Even airplanes are apparently not safe against an LS engine change – Jalopnik

You can trade almost anything with LS. Enthusiasts have put one of the General’s LS engines in just about every kind of car you can imagine: Volkswagen Beetles, old Porsches, DeLoreans, and everything in between. If there’s room for an engine, chances are someone put an LS in it. Apparently some aviation enthusiasts are even LS swapping aircraft and not only can it work, it sounds great if it does.

Now, of course, it’s a little trickier to drop an LS V8 into a plane than into, say, a Miata, especially since you can even buy Miatas that have already been swapped from LS. Planes and cars have very different engine requirements, so it takes very specific modifications to get a piece of American muscle to carry you through the air. Despite this, many enthusiasts still believe it’s worth the work, like pilot Len Baxter, who per Kitplane enthusiastLS3 traded in his home-built Velocity XL aircraft. But why use an LS instead of a normal aircraft engine?

One of the main reasons why LS engines are used in so many vehicle projects is their size. GM’s family of small block LS V8 engines is known for combining compact size with power and efficiency.

One of the most common LS engines used in aircraft switching is the LS3, as it is available in a variety of configurations to meet the needs of most buyers and is quite affordable. The standard LS3 is a 6.2-liter V8 making 430 horsepower at 5,900 rpm, but GM offers five other crate engine configurations, for higher revs, flatter torque curves, or higher outputs. While none of these applications will necessarily work for aircraft, builders can choose which one best suits their needs and then customize it from there.

Since GM has made about a zillion LS engines, parts are widely available. If you have to make an emergency landing due to engine trouble, there is likely an Autozone within walking distance of where you land with the part you need. In the case of Baxter’s LS-swapped Velocity, it even uses GM’s cylinder deactivation system and essentially runs its engine like two V4s, with two separate electronic control units. So if there’s a problem with one or two cylinders or valves, he can shut down half the engine and use the other half to get it safely to the ground.

However, the LS engine family is proven, durable and reliable. That’s why companies love it Adventure Aviation West LLC are so confident in the LS3 that they created an engine swap kit. The kit isn’t cheap at $62,995, but claims to be a plug-and-play kit, ready to bolt to your airframe.

You don’t necessarily have to modify an LS much to make it work on an airplane, even if you should. In a video of Cleetus McFarlandan RV7 kit plane owner swapped his original Lycoming four-cylinder engine for an LS1 V8 and it’s a pretty straight forward engine swap. The most significant changes were the elimination of the standard air conditioning system to shave 70 pounds, and the addition of a gear reduction gearbox.

The latter is necessary for all LS aircraft changes, because propellers are not allowed to rotate at the speed above 6,000 rpm that the engine can rotate. Therefore, propeller reduction units, which are essentially reduction gears, are mounted between the engine flywheel and the propeller, to reduce the speed of the propeller to no more than about 2,500 to 2,700 rpm. Engine speed is also limited to a maximum of 4,500 rpm, with a cruise speed of approximately 3,000.

In Baxter’s case, with its push plane-style Velocity XL (rear prop), more modifications were needed to improve cooling, airflow and efficiency. While it was quite a bit of work, it seems worth it now that he gets to fly something that sounds like a World War II fighter plane.

Does this mean that every personal aircraft owner should immediately swap their engine for an LS V8? No, that’s not true. Aircraft engines are specially designed for continuous flight at high altitudes. Although LS engines are reliable, they were not originally designed for anything other than automotive use.

Experienced technicians and technology, together with very high-quality adjustments, are therefore needed to make an LS swap safe and reliable. But if professionals engineer and install the engine properly, LS-swapped airplanes can be awesome and sound like Corvettes tearing through the air.