A Subaru Powered RV-10 by Ross Farnham
I have been watching in awe the accomplishments of a fellow Canadian as he designs and implements the installation of a turbocharged Subaru engine in his RV-10 project. Ross is the kind of guy that has the smarts and the where-with-all to pull of an engine conversion correctly.
He started in the game a few years ago with an RV-6. In it he installed a turbocharged Subaru EA-22. I was very impressed with the amount of detail and testing that he went through in validating his design and installation. You can see how he did it all in his RV-6A Build Log
Ross has a company that manufactures electronic ignition and fuel injection systems for the racing industry. As such, it only seemed fit that he adapted it to work in an airplane. It is simple and robust and flight proven. You can go to see his products at his Simple Digital Systems EFI home page.
After completing testing the RV-6A it seemed that Ross still had the building bug so he ordered a Van’s RV-10. I have watched his progress intently as he shares the same alternative engine bug that I have. I have especially enjoyed his development of a belly scoop where he houses the engine cooling radiator.
Ross has decided that the RV-10 needed more horsepower. To that effect he rounded up a twin turbo, Subaru EG33, six cylinder DOHC engine rated at 275 hp for takeoff. Isn’t that a mouth full. He has documented all of his fabrication and installation efforts in his RV-10 Build Log.
I would take the time to read very carefully all of the information on his site. there is a tremendous wealth of information available to the builder who is considering an alternative engine and it gives a true picture of the effort involved in creating your own firewall forward package.
Dave