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ADEPT Airmotive

Skepilot said:
Has anyone put an ADEPT Airmotive engine on an RV-10 or other Vans airplane? I found a couple of old threads here from over a decade ago, but I don't think they were in production at the time. Interesting video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNy6dL3UqDs

Company site:
https://flyadept.co.za
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I did a YouTube video comparing the Adept to other aviation engines a few years back. The company was kind enough to supply me with photos, dyno sheets and other info.

The measured/ claimed BSFC is very impressive. We'll have to see if that translates into the real world.

I contacted Adept a couple years ago to do a follow up video. They promised to provide more in depth info on both ground and flight testing, background, production etc. However after repeated emails went unanswered, I gave up.

Not sure why they'd turn away some free publicity since marketing doesn't seem to be their strong point. I know they were trying to raise money in both South Africa and the US to put the engine into initial production.

Last price I heard the turbo was around $85K US. They were supposed to have the engine flying in a Velocity in the US some time ago. Haven't heard anything about that. The engine has flown for years in SA in a Raven.

Not sure if they have money, technical or production problems.

I don't think it will go far being headquartered in SA. Way too restrictive and expensive. The main market is in the US. Needs to be produced and supported there in my view.

As for this video, some good basic info and some inaccurate info on engines in general. The creator doesn't know much more than what's been published online and he said they didn't get back to him either. That's not a good look for Adept.
 
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rv6ejguy said:
I don't think it will go far being headquartered in SA. Way too restrictive and expensive. The main market is in the US. Needs to be produced and supported there in my view.
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I dunno, Sling is doing quite well selling kits and ready-to-fly airplanes manufactured in SA. What's restrictive and expensive about SA? I always thought the advantage was the low labor costs were more than enough to offset the shipping costs to markets around the world.

Agree on the rest of your points.
 
Sling has been most successful manufacturing in SA with a great group of people, great product, support and marketing. Given the political climate and uncertainty there though, maybe not the best place to produce an engine in my view. Many of my ZA ex pat engineering friends concur. They left for greener pastures over here, though miss their homeland tremendously.

Adept has been spinning their wheels for a decade unfortunately. Engines are different from airframes and I can only think if the project was moved to the US, financed and marketed properly, they'd have been in production long ago. I think it's great design but like any new one, needs to be well proven to succeed. As I've said before in the past, the longer these new engines projects drag out, the higher the end cost to get ROI, until they finally price themselves out of the main part of the market. Hope that doesn't happen here. Lycomings are getting more expensive too though so maybe there is now more wiggle room with pricing.

I wish these guys the best. Would be great to see something truly new FWF. The turbo version would give stunning performance on an RV-10.

Lee Brinley was the US rep in TX. Maybe you can look him up and see what the status is. ADEPT Propulsion Technologies, Fredericksburg TX.
 
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So I just received a message from Lee and he reports things have been going much slower than hoped but they are poised to have a couple aircraft flying early in 2024 in the US. They were doing a lot of work integrating the ECU with glass panels and that has been a major source of delays. They have engine mounts coming along for several popular air frames and that's taken a while too but is a very important item to have as well.

That's great news. :)

Hope things start progressing quicker now for them.
 
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Adept Engines

To the VANS community:

This is Lee Brinley, I am a U.S. based principle in Adept Propulsion Technologies. I was pointed to this thread by a close friend who is a two time builder of RV8's. Let me begin by saying I am pleased that there are questions and interest regarding our Adept engines. Thought I would take a minute or two to address some general questions. To start, Adept has been riding under the radar for some time. Suffice it to say, that a successful engine must accomplish a great deal more than just providing a great product - which btw we think we have! Per Ross's thread above, we have been working hard to get our infrastructure and third party suppliers sorted to our standards. What I would like you to know is that we now have several sources for the required engines mounts and cowlings. We have retained a company that is writing the code for a translator which will allow communication between our ECU and Dynon, Garmin, Advanced Flight and other glass panels. The translator should be complete by or before the end of the year.
We are now in a sales and production mode, our engines are currently manufactured in South Africa with plans to move the company to the U.S. where we will establish a high volume production facility. Our engine line-up consists of a 250Hp and 280Hp naturally aspirated engines and 320Hp, 360Hp Turbocharged engines. We believe any of these engines would offer excellent performance in an RV-10 as one possible option. We have engines being installed in a Lancair IVP, Lancair ESP, Lancair Legacy and a Velocity SE which should start its Phase 1 end of January. Also prepared to offer an exceptional deal to the first RV-10 buyer.
I am happy to address any and all questions either through this forum or directly if you prefer. My contact information is as follows: Email: [email protected] or my Mobile: 630 688-7420 pretty much available seven days a week. Thanks again for your interest.
 
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LABAdept said:
To the VANS community:

This is Lee Brinley, I am a U.S. based principle in Adept Propulsion Technologies. I was pointed to this thread by a close friend who is a two time builder of RV8's. Let me begin by saying I am pleased that there are questions and interest regarding our Adept engines. Thought I would take a minute or two to address some general questions. To start, Adept has been riding under the radar for some time. Suffice it to say, that a successful engine must accomplish a great deal more than just providing a great product - which btw we think we have! Per Ross's thread above, we have been working hard to get our infrastructure and third party suppliers sorted to our standards. What I would like you to know is that we now have several sources for the required engines mounts and cowlings. We have retained a company that is writing the code for a translator which will allow communication between our ECU and Dynon, Garmin, Advanced Flight and other glass panels. The translator should be complete by or before the end of the year.
We are now in a sales and production mode, our engines are currently manufactured in South Africa with plans to move the company to the U.S. where we will establish a high volume production facility. Our engine line-up consists of a 250Hp and 280Hp naturally aspirated engines and 320Hp, 360Hp Turbocharged engines. We believe any of these engines would offer excellent performance in an RV-10 as one possible option. We have engines being installed in a Lancair IVP, Lancair ESP, Lancair Legacy and a Velocity SE which should start its Phase 1 end of January. Also prepared to offer an exceptional deal to the first RV-10 buyer.
I am happy to address any and all questions either through this forum or directly if you prefer. My contact information is as follows: Email: [email protected] or my Mobile: 630 688-7420 pretty much available seven days a week. Thanks again for your interest.
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I would have been really interested in using my -10 but it is complete now…
 
Welcome to VAF

LABAdept said:
To the VANS community:

This is Lee Brinley, I am a U.S. based principle in Adept Propulsion Technologies.
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Lee, welcome to VAF----Thanks for the update, and best of luck with getting the engines in production.
 
Welcome here Lee.

Seems like you do have a logical game plan in place. My apologies if I sounded a bit harsh.

We hope to follow along as more engines reach flight status. Wish you and this very cool project well!:)
 
Adept

No worries - the road to the introduction of a new engine is paved with potholes. We are working hard to hopefully be "the" engine that moves GA into the current century. With the support of RV builders as well as other brands I believe we have a real opportunity to achieve this goal.
 
LABAdept said:
No worries - the road to the introduction of a new engine is paved with potholes. We are working hard to hopefully be "the" engine that moves GA into the current century. With the support of RV builders as well as other brands I believe we have a real opportunity to achieve this goal.
Click to expand...

how do you think your engines will fair on STOL aircraft? are they more designed for high altitude long range cruise? or could you see them being used in the rugged backcountry?
 
STOL Applications

I tend to believe that our engine would be a good option for STOL applications. Our engines have very good power to weight ratios and make excellent torque at the the prop shaft given the gear reduction unit. A turbocharged engine, all in, with fluids is +/- 450lbs. The naturally aspirated engines are +/- 400lbs all in. If you have specific questions relative to this application, I can make arrangements for you to speak with one of our engineers. Regards,
 
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