BACKGROUND: Lycoming produces more piston engines for general aviation manufacturers than any other company in the world. They’re the workhorses of flight schools. The confident choices for kit builders. The high-performance equipment of aerobatic stars. And the security blankets of bush pilots.

Lycoming engines power a wide range of aircraft because they satisfy an increasing range of demands. On dozens of platforms and on countless missions, pilots trust their Lycoming engines to deliver the power and performance they need. When you buy a Lycoming, you’re powered by a consistently reliable engine – built with pride, flown with confidence, and backed by a worldwide network of sales, service and technical support.

This year at EAA AirVenture we are celebrating our customers and partners from all over the globe. Visit our booth (277-282) to learn about our latest advancements at the Lycoming factory, check out our flagship technology, and more.

WHAT: Lycoming Highlights for 2015 AirVenture:

1) Ion Nitrider – Lycoming will display details and a virtual tour of our new Ion Nitriding process at Oshkosh. Lycoming Engines obtained approval from the FAA to utilize the ion nitriding process for crankshafts in 2014. Ion nitriding greatly reduced Lycoming’s environmental impacts, as it uses only gas nitrogen in heated plasma instead of ammonia. This process further improves fatigue performance, imparting a hard, wear-resistant surface and eliminating the costly cleaning or grinding to remove the surface layer associated with ammonia-gas nitriding.

2) Piston Line – Lycoming pistons and a virtual tour of the Lycoming Piston Line will be featured at Oshkosh. The precise piston manufacturing process was brought in-house at Lycoming after thorough evaluation by the company on the value it would bring from quality, customer and efficiency standpoints.

The line is comprised of four stations, with robotics transferring pistons from one machine to the next. Automated quality checks occur at each step in the process. The Lycoming Piston Line is an important part of our factory and showcases our continual advancements in technology and processes.

3) iE2 Reaches Milestones – Lycoming’s flagship technology, the Integrated Electronic Engine (iE2), is achieving multiple milestones and will be a feature engine on display at Oshkosh. Lycoming is preparing to ship two iE2 engines to Tecnam of Italy, which will be integrated for development testing in their twin-engine, 11-passenger P2012 aircraft. In addition, FAA certification is anticipated in the second quarter of 2016.

4) Extra 300L Feature Aircraft on Display – An Extra 300L (N117CV) will be on display at the Lycoming Booth during AirVenture. This aerobatic airplane, powered by a Lycoming AEIO-540-L1B5 and operated by Vitamin G Aerobatics, LLC, supports the University of North Dakota (UND) Aerobatic Team. The Team represents UND at aerobatic contests across the nation. The team’s competitive mindset and devotion to safety and precision flying has led to multiple national collegiate championships.

Forum Presentation: Tech Tips for Your Lycoming Engine

Lycoming Regional Sales Manager Dennis Coulbourn will present Tech Tips for Your Lycoming Engine on Monday, July 20 from 2:30-3:45 PM at Forum Stage 6. Coulbourn has worked at Lycoming Engines for over 10 years in various capacities, from engine assembly and test cell, to product support and supervision of the product support team. Dennis is a licensed A&P Mechanic.

Additional weeklong activities at the Lycoming Booth

1) Lycoming Interactive Command Center – an interactive tool where visitors can experience a virtual tour of the Lycoming factory, videos, engine information, a trivia game and more.
2) Engine Displays – Lycoming engines on display will include the 233, 360, HIO-390, Thunderbolt 390, 580 and iE2.
3) Lycoming Training Tent – featuring our popular engine maintenance workshops.
4) Experience Lycoming: History. Making. Engines. – Shown last year during our 85th anniversary, this short Telly Award winning movie showcasing Lycoming’s proud past and promising future will be held in the Lycoming Training Tent at 12:30 PM daily.
5) Customer Service and Support – Members of the Lycoming Team will be on-hand daily to answer technical and sales questions.
6) Lycoming Store – featuring signature Lycoming Engines gear and items.
7)Customer Appreciation Area – Stop in for a quick break and some ice cream.
8) Autograph Sessions with Aerobatic Legends – Aerobatic performers Mike Goulian and Sean Tucker will visit Lycoming’s booth to sign autographs.

WHO: Lycoming’s Senior Vice President and General Manager Michael Kraft will have limited availability for pre-scheduled one-on-one interviews during the show.

WHEN: Weeklong activities at the Lycoming Booth: Monday, July 20 – Sunday, July 26
Forum: Tech Tips for Your Lycoming Engine: Monday, July 20, 2:30-3:45 PM
Individual media interviews with Michael Kraft: Limited slots July 20-22, pre-scheduled upon request via the contact below.

WHERE: Weeklong activities: Lycoming Booth 277-282
Forum: Tech Tips for Your Lycoming Engine: Forum Stage 6
Individual media interviews with Michael Kraft: Lycoming Booth 277-282

MORE: Lycoming Engines specializes in engineering, manufacture, service and support of piston aircraft engines. With a factory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Lycoming piston engines power more than half of the world’s general aviation fleet – both rotary-wing and fixed-wing and also provides engines for 44 military training schools and other specialized applications. Lycoming Engines is an operating division of Avco Corporation, and part of Textron Systems.