The modern car engine-even a cheap one-is such a marvel that you can turn the key without thinking about its once-in-a-million failure-rate ECU, its direct-fire coils and fuel injectors that can paint the Mona Lisa in 93-octane pulses. Oh, and if you cant get 93 octane, no worries, the ECU will adjust the timing to burn 91.

Were it so simple with aircraft engines. And not that Lycoming and Continental havent tried to make it that simple and they

are still trying. Lycomings latest and most sophisticated attempt is the new IE² for integrated electronic engine. Integrated means electronically customized for the airframe and dancing cheek to cheek with the airplanes EFIS and it also means full-bore electronic control of nearly everything. Lycoming has been at this awhile, some three years, but the project only recently came out of the ground in Lancairs new flagship Evolution, a behemoth of a pressurized 230-knot kit airplane. The IE² will be the Evos centerpiece and Lycoming plans to move smartly forward with certification for other aircraft requiring high-horsepower engines. Its not impossible to imagine this engine in certified form in a year to 18 months and we wouldnt be surprised to see Piper offer it on the Mirage or some other manufacturer to offer an airframe molded around the IE². The timing on that just feels right.

Its not that the IE² is such a spectacular leap forward in aircraft propulsion. It isn’t. What it is is a thorough application of automotive-type technology to yield an evolutionary improvement in the pilots ease of use and measurable improvements in performance and economy. Lycoming is not rewriting the laws of physics here, but simply bringing aircraft internal combustion into the 21st century. Lycoming is betting that the market timing is right, what with the high-octane fuel worry overhanging the sales like the grim reapers scythe and with more owners plainly saying that they want engines that are easier to operate and more economical. (Then again, theyve always said that.)

Maintenance reliability plays into the marketing attraction, too. Theoretically, with the engines built-in protective algorithms against overtemping and overrevving, the engine wont be subjected to abuse by a ham-fisted pilot. Further, the ECUs are sucking up and storing a lot of data, transmitting some directly to the cockpit for the pilots real-time analysis and storing a lot more for use by techs to diagnose maintenance issues, using a code-type system similar to modern cars.

No Magic Bullet