First Beta Test engine complete

Our First VPS normally-aspirated Beta Test engine is complete.

The following photos show the VPS engine's last hour on the Dyno and loading for transport.

In the photo below our Engine Designer Andrew Burr walks Beta Tester Russ Platt through the VPS engine start-up/ warm-up procedure.

Shown below Russ looks on as the VPS engine is brought up to 150 hp. Note the manifold pressure gauge just below the laptop reads 27"manifold pressure.

A close up of the manifold pressure gauge below shows the MP needed to produce 150 HP on the VPS engine. The VPS engine will be limited to a maximum of 150 HP on the Rotorway helicopter by limiting the manifold pressure to around 27" so that the engine does not provide more power than the helicopter drive train can handle. The VPS engine will provide excellent high altitude performance due to the appoximately 40 additional HP available over that of the stock engine.

Andrew advances the throttle to bring the VPS engine hp up as Russ looks on.

The VPS engine producing 166 hp.

Jack Kane of EPI writes on his web site regarding the Rotorway Engine: If the RW engine produced 170 HP at full throttle, it could easily be flat-rated back to 150 HP by limiting the MAP to approximately 27.7". That would provide safe operation at much higher density altitudes than now possible.

Incidentally, that's exactly what they do in the Schweitzer 300C. The Lycoming IO-360-D1A engine has the high-flow angle-valve heads, larger intake tubes, a larger Fuel Injection servo (Bendix RSA-7), 10:1 compression pistons, and runs at 3200 RPM. At 29.5" MAP it can make around 240 HP, but it is flat rated to 190 HP by limiting the MAP to 26".

The Robinson R22 helicopters all have engines that are capable of producing more power than the helicopter drive train can safely handle. The pilot limits the power that he allows the engine to produce by operating the engine at manifold pressures that are below the maximum allowed limits in the operators handbook.

When the VPS engine is installed on the Rotorway helicopter the pilot will limit the power produced to a maximum of 150 hp by limiting the manifold pressure to around the 27" range.

In the photo below Andrew Burr shows new VPS engine owner Russ Platt that the engine is easily producing 171 hp and 200 ft/lbs of torque at just below the full throttle setting.

Below Russ and Andrew disconnet Russ's new VPS engine from the dyno to ready it for transport to it's new home in Russ's Rotorway helicopter in the Charlotte, NC area.

Below Russ and Andrew are ready to place Russ's VPS engine into the shipping crate. Russ will install his new VPS engine into his Rotorway helicopter that suffered an in-flight engine failure with the stock Rotorway engine, his second in less than 200 hours total time.

Andrew and Test Pilot Orv Neisingh will fly to North Carolina to verify the installation and to perform the initial test flights on Russ's new VPS powered Rotorway Helicopter.

This engine looks similar to the Stock Rotorway engine due to the use of the same aluminum castings as the stock engine but that is where the similarity ends.

In this final photo, Andrew and Russ load Russ's VPS Beta Test #1 engine onto Russ's pickup truck for it's trip home to North Carolina.

As of 8/12/2010 VPS has built and delivered 4 Beta test engines and all four are flying in our Beta test program. Andrew is now building Engine # 5 for Beta testing in California and then will be building Beta test Engine # 6 for flight testing in Texas.

The photo below shows Mike Doles watching Andrew finish the dyno run-in on his engine before taking it back to Arizona for in-flight testing.