Orenda OE600A V8 in Production and Flying

Touted as the first new piston engine developed and certified specifically for aviation applications in 40 years, Orenda Recip Corporation's big-block liquid-cooled OE600A V8 is in production and flying aboard customer-operated bushplanes in the Canadian wilderness.

Meanwhile, award of an FAA supplemental type certificate allowing the 600 hp-class engine to be retrofitted into the Raytheon King Air C90 airframe is expected during the first quarter of next year.

The 495cubic-inch displacement Orenda V8 received its Canada and U.S. FAA type certification in 1998. Orenda Recip is showing the V8 at this year's NBAA Convention as part of the exhibit of its parent company, Magellan Corp.

"The OE600A differs principally from a car engine in that it was designed from the beginning for aviation certification," Orenda Recip's marketing manager Derek Parker pointed out. "Everything about it conforms to aviation standards and requirements."

Turbocharged and fuel injected, it develops 600 hp for takeoff and 500 hp maximum continuous power, while burning 100 octane low-lead avgas. Dual electronic ignition (two plugs per cylinder) is installed, and a single turbocharger/intercooler is used for induction.

Uninstalled dry weight, with accessories, is 740 pounds, "heavier than comparable gas turbines but much lighter than the old radial recips in the same power range," Parker said.

The first certified installation, obtained by bush operator Air Wilga of Montreal, is for the DHC-3 Otter, awarded by Transport Canada in early 2000. Air Wilga has so far converted three Otters to V8 power, replacing the type's original Pratt & Whitney R1340 radial engine.

By mid­September Orenda Recip had produced twenty OE600As either for certification or delivery. Meanwhile, the lead Otter is working daily in the Arctic, hauling passengers and freight, and has logged upwards of 500 hours on its OE600A with no claimed problems.

The King Air program, a partnership with Greenville, SC-based Stevens Aviation, proposes to exchange the C90's Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20 turboprops for OE600A recips. It is expected to get the FAA nod early next year. Much of Orenda Recip's original development flight testing of the redesigned engine was accomplished aboard a Stevens-owned C90 airframe, so the partnership has a lot of experience with the King Air installation.

Parker stated that the rationale behind the piston-for-turbine swap could easily be seen in the OE600A's $110,000 purchase price, "which is less than the overhaul cost of the PT6A turboprop." Additionally, Parker pointed out, the recip engine is 25% more fuel-efficient than the turboprop and adds a claimed 60 knots to the C90's cruise speed.

Stevens has priced the King Air C90 Orenda OE600A retrofit package at $420,000, and claims to be holding deposits for 140 orders.

In addition to King Airs, Orenda augurs a healthy engine retrofit market for agricultural and utility aircraft powered by aging radial recips, as well as new aircraft programs. Current programs include:

• Air Tractor agplanes. A Canadian STC for the Model 401 could be awarded as early as this month, with the Model 301 to follow next year. More than 600 Air Tractors are flying.
• Ayres Thrush agplanes, in a program launched by Dakota Aero of North Dakota.
• Turkish Agricultural Aircraft program, in which Orenda is contracted to begin supplying the first of some 300 OE600A engines early next year.
• DHC Beaver utility/bush plane. This re-engining program was launched last month out of Orenda Recip's Debert, Nova Scotia, engine assembly plant and conversion center.
• The new Explorer Aircraft Explorer 500R utility competitor to Cessna's Caravan. Currently under development in Denver, CO, the Explorer 500R could see certification and production within two years.

TBO for the OE600A was initially set at 1,500 hours when the engine was certified. Ultimately, this should be increased to 2,500 hours with accumulation of field experience. Parker cited average overhaul cost for the big V8 at around $30,000. "Remember," he quipped, "there's no hot section inspection required!"

Orenda Recip continues to investigate alternative fuels, such as diesel, Parker said. It is working on development of a FADEC (full-authority digital engine control) for the OE600A and studying a 750 hp growth version of the V8.

The company is also conducting market research on a possible 350-480 hp V6 engine based on the OE600A's technology.

By David Esler