ARLINGTON — Maxwell Propulsion Systems is gearing up for its first Fly-In.
Gwen and John Maxwell incorporated the business in October of 2005, at the Arlington Municipal Airport, but this marks the first year that they’ll be able to display their wares at the Northwest Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual Fly-In.
The Maxwells’ staff worked with Glasair Aviation’s “two weeks to taxi” Sportsman kit assembly program to produce an aircraft that will showcase Maxwell Propulsion Systems’ MX1 engine package.
“We’re happy to see people using alternate engines on our kits,” said Ephraim Carter, the Glasair assembly technician who guided the MPS staff through the building of the Sportsman. Carter touted the Sportsman as a “strong, beefy” aircraft that could accommodate any number of engines and praised the MX1 package developed by MPS for using a stock 2.5-liter Subaru engine.
Dr. John Maxwell explained that the Subaru engine was originally designed for aircraft, and that the Subaru car company came when engineers “built a car around the engine.” He cited its horizontal configuration as being better-suited for aircraft than automobiles, and noted that MPS spent two and a half years developing its own engine package around it.
Mark Kiedrowski, a consultant and test pilot for MPS, pointed out that the engine’s water-cooled system and gas mileage saves pilots on fuel costs while still offering them 165 horsepower.
“It takes 87 octane fuel and can get 22 miles per gallon,” Kiedrowski said. “That’s better than a lot of SUVs. Most comparable aircraft consume nine or 10 gallons per hour, but at low speeds, this engine consumes 4.2 gallons per hour. Even at high speeds, it’s still only 6.5 gallons per hour, and I’ve had it up to 186 miles per hour. It’s got more air going through its intake than a Corvette.”
Kiedrowski managed to log 3,300 miles on the MX1 engine in the Sportsman in six days, after its certification by the Federal Aviation Administration. He and the Maxwells expect that the aircraft to have its requisite 40 hours of flight time by the Fly-In, in time for them to take passengers up, to feel firsthand how the engine flies.
“We call it a five-bolt package, because practically all you have to do is bolt it into your aircraft by those five blots,” John Maxwell said. “It takes the trickery out of it. Glasair makes the best kit and we make the best engine package. Arlington is the world leader in non-commercial utility planes.”
Gwen Maxwell joked that MPS has released the first “dream liner” to fly in the state of Washington, since they named their aircraft the N-787-MX.
The Maxwells were equally complimentary of the Fly-In, with Gwen Maxwell thanking organizers for making the registration process simple and pleasant.
“They faxed me a one-page registration form and we traded a couple of e-mails,” Gwen Maxwell said. “It was a piece of cake.”
In addition to their own portable product placement tent, at space number 40, MPS will also be presenting two one-hour-long forums, where staff members will “tag-team” to provide information about the company and explain aspects of the engine.
“We’re so happy to be located at the Arlington airport, where we have opportunities like this right in our backyard.”
