Orenda's Otter Placement of OE600 Spurs Search for Other Placements

Having secured a de Havilland Otter retrofit for its OE600 liquid-cooled V8, Canada's Orenda Recip continues to explore applications for the first completely new aero piston engine to be certified in more than 40 years.

The 495-cubic-inch-displacement aluminum V8 produces 600 hp for takeoff and 500 hp under maximum continuous operation. The fuel-injected engine is turbocharged and equipped with an intercooler mounted in the "valley" between its cylinder heads. Descended from the stillborn Thunder Engine project of the early 1980s that attempted to adapt the aluminum-block Chevrolet CanAm racing engine for aviation use, the OE600 received reciprocal Canadian DoT and U.S. FAA certification in 1998. Initial TBO for the OE600 is 1,500 hours, which Orenda hopes to increase to 2,000 hours and, eventually, 2,500 hours with field experience.

The Otter retrofit, which replaces the bush/utility aircraft's original 1930s-era Pratt & Whitney R1340 radial engine, was developed by Air Wilga of Montreal and received supplemental type certification in early 2000. As of last month, the first customer OE600-powered Otter had logged 900 hours since the retrofit, with no problems reported. A second customer aircraft is currently undergoing conversion in Air Wilga's shop.

Meanwhile, Orenda Recip has begun development in-house on an OE600 retrofit for the popular de Havilland Beaver bush plane, replacing that aircraft's P&W R985 radial. Working out of the Nova Scotia factory, Orenda expects to certify the re-engining at the end of 2002.

But Orenda is most excited about a Beaver replacement aircraft under development as a joint venture between Bohemian/Canadian Aircraft products of Calgary and Moravan Aeroplanes in Europe's Czech Republic (builders of the popular Zlin aerobatic planes). Dubbed the Z400 Rino, the strut-braced high-wing utility aircraft was originally designed by Technoavia of Russia. An OE600-powered prototype is flying, and JAA certification is anticipated in 2002.

Other applications underway for the OE600 include:

• Air Tractor Models 301/401 and Ayres Thrush agricultural planes. These are also in-house projects. However, for its ag projects, Orenda is being assisted by Dakota Aero of Devils Lake, ND. Certification for the Air Tractor 401 is expected this fall. Additionally, Turkish Aerospace is developing a new ag plane that could use the OE600, and last month Hongdu Aviation Industry Company of China signed a memorandum of understanding with Orenda for the engine manufacturer to supply as many as 41 "firewall-forward" OE600 engine kits for Hongdu's N5 multirole ag plane.
  
  
• Raytheon King Air C90. Stevens Aviation of Greenville, NC, continues to develop its OE600 re-engining for the C90, replacing the popular business aircraft's original-equipment Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprops. Two aircraft flying with OE600s have collectively logged 500 hours of flight testing. Why replace the King Air's nearly bulletproof turboprops with piston engines? "Easy," says Orenda's marketing manager Derek Parker. "The OE600 is 25% more fuel efficient than the PT6, it allows the aircraft to cruise 65 knots faster and maintain 500 hp to 25,000 feet, and best of all, the cost of the engine (about $110,000) is less than a PT6 overhaul." Stevens is pursuing the STC for the conversion on behalf of Orenda, which will own it. The retrofit is tentatively priced at $420,000.
  
  
• Explorer 500R. Yet another utility aircraft intended to replace the Beaver, the Explorer 500R is under development by Denver-based Explorer Aircraft, Inc. A prototype of the Australian-designed 500R has been flying since 1998 and is claimed to be on schedule for 2004 certification and production.

Orenda is studying a smaller version of the OE600, Parker said, possibly a V6, but more likely a V8 with less displacement. Partnered with an undisclosed company, it is also developing a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) which may ultimately allow the OE600 and its progeny to burn multiple fuels.

Orenda Recip has hard commitments for 40 engines in its order book, but is projecting as many as 1,000 orders over the next five years, especially if the Bohemian/Moravan Rino project comes to fruition.