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Editorial: The Lycoming Effect

By Tracy Crook. Originally published in the Rotary Aviation News, Issue 1,1998

I remarked in a past newsletter about the look you see on the faces of some homebuilders when the subject of alternative engines comes up. Its the one where the eyes roll, frequently accompanied by a brief snort. The message conveyed by this expression is that the subject is not worthy of consideration and certainly not open to discussion. I can’t help but wonder about the motivation and source of this attitude. After all, we are not talking about people in general, who are likely to be terrified about the idea of experimental airplanes. These are individuals who have already decided to put their lives on the line by flying a contraption built in their own garage. There has to be something at work here that is not obvious.

My first guess was that this is the “Once bitten, twice shy” effect. These were probably people who had some very bad experience with alternative engines and were not going to give any piece of hardware not blessed by the FAA a shot at their life again. I considered this possibility even though I myself would be a prime candidate for developing this syndrome. Nevertheless, this hypothesis was quickly shot down when I carefully determined that none of the people I met who gave me “The Look” had ever flown behind (or in front of) an alternative engine.

Maybe it was that they were inherently conservative people who always stuck by the tried and true. Some of them tried to rationalize their position with this logic. This explanation did not seem to hold water when I learned what some of these pilots were building. More often than not, their design of choice was on the unconventional side (frequently a canard) or a design that was very new to the market with the only example to fly being the manufacturer’s prototype.

Ponder as I may, there has been no pattern or reason that I could discern for this attitude, nor could they verbalize one themselves. And so, even though I am resistant to such simple explanations, I was left to conclude that it’s just the way their heads are wired. Until recently.

The well documented theoretical advantages as well as my test results on the engine stand leave little doubt that EFI has enormous advantages over the carburetor. As the results come in, I am getting more and more excited about it. I’ve stepped up the pace of development on the aircraft EFI manifold design and it is ready to bolt on the RV.

Two weeks ago I finished the last piece and realized that the time to fly it was at hand. As I stood there starring at it with what Laura calls my star-crossed lover look, I was surprised at the unexpected emotion that swept over me. I was reluctant to unbolt my old Mikuni carburetors.

“Where the hell did that come from?” I wondered. Then I began to think about all that I had been through with those carburetors. They have flown for over 3 years and 600 hours of flight now. During that time they have reliably fed over 3600 gallons of fuel to the engine and carried me over 90,000 miles of open fields, mountains almost two miles high and a lot of water.. They’ve worked in dry desert heat, driving rain and several other situations I was fool enough to get into (Note from The Wife: see details on back page). In short, they had proved that they worked.

If just listening to the hum of that rotary for 600 hours could make me feel this attachment to a set of old motorcycle carbs, maybe I can start to understand what the drone of a Lycoming has done to those other guys.