The two partners in a law firm were having lunch when suddenly one of them
jumped up from the table and said, "I have to go back to the office. I
forgot to lock the safe!"
"What are you worried about?" the other said. "We're both here."
At Sun N Fun a couple of years ago I did an interview with a
gentleman, who was designing an aircraft engine that was totally different
from anything I have seen to date.
While the unit at that time was still basically in a mock up stage, the
design if produced as speculated, would give ultralight aircraft owners an
engine that would fit and work on most single place ultralights currently
flying. PLUS allow them to stay Part 103 legal!
This year at Sun N Fun Mr. Carl Voight was again back with his "Buddy
Twin." The engine was still not in production but is VERY
close.
One of the most noticeable changes on the production prototype from the
proof of concept version was that the oil system has been changed from a
dry sump oil in a canister, to a more conventional crankcase oil reservoir
lubrication system. This has helped reduce weight and made it a simpler
design.
Karl indicates that when designing the Buddy Twin, some of the main
criteria were, make it simple, make it reliable, and make it light.
He appears to have at met two of these criteria thus far. The engine
weighs in at 69 lbs, and "simple" was accomplished by use
of some very simple "back to the basic" technology.
Example: the engine uses rocker arms and push rods, with lubrication being
supplied to the bottom of the pushrod by a "splash system" built
into the camshaft housing. The rocker arms use a "grease"
system, while the valve lubrication system uses a "sponge
filter" that the owners just lubricates with a few drops of oil every
25 hours.
No heat is required to prevent carb icing, as the carb is mounted above
the fins of the cylinder head which "radiate" heat, which act to
prevent icing.
The use of Karl's "patented" crankshaft, which is only 1 inch
wide allows for the fitting of an adjustable prop via the hollow center in
the crankshaft.
The engine uses a General Motors ignition system, with a manual spark
advance, similar to that used on an old Harley Davidson motorcycle.
The engine produces 40 hp, and revs out to 2900 rpm. This gives a very low
engine rpm, high torque engine.
Question "when will it fly?" - Karl, "this is like working
in granite"
The Buddy Twin Aircraft engine did NOT go into production.
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