Even Planes Are Not Protected From An LS Engine Swap, Apparently

You may LS swap almost anything. Enthusiasts have stuffed one in all the General’s LS engines in nearly every form of automobile you may consider: Volkswagen Beetles, old Porsches, DeLoreans, and all the things in between. If it has a spot to place an engine, there’s an excellent likelihood someone’s put an LS in it. Apparently, some aviation enthusiasts are even LS-swapping planes and never only can it work, it sounds awesome when it does.

Now, after all, dropping an LS V8 into an airplane is a bit trickier than doing so in, say, a Miata, especially since you may even buy Miatas which have already been LS-swapped. Planes and cars have very different engine requirements, so very specific modifications are needed to make a bit of small block American muscle carry you thru the sky. Despite that, many enthusiasts still feel that it’s well worth the work, like pilot Len Baxter, who, per Kitplane Enthusiast, LS3-swapped his homebuilt Velocity XL airplane. But why use an LS as a substitute of a standard aircraft engine?

Considered one of the most important reasons LS engines are utilized in so many vehicle projects is their size. GM’s family of small block LS V8 engines is known for combining compact dimensions with power and efficiency.

Some of the common LS engines utilized in aircraft swaps is the LS3, because it is available in a wide range of configurations to suit most buyers’ needs and is pretty inexpensive. The usual LS3 is a 6.2-liter V8 that makes 430 horsepower at 5,900 rpm, but GM offers five other crate engine configurations, for higher revs, flatter torque curves, or higher power outputs. While none of those applications necessarily works for airplanes, builders can pick which one suits their needs best after which modify it from there.

Since GM has made a few zillion LS engines, parts can be found in all places. If it’s essential make an emergency landing as a consequence of engine trouble, there’s probably an Autozone inside walking distance of where you land that has the part you wish. Within the case of Baxter’s LS-swapped Velocity, he even utilizes GM’s cylinder deactivation system and really runs his engine as two V4s, with two separate electronic control units. So if there’s a difficulty with one or two cylinders or valves, he can actually shut half of the engine down and use the opposite half to soundly get him to the bottom.

Nonetheless, the LS family of engines is proven, durable, and reliable. Which is why firms like Adventure Aviation West LLC are so confident within the LS3 that they created an engine swap kit. The kit is not low-cost, at $62,995, however it claims to be plug-and-play kit, able to bolt to your airframe. 

You do not necessarily have to switch an LS much for it to work in an airplane, even should you should. In a video from Cleetus McFarland, an RV7 kit plane owner swapped its original Lycoming four-cylinder engine for an LS1 V8 and it’s a reasonably direct engine swap. The most important modifications were the elimination of its stock air-conditioning system to shave 70 kilos, and the addition of a gear reduction box.

The latter is mandatory for all LS airplane swaps, since propellers shouldn’t spin on the 6,000-plus-rpms that the engine can spin. So propeller reduction units, that are essentially gear reduction boxes, are mounted between the engine’s flywheel and the propeller, to drop the prop’s speed to not more than around 2,500 to 2,700 rpm. Engine speed can also be kept to simply around 4,500 rpm maximum, with a cruising rpm of around 3,000. 

In Baxter’s case, together with his pusher plane-style (prop on the rear) Velocity XL, more modifications were needed to enhance cooling, airflow, and efficiency. While it was quite a little bit of work, it seems price it now that he gets to fly something that seems like a World War II fighter plane.  

Does that mean every personal aircraft owner should immediately jump to swap their engine for an LS V8? No, it doesn’t. Aircraft engines are specifically designed for continuous flight at high altitude. While LS engines are reliable, they weren’t originally designed for anything aside from automotive use. 

So experienced mechanics and engineering, together with very high-quality modifications, are mandatory to make an LS-swap secure and dependable. But when professionals engineer and install the engine accurately, LS-swapped planes might be awesome and sound like Corvettes ripping through the sky.