Aero-TV Gets Reved Up Over The RotaMax Rotary Powerplant

Rotary Motivations: The RotaMax Powerplant Program In the midst of all the amazing things that comprise the annal Oshkosh Fly-In, Aero-TV took some time out at the 2008 rendition to talk with Eric Barger, president of RotaMax Rotary Engines. This company is introducing a line of aviation rotaries based on a long-established, non-automotive design. The company recently signed a tentative OEM agreement to furnish a twin-rotor powerplant for an upcoming light-sport aircraft. The RotaMax engine is a Wankel-type rotary engine, named after the German inventor Felix Wankel. Instead of conventional pistons reciprocating inside cylinders with a complex valvetrain, the Wankel has a rotor shaped roughly like a triangle that runs inside a housing with an epitrochoidal cavity shaped roughly like a figure 8. The rotor is geared in relation to an eccentric shaft, which is the equivalent to the crankshaft inside a piston engine. The rotor covers and uncovers ports as it rotates inside the housing, enabling four-stroke Otto-cycle operation without valves. The rotor uses seals as the equivalent of piston rings, including apex seals at the points of the rotor and side seals on the sides. RotaMax opines that Wankel engines are inherently smoother and easier to balance because of the rotary operation. For the same output as a piston engine, a Wankel will generally be smaller and lighter and will have far fewer parts, particularly moving parts. In certain applications even in the 1970s, for the power produced in the application the rotary had—and has—favorable fuel economy. Because it has a four-stroke cycle, the rotary can use the same performance tuning operations, external accessories, and emissions control devices as a conventional engine. RotaMax has particularly high hopes for their future aviation offerings. They note that 'Aviation Enthusiasts are always searching for more power! But, they want it with lower emissions, lower vibration, higher power-to-weight, smaller package. We are currently working ...