…News From The Test Bed

Meanwhile, the affable Quebec native (he’s goalie for his recreational hockey team) assured AVweb that the test engine is “surpassing our expectations.” The V-300T has a little more than 300 hours on it now hauling around the big (3,500-pound) boxy Moose and Bombardier says it’s impressed the manufacturers (including six certified OEMs) who have flown it. Gaspe de Beaubien said the mill routinely rockets the Moose up at 2,000 fpm. “Give me empty fuel tanks, a 160-pound pilot and a headwind and I’ll show you 3,000 fpm,” he said. Gaspe de Beaubien won’t say who has been eyeing up the engine (which will have a 220-horsepower, non-turbo stablemate) but he promised more information will be available later. He also said a broader range of horsepower choices is inevitable. “We’re building a business, here. You can’t build a business on one horse.” The high-revving (3:1 gear ratio) mills come with an engine-management system that also controls propeller pitch. They’re liquid-cooled and Bombardier is targeting 2005 for European and U.S. certification. The engines will be built at Bombardier’s Rotax plant in Austria and distributed by Bombardier Aircraft Engines in the U.S.