Innodyn yet?

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:36 am

anybody heard anything new from innodyn? they were supposed to ship the first customer engines 4th quarter this year, and really get going in 2006.

i'm savin' my pennies!

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:41 pm

I'm holding my breath!

CJ

Post by **Spike** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 8:07 am

Dont do that, even I have stopped holding my breath. I was a big fan of them but have since lost some enthusiasm.

Keep in mind that it burns more, and something that is frequently forgotten is that Jet-A weighs more than 100LL.

-- Spike

l & d lewis · Post by **l & d lewis** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 2:27 pm

That was my #1 pick and I had high hopes, but they're starting to wain, back to looking at the Lycs. They still have time before I need one, but they need to get their act together.............

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 10:34 pm

just in case anyone is interested, i finally got a reply from charlie at innodyn. he said that they are currently testing to make sure the engine will perform as they said it would. they think they'll be shipping customer engines by the end of january. he also said that the RV series is the most inquired on package.

well see...

Post by **Spike** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 8:42 am

Hmm, sounds exactly what they said at Osh '05, and Osh '04, and .....

It will be a neat product if they ever decide to actually deliver them.

-- Spike

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:53 am

Spike wrote:Hmm, sounds exactly what they said at Osh '05, and Osh '04, and .....

yeah, that's exactly what i thought when i received the email.

Post by **Spike** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:59 pm

Spike wrote: Hmm, sounds exactly what they said at Osh '05, and Osh '04, and .....

yeah, that's exactly what i thought when i received the email.

What I dont understand is why they are making noise about the "twin pack" when they dont even have first run production in customer's hands. I keep thinking that there is some piece of the technology that they are really failing on. Something just doesn't add up.

-- John

Submitted via email

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:09 pm

i hear ya! i think they've jumped WAY ahead of themselves with that "twin pack" engine. put the cost of developing that engine into testing of the single, and THEN work on a new product. i want to see a CUSTOMER flying airplane, and then MAYBE that will build some confidence in builders wanting this engine to work for 'em (i'd be one if this happens).

you're right, something doesn't add right.

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:47 pm

Turning blue now!!!

I asked about them on www.homebuiltairplanes.com on 4/15/2003.

Here is the thread:

http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forum ... ht=turbine

The company hasn't made any headway since. They aren't the first to try it and I am sure they won't be the last.

Make mine a Lycosaurus!

CJ

Post by **Spike** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:50 pm

Actually John I have no doubt that they, or someone, will succeed at this. The RC airplane community has been flying with propane fired turbines for years and have some neat setups. I am sure someone will get this right.

--- John

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:20 am

news from avweb this morning...

Turbine For The Masses Almost Ready (Still)
Innodyn Says Shipments Begin Next Month
A Pennsylvania company that says it can sell homebuilders a new turbine engine for about the same money as a certified piston engine of similar horsepower hopes to be fulfilling that elusive dream next month. This time, that means February (truth be told, we heard something very similar in August of '05 ... before that, in December of '04 ... and in April of '04, when the company operated as Affordable Turbine Power Co., Inc.). Charlie Sullivan, Innodyn's director of business development, this week told AVweb that the company is awaiting the arrival of a sophisticated dynamometer and a balancing machine to perform final tests on engines that are ready for shipment. What customers are waiting for are 188-pound turbines that put out 165 to 255 horsepower, with a TBO of 5,000 hours and price tag of between $26,500 and $34,500 (see AVweb's December "04 coverage for earlier details). Sullivan said he knows it sounds too good to be true to many people and that's why he's not anxious to make firm promises that the nature of groundbreaking technology can sometimes make difficult to keep. Sullivan won't say how many engines will go out next month, nor will he reveal how many are on order but he did say the order book will keep the company busy until next year. And while the first production engines aren't out the door yet, the company is already working on a more powerful successor. The twin turbine model (introduced in June '05) will put out up to 500 horsepower and Sullivan suggested (he wouldn't come right out and say it) that it will be a fraction of the price of entry-level turbines currently on the market.

Patient Customers Stand Behind Company
Although delivery dates have been pushed back (the company told AVweb a year ago that it hoped to be shipping within a month) at least one customer remains confident he'll (one day) have an Innodyn turbine pulling his RV-10. Dave Talley said the company called him last month to arrange delivery of his engine but he asked them to hang on to it since he doesn't even have the airframe kit, yet. Talley said the phone call indicates to him that the company is, indeed, finally ready to ship. "I think they're the real deal," he said. Even though the turbine will likely use more fuel, Innodyn says fuel burn is a lot better than most people expect, but, this time, gave no numbers (we've previously been told 7 gph per 100 hp) and said that the extra cost will be more than offset by the anticipated lower maintenance costs. Talley said he visited the Innodyn plant in Pennsylvania a year ago. He said he was impressed by the operation ("We were really impressed with everything we saw," he said) but he couldn't elaborate because Innodyn made him sign a non-disclosure agreement before allowing him to tour the plant. Talley said that beyond the technical challenges, which he said the company appears to have well in hand, insurance could become an issue.

again, we shall see...

Post by **Spike** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:58 am

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 12:20 pm

Spike wrote:

yeah, yeah, yeah...i'm just reporting the news...

i've read a lot of list emails, and EVERYBODY seems to be of the same opinion that this will not work. there are a few supporters out there, but the fuel flow is the huge issue, even with a 5,000 hour TBO

.

Post by **Spike** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:09 pm

Dont get me wrong Chad, I am also a huge supporter, Im just tired of the boy who cried wolf. Im of the opinion that I dont want to see their booth again until I can take one of those things home. The fuel flow will be an issue, but it will most likely be overcome quickly with bigger tanks.

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:31 pm

Spike wrote:Dont get me wrong Chad, I am also a huge supporter, Im just tired of the boy who cried wolf. Im of the opinion that I dont want to see their booth again until I can take one of those things home. The fuel flow will be an issue, but it will most likely be overcome quickly with bigger tanks.

i know. i am of the exact same thinking these days...bigger tanks means more weight though...

we're on the same page.

aerial · Post by **aerial** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:57 pm

Did you guys check out the videos on their website? There was a couple of things I noticed. 1) They didn't roll the take-off videos until the plane (RV-4 or SuperCub) was moving about 20knts? 2) I noticed the RV-4 landing was "Navy" style, dead on, virtually no flare.

Maybe I'm over-analyzing it because I would really like to see a cheap turbine powered RV (so I can make my own Bio-fuel and save the planet

), but the thing that scares me about it is that with the prop turning 2700rpm all the time, it seems "out-of-control". Your prop govenor better be bullet proof and pretty responsive. If it ever failed to respond you could make a lot of aluminum sushi on the taxi way and I'm not sure how long before you could stop it, if you could.