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Thread: Aerovee turbo vs. O-200

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    Aerovee turbo vs. O-200

    I wonder if an Aerovee turbo is a reasonable substitute for a O-200A. They supposedly have the same horsepower rating, though vendor of the Aerovee Turbo claims that it does not lose power as fast when going up in altitude when compared to a naturally aspirated engine. I live at an altitude of about 4300 feet (about 1300 meters).

    There is a partially completed Davis DA-2 for sale locally, without motor. That aircraft normally takes a O-200A, but I was wondering if a Aerovee turbo would work OK in that aircraft.

    By the way, the Sonex looks a lot like the Davis DA-2. I wonder if the Sonex design was inspired at least in part by the DA-2.

  2. #2
    CarlOrton's Avatar
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    Jul 2011
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    Your best bet might be to checkout Sonexbuilders.net The very first AV turbos had some issues, but I’d like to think they’ve been resolved. But I don’t know for sure.

    Carl Orton
    Sonex #1170 / Zenith 750 Cruzer
    http://mykitlog.com/corton

  3. #3

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    Aug 2011
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    Marietta, GA
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    People with extensive experience with VW engines will tell you that 65 HP or thereabouts is about the maximum sustained power setting for the engine unless you want to overheat and cook it relatively quickly. Unless AeroVee could show data demonstrating they have solved that problem, I'd be leery of putting the Aerovee in an application that needs a hundred horsepower engine.

  4. #4

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    Jul 2011
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    21
    I built an Aerovee for a buddy. I was not impressed, and I would certainly not be interested in the turbo version.
    Dan Horton
    RV-8 Fastback
    Barrett IO-390
    Alabama

  5. #5
    Eric Page's Avatar
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    Jul 2011
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    Toledo, WA
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    I'm curious about this, as I've been eyeing a OneX build in the future. What did you find lacking in the AeroVee?
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  6. #6
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Jul 2011
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    Hard to beat the reliability record of the O-200. It's tied (with the Rotax 912) for the lowest rate of mechanical issues in my 1998-2020 accident database. The auto-based engines have significantly worse rates. I have a relatively low number of Aerovee-powered aircraft accidents in my database (19), but the rates are quite a bit higher than the O-200.

    Ron Wanttaja

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