On Wed, 20 May 2009 11:23:33 -0700 (PDT), Bob
wrote:



Unspoken here was the assumption that home-builders of the future will
be coming from India and China. I base this assumption on the mail
I've received from those countries. I've taken that as meaning we are
going to see the need for Stealth's 40hp engine... but an EFFICIENT
40hp -- an engine that can be cobbled-up by a home-builder having an
income of less than 5k U.S.dollars per year. (Adjusted for local
prices [ie China & India] that level of income has approximately 3x
the buying power. But even 15k is a pretty small amount.)

The odds are overwhelmingly in favor for the existence of a suitable
base-engine (ie, 1.8 to 2.0l) already existing in those countries.
All we need to do is to show how such an engine can be turned into the
home-made equivalent of a de Havilland. (Easy, eh? :-)

-R.S.Hoover


the most likely engine for india is a conversion of something out of
TATA. I dont think we would see many of those engines in the west
although if the $2,000 car was marketed here and it's engine was
suitable we could probably think of it as an engine supplied in a
metal box :-)

it is an interesting conundrum because as simple as it sounds no one
markets a lightweight 40hp aero engine suitable for a single seat
aircraft. not that I'm aware of. (rotax 2 strokes I'm not interested
in)

none of the manufacturers I've looked at will supply an engine not
wrapped in a car. the smart car engine seemed a promise but in the
local distributors no one would even talk to me. ( I must have left my
top hat home that day)

all successful aircraft designs start with a successful engine.

Stealth Pilot