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1. 05:11 AM - LOM Engines (esp M332) Finished in North America ? (VB)
2. 06:36 AM - Re: LOM Engines (esp M332) Finished in North America ? (David Harris)
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| Subject: | LOM Engines (esp M332) Finished in North America ? |
So what's the current status of LOM engines in the USA (and elsewhere)?
I looked into the M332 about twelve years ago and concluded there were just
too many problems reported with the engine (persistent oil leaks, etc) to
risk buying =93 especially in the USA, which had limited support and
a long
supply line to the factory in the Czech Republic. The M332 appeared to be
a 120hp engine with shaky pretensions of being a competitor to 160hp
Lycomings, and was perhaps only competitive for tandem aircraft benefiting
from the M332's small frontal cross-section.
So, move the clock ahead twelve years, and it appears nothing has improved.
The M332 is even more obsolete, and the factory has studiously avoided
updating the design. The main distributor in North America, Moravia, is out
of business, and LOM-Praha has not invested the effort (and money) to
restore the brand in North America.
So, is this a correct assessment? Is LOM-Praha M332/M337 finished in North
America (and, I understand, Australia/New Zealand)? Are these engines
still selling in substantial numbers in Europe?
What would it take to make the M332 competitive ?
(I take no joy in this. The M332 is a intriguing design, and should have a
market at the right price, but the entire marketing and support for this
engine has been badly botched, in my view).
Message 2
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| Subject: | Re: LOM Engines (esp M332) Finished in North America ? |
This is a sad story, and one that warrants more than a brief reply, but
this will be brief. I live in Australia, so this will reflect
Australian experience. The only M332s here are in Meta Sokols (four
still fly here, out of an initial import of nine) and in Aero 145s (one
still flying, one in restoration out of an initial fleet of three).
LOM (Letadlovi Oprava Male=9Aice - Aircraft Workshop at Malesice, a
suburb of Prague) is a weird place. It is largely military focused,
employs several hundred people, and served for decades as the main jet
engine service centre for the eastern part of the soviet bloc. It is
still very big, still services jet engines, and now has added servicing
helicopters to its activities. Its piston engine operation is a weird
anomaly. Its production cannot be more than a hundred or so engines per
year, most of which are re-builds. Nevertheless, it still supports its
engines with parts and service. It has no OEM user of its engines, and
even Czech aircraft manufacturers (of whom there are many) don=92t use
them.
It=92s frustrating approach to life (poor service, no real attempt to
promote or sell the engine, etc) is due to the fact that it still
operates under the planned-economy model, and not a market-driven model.
It used to receive orders from Central Planning to make xxx engines
each month and deliver them to their dispatch bay. What happened to
them after that was someone else=92s problem. It still works that way,
and can only stay in business through cross-subsidation from its other,
profitable operations.
I=92ve been using LOM 332s for about 12 years. I still think they are
great engines, and everyone who flies with me comments on their smooth
operation. I=92ve also found that the company now is much easier to
deal with. I=92ve spent a couple of months trying to get approval to
put my engine back in service after a minor propeller strike. They have
bent over backwards to help me, and offer advice to my service
engineers, with the result that it appears that I will be in the air
again soon, with their support.
Addressing your particular issues:
It=92s actually a 115/140HP engine - 115 unsupercharged, 140
supercharged. All the aircraft using it here also use variable-pitch
propellers. Turning the supercharger off is like reducing to 80% power
after take-off. The supercharger really comes into its own at altitudes
over about 3,000=92, where you can maintain power as the external
pressure falls. It=92s hard to compare it with a 160HP Lycoming as the
combination of fuel injection and supercharging gives it a different
performance envelope. It is also appreciably lighter. I suspect it may
also be more economical, although I don=92t have the required facts to
hand. I use around 25.5 litres/hour (6US gal/hr).
I don=92t think its narrow width would make a lot of difference. The
Meta Sokol, as well as some other Czech aircraft using it, use
side-by-side seating. In the end, the airflow through, rather than
around, the cowlings provides most of the engine drag. The flat four
layout would probably be better here, given the baffling you need to
cool all the cylinders in an in-line engine.
The design has not remained unchanged, although change has been small.
It is now fitted with an alternator, rather than a generator. It uses
smaller and lighter magnetos. It uses a new design of spark plugs (but
people in the USA use automotive plugs at 1/10th of the price). The TBO
life has also been doubled to 2,000 hours.
Oil leaks - well yes! It is possible to get this down to a few drops,
but it=92s pretty hard to eliminate. Not trying to excuse it, but it
really is a characteristic of the engine layout, and other similar
engines of that era, like the Gypsy Major, are at least as bad.
Is it finished? Who can tell? There are still plenty flying in the
Czech Republic and around the rest of Europe. They=92re still in
production and parts are all available (although sometimes after a long
wait). I did a 1-week training course in the factory a few years ago,
but I=92m not sure if that is still available. On the other hand, the
Czech aircraft industry (at least a dozen producers in a country of 10
million people) has abandoned them. They show no signs of coming up
with a new, modern engine.
I hope this helps.
David
On 20 Aug 2014, at 9:40 pm, VB <kalos53@gmail.com> wrote:
> So what's the current status of LOM engines in the USA (and
elsewhere)?
>
> I looked into the M332 about twelve years ago and concluded there were
just too many problems reported with the engine (persistent oil leaks,
etc) to risk buying ' especially in the USA, which had limited support
and a long supply line to the factory in the Czech Republic. The M332
appeared to be a 120hp engine with shaky pretensions of being a
competitor to 160hp Lycomings, and was perhaps only competitive for
tandem aircraft benefiting from the M332's small frontal cross-section.
>
> So, move the clock ahead twelve years, and it appears nothing has
improved. The M332 is even more obsolete, and the factory has studiously
avoided updating the design. The main distributor in North America,
Moravia, is out of business, and LOM-Praha has not invested the effort
(and money) to restore the brand in North America.
>
> So, is this a correct assessment? Is LOM-Praha M332/M337 finished in
North America (and, I understand, Australia/New Zealand)? Are these
engines still selling in substantial numbers in Europe?
>
> What would it take to make the M332 competitive ?
>
> (I take no joy in this. The M332 is a intriguing design, and should
have a market at the right price, but the entire marketing and support
for this engine has been badly botched, in my view).
>
>
>
>
>
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