Kit manufacturer Zenith Aircraft Co. is showing off its popular two-seat aircraft at EAA AirVenture this week with a new line of engines from ULPower under the cowl.
The new engine powering Zenith’s factory demonstrator planes are the ULPower line of light aircraft engines from Europe, which are direct drive, air cooled, light weight and high fuel efficient aircraft engines, according to company officials. The current product line ranges from the UL260i at 97 hp to the UL350is at 130 hp. All the engines are horizontally opposed four cylinder engines with FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control): multipoint electronic fuel injection with automatic altitude and temperature compensation.
“We’ve been very impressed with ULPower and the technology that they bring to the light aircraft industry,” stated Sebastien Heintz, president of Zenith Aircraft Co. “For many years our customers have been asking for lighter, more fuel efficient engines, and for modern technology such as FADEC. ULPower appears to deliver both unmatched fuel efficiency and high power to weight ratio, while also being simple, with conventional direct drive and air cooled cylinders.”
Both engines can be installed on either Zenith two seater: the high-wing STOL CH 750 or low-wing CH 650 cruiser. Zenith, in conjunction with UL Power North America, is developing full firewall-forward (FWF) packages for these engines to be able to supply builders with “plug and play” ready-to-install powerplant package for the Zenith kit planes, and is introducing the CH 650 aircraft to the public for the first time this week with the UL350iS installed.
The ULPower lines of aircraft engines is manufactured by UL Power Aero Engines nv. of Belgium and is distributed and supported by ULPower North America.
