6 WORST & 6 BEST Light Sport Aircraft Engines

choosing the right engine for your airplane can be difficult especially for experimental and kit build airplanes where they are a multitude of engine options available so we're going to look at important specs to consider when choosing an engine and rank the 12 inches on this list from worst to best yeah I don't think this video will make me many friends what's up everyone I'm A Private Pilot in aviation Enthusiast and this is let's go aviate so some important specs to consider when choosing an engine or horsepower weight and price while some might argue that cost should not be a factor my experience is that cost is usually a significant factor for most Pilots we also consider that these engines can usually be bought used for quite a bit cheaper than brand new we'll be focusing on the more popular engines available for two seat airplanes with a maximum takeoff weight of 600 kilograms or 1320 pounds also known as light sport aircraft since we're focusing mainly on performance versus procurement cost we won't be considering engine reliability which is somewhat subjective anyways we also won't be considering maintenance cost which should be fairly similar for all these engines fuel consumption for these engines all fall between 14 and 24 liters an hour or 3.5 to 6 gallons an hour so we won't be scrutinizing fuel burn too much your fuel burn will largely depend on your throttle use anyway so it wouldn't really matter all that much unless the plane is in a flat school or you fly hundreds of cross-country miles per day so starting at the bottom what just the continental o200 and the rotax 915is have in common the answer is they are ridiculously expensive don't get me wrong they are both great engines and some great aircraft are powered by them but those aircraft are not light sport aircraft therefore when it comes to Alice Ace the almost 40 000 US dollars for the o200 and 43 000 for the 915 is way too much to spend on an LSA engine the next worst LSI engine on this list is one that has been around for a very long time it's been a great engine but in this modern day the RV 2180 converted BW engine just doesn't cut it on performance delivering only 80 horsepower from a dry weight of 168 pounds it has the worst power to weight ratio of all engines on this list the next worst engine is one making huge power at very low cost sounds great but weighing in at an astonishing 220 pounds the Viking 130 converted on the engine is the heaviest engine on this list and just too heavy for most light sport aircraft while it is a great option for many 1440 or 1500 pounds gross white light airplanes on a 13 20 pounds LSA you'll either end up with inadequate useful load or center of gravity issues or both it's too heavy with you in there the next worst engine for alicea's is actually a great Engine with high horsepower as well as turbocharged and although it's a tad on the heavy side it is light enough for most lsas it's thorotax 914 and it costs 38 000 it has got a great power to weight ratio but that price for me is a bit steep and the sixth worst engine for lsas are also all in all not a bad engine it's one of the most affordable engines on this list and delivers High horsepower but unfortunately it's on the heavy side even heavier than the 914. at 184 pounds the January 3300 is just too heavy for many latter aliceais now we get to the six best engines for light sport aircraft and in number six we have the rotax 912ul so you might wonder why this engine isn't higher on this list but 19 000 US Dollars isn't exactly cheap and 80 horsepower isn't exactly a lot and is usually considered the bare minimum required for large sport aircraft it does weigh in at only 147 pounds which is a huge positive but it stays at number six coming in at number five we have the UL power UL 350i s it delivers an impressive 130 horsepower from a somewhat heavy 173 pounds which nonetheless gives it the best power to write Russia on this entire list and yes it's got a better power to white ratio than the vertex 915 at sea level no that's not possible the Gen I would be aware of it but I feel that twenty six thousand dollars price tag is too much for this engine to be in the top for LSI engines it is to be noted that for 1440 and 1500 pounds light aircraft the UL 350 is probably one of the best options available at number four we have another UL power engine the smaller sibling of the 350 is which is the 260 is it delivers a very nice 107 horsepower and weighing a reasonable 160 pounds unfortunately it cost twenty four thousand dollars which makes it just barely miss out in being in the top three light sport aircraft engines speaking of which number three is the January 2200 the most affordable engine on this list at only 7 000 US dollars as well as the lightest at only 137 pounds it is known as the lightest four cylinder four-stroke aircraft engine in this power range that power unfortunately is only 80 horsepower I sometimes see or hear people starting they deliver 85 horsepower which honestly would take this engine up to number two on this list but the number stated by the manufacturer is 80 horsepower speaking of number two and I'm sure it will be somewhat unexpected it's the Viking 90 converted Mitsubishi engine at only 11 000 US Dollars you get an adequate 90 horsepower at a very reasonable weight of 159 pounds while the price is very attractive the power and to weight both are below average on this list which means it cannot be number one that leaves only the best light sport aircraft engine which I'm sure many of you expected and it's the rotax 912 uls it delivers a welcome 100 horsepower from a very low 149 pounds [Applause] it is a little bit expensive at 23 000 but it closely matches most of the higher horsepower engines on this list on power to weight ratio and is cheaper than all of them except the jabri 3300 and the very heavy marking 130. leave a comment below and tell me what you think is the best light sport aircraft engine thanks for watching and see you in the next one

Channel: Lets Go Aviate

Views: 129,663

Keywords: lsa engines, light sport aviation, lsa, lsa airplanes, light sport aircraft

Id: iY7fDpdsAZk

Length: 8min 6sec (486 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 12 2023