UL520iS

Has anyone considered these? 200 HP and FADEC with fuel injection for around $28K US, accessories included. I emailed them and I'm waiting for a reply about the suitability for a Vans rv 8. Im just curious if anyone here sees any major issues with the engine.

I asked if it was suitable for 200+ MPH, +6Gs, -3Gs (I'd imagine it doesn't have inverted oil). Weather or not the FADEC will control propeller pitch and if 3200 RPM is a problem for a propeller going 200 MPH.

Any thoughts are welcome. Just from looking at the engine specs online it looks like a great engine.

http://www.ulpower.com/engines/ul520is

They do have an inverted oil option.

One thing I would note is that their 200hp rating is at 3200 RPM. That engine is good for 182hp at 2800 RPM. I recently asked a question about alternative engines on the panther forum (I'd link to it, but I think that's a no no). The US UL Power guy replied to my thread with good info and thoughts.

It does seem like a good engine and the company just invested $1mil into tooling to increase production. That being said, I haven't flown behind one and I do still have concerns about long term availability of parts if the company ceases operations and you might be stuck with a $28k orphan. But, there's risk in anything and I'd seriously give them some consideration.

I'm nowhere near buying an engine, so I have a couple years to look into it. You need an electronically controlled pitch propeller if you want variable pitch. I'm having trouble finding a propeller that will withstand 200 HP and 3200 RPM. 180 HP continuous is very good in my opinion.

This is the reply form UL engines, for anyone interested.

"I copied Ray, our Service Director, on this message also. Ray is putting the 520iS into his RV-4. He can give you an update on the project too but basically everything is ready for the RV-8 but we need an airplane to finalize the cowl and mount.

We do have an inverted oil option that is, for the most part, built into the case so you need to order it at the beginning.

We have a very good electric constant speed prop as an option.

With respect to RPM you never really go over 2900. The top of the power curve is very flat though so the engine is still producing a lot of power. A good cruise number is about 2800 rpm with a fixed pitch prop. With the constant speed prop you have a lot more flexibility.

Your exchange calculation is fairly accurate but you need to add another 1% for the money exchange process. I can give you an accurate quote once we figure out options, etc."

I replied and asked about propeller options.


"There are two constant speed prop choices. One is MT in Germany. We have not used their prop yet in the U.S. but some have on UL in Europe. The other is Airmaster out of New Zealand. Very nice prop. We like it a lot. It is operated by a toggle switch on the panel. You can control it manually or put it in the auto mode. In auto it is preset and you simply move it between Takeoff, Climb and Cruise.

Are you mostly over water? If so I personally would do the Dual Ecu Option. It's about another $4,000 but then everything is redundant. For day VFR over land I wouldn't do it."

What I don't understand about these new engine developers is they tend to charge the same, or close to the same, as a known engine.

For $28K you can get a good Lyclone and not have to worry about support, parts, if the company will be around in five years, or if the engine will last five years.

It seems to me, until they have a proven product, they should price the engine low enough that people are willing to take the risk. At least until there are enough in the field to prove they are the same or better than traditional engines.

I'm not saying the UL520iS is a bad engine, just that it doesn't have the operational history to justify such a high price.