L. Eshelman, Ph. D., P. E, our consultant vibration expert provided the sensors, frequency analysis and data recording equipment, and to collected and analyze the data. The results showed that the extremely stiff Powersport reduction drive was free from resonance, and the accessory drive end of the motor was free from resonance in the first and second orders, unfortunately the 3^rd order was of significant magnitude to require a damper. The data shows that the system will require a torsional damper to reduce the resonance in the accessory drive end of the Mazda 3-rotor 20B engine. Once a torsional damper is selected or designed and built, Powersport’s PSRD-300 propeller reduction drive will be approved for use on Mazda 20B 3-rotor engines.

Mazda 20B, 3-rotor engine quipped with a Powersport PSRD-300 reduction drive on the Powersport test stand.

Ray Richardson verifies RPM during the test.

Dave Atkins (who is prepairing the turbo charged 20B for a Lanciar IV P),   Ray Richardson, Dr. Eshelman and Keith Holm.

Dr. Eshelman, Keith Holm and Ray Richardson review test data.

Powersport Dry Sump Oil Pump System Now Available

Powersport has also completed the development of the gear driven dry sump system for the 13B and 20B motors. The auto-racing community has already purchased 20 of these systems and Powersport has 10 available for aviation customers. The 2-rotor version uses 2, 13mm wide scavenge pumps and a 16mm wide pressure pump.  The 3-rotor uses 2, 14mm wide scavenge pumps and an 18mm wide pressure pump.  The pumps are gear-driven, eliminating the chain drive that is used on the Mazda wet sump system.

20 assembled dry sump oil pump systems for 20B auto-racing engines.

Machined front covers ready for assembly.

Powersport begins first Engine/Reduction Drive Production Run

Powersport’s first production-run of engines and reduction drives is underway. 5 sets of engine and reductions drive parts have moved through the machine shop, changing from blocks of aluminum and steel to extremely accurate CNC machined parts. We have shipped one motor to our first customer, who is taxi testing his Velocity with a big smile on his face! He will be flying soon! We are planning to assemble one engine per 2 weeks or so for the next 3 months

Front, Middle and Rear Side-housings for three engines machined, painted and ready for assembly.

7 of Powersport’s flywheel/counterweights and the bearing nuts used to assemble them on the pinion gears.

Propeller shaft housings for 14 Reduction drives await assembly.

Ring Gears back from gear cutting and surface grinding operations.

Propeller shafts machined, heat treated and ground.

Powersport developed a stronger Pinion Gear Outboard Support Bearing Carrier and needle bearing for the 20B motor and it will be used for all production reduction drives.   The proving of this Bearing Carrier, and stoping a nuisance oil leak are the two remaining development tasks. We are installing our motor back on our test stand now, (The 20B motor had been installed on the test stand for the torsional tests) to run a 60 hour test to prove the strength of the new bearing carrier. The new design increases the diameter of the bearing shaft from 20mm to 32mm. This is an area increase from 314mm^2 to 804mm^2, (2.56 times the area.)

New bearing carriers. At far left is one of the original bearing carriers.
Second from left has the bearing race and alignment dowels pressed in place.
Top left is a pinion gear with the oil flinger installed. Far left is flinger.

The oil leak has been a very baffling one. When new the reduction drive ran without an oil leak for its first 20 hours. Then it started leaking. It isn’t a large amount of oil, just a continual nuisance. Then we ran our first customers motor and it didn’t leak. After around 10 hours it started a slow leak. We then assembled our drive with a new pinion gear for the 3 rotor testing, (which used the new bearing carrier and roller bearing.) and it didn’t leak for the fairly short duration of testing. In discussing this with seal manufacturers they feel that the seal is functioning fine until the Pinion Gear’s seal surface is polished to a mirror finish by the seal, and then the seal is pumping the oil as it was intended to do, in the wrong direction.

We have been using the Stock Mazda rear engine seal as the rear seal of our reduction drive, but it is a directional seal, with a spiral pumping groove, and it is pumping the oil in the wrong direction, since we have turned the seal around. Understanding that the subtle difference from the fine ground finish to a highly polished finish on the sealing surface of the Pinion Gear might allow the seal to pump was the key to hopefully finding a easy fix for this problem, a correct directional, or non-directional seal. In addition to that we have developed an oil flinger that can be installed between the gear and the seal. The flinger will prevent the oil jetting from the gear mesh from being sprayed directly onto the seal lip, and will fling the oil away from the seal. If we find a seal that works without the flinger we will do without this part. We will be testing one or more seals and the flinger during the bearing carrier tests.

Powersport has developed a fantastic 215HP electronic fuel injection, electronic ignition rotary aircraft engine and 300+HP capable reduction drive. We have flown our engine in our RV-6A for over 95 hours with only the two issues discussed above to complete. We have delivered the first engine and have most of the parts for the next 5 engines and reduction drives manufactured and ready for assembly. We are ready to enter volume production. Powersport is seeking investors to provide the resources needed to move into full production. If you are interested in the work that we have done to bring the rotary engine to the kit plane market, and have resources available to invest in the promotion of aviation plea se contact Ray Richardson Jr.