Custom Planes had a couple of engine articles this month (May).
For some strange reason they hardly mentioned the rotary.
There was only one count em...just one... sentences in the
entire magazine on rotary engines. Typically rotary engine powered
airplanes at Sun & Fun outnumber all other automotive based
engines combined with the possible exception of the VW. There 
is a monthly column by Len Bechtold on V8 engines. The automotive V8 
is about the lightest duty engine you can find having 300 to 400 HP peak 
and only needing 40 or 50 continuos. Early VW engines were 100% duty
cyle engines. You could run an early 36 HP VW bug at 72 MPH top speed 
all day long. Later VW engines were not so durable.

I can name half a dozen failed V8 aircraft conversions in the last six years
alone. One of which had over 50 million dollars invested over a period of 30 years.
Namely the Thunder/Orenda. 30 million of that came from the unsuspecting
Canadian tax payers. Another is the Eagle Chev big block with well over one 
million invested never to be heard of again. Probably the most successfully 
was the EngineAir Chev small block V8. Final cost of the engine was one hundred 
thousand dollars after all parts were replaced with aircraft quality. Never the 
less down the tubes. Almost every S51 that ever flew with a big block Chevy 
crashed due to some sort of engine related problem.

Custom planes is doing a great disservice to their readers by promoting
V8 engines.
 
Paul Lamar
 
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