915 in a cessna 152?
in General Tech Discussion
7 years ago
Hey all,
New memeber to the boards here with an idea that may be crazy or brilliant, that is to be determined...
As some of you may know rotax just came out with their new 915 engine which is a 135 horse injected turbo charged engine that weighs a claimed 184lbs dry, a decent amount less than the stock 110 horse O-235, or so I read. So that put the lightbulb on in my head....
There would be engineering challenges such as mounting the engine to get the weight and balance right, making a cowl if the original will not fit and making an instrument panel that will accept the display screens. Didn't say this would be simple...
But imagine having a 135 horse turbo engine that burned around 6gph and it weighs less than the original engine?! Obviously a constant speed prop would have to mated to it. These engines make full power up to 15,000 and have a ceiling of 23,000 if the cessna will go that high. You could fly over Mt. McKinley and look down on the summit! That is something to aspire to and motivate me through the build.
Obviously this would make the plane experimental but I think I would prefer that as it would enable me to work on it. I decided on a 152 as the best cessna because it has the best V speeds yet can still be had for around 20k with a clean fuselage and interior. I could put the heavy duty front fork and 8.5 tires and she would be a great bush plane. I may consider zenair floats down the road as well so I am hoping this engine would pull them.
Thoughts?
New memeber to the boards here with an idea that may be crazy or brilliant, that is to be determined...
As some of you may know rotax just came out with their new 915 engine which is a 135 horse injected turbo charged engine that weighs a claimed 184lbs dry, a decent amount less than the stock 110 horse O-235, or so I read. So that put the lightbulb on in my head....
There would be engineering challenges such as mounting the engine to get the weight and balance right, making a cowl if the original will not fit and making an instrument panel that will accept the display screens. Didn't say this would be simple...
But imagine having a 135 horse turbo engine that burned around 6gph and it weighs less than the original engine?! Obviously a constant speed prop would have to mated to it. These engines make full power up to 15,000 and have a ceiling of 23,000 if the cessna will go that high. You could fly over Mt. McKinley and look down on the summit! That is something to aspire to and motivate me through the build.
Obviously this would make the plane experimental but I think I would prefer that as it would enable me to work on it. I decided on a 152 as the best cessna because it has the best V speeds yet can still be had for around 20k with a clean fuselage and interior. I could put the heavy duty front fork and 8.5 tires and she would be a great bush plane. I may consider zenair floats down the road as well so I am hoping this engine would pull them.
Thoughts?
