The Lycoming O-360 is a family of
four-cylinder
The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized.
Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...
, direct-drive,
horizontally opposed
A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, wh ...
,
air-cooled
Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...
,
piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...
aircraft engine
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...
s. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing 180 horsepower.
The engine family has been installed in thousands of aircraft, including the
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company. ,
Piper Cherokee
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...
/Archer,
Grumman Tiger, and many
home-built types. It has a factory rated
time between overhaul
Time between overhauls (abbreviated as TBO or TBOH) is the manufacturer's recommended number of running hours or calendar time before an aircraft engine or other component requires overhaul.
On rotorcraft, many components have recommended or man ...
(TBO) of 2000 hours
or twelve years.
O-360 family engines are also widely used in
airboat
An airboat (also known as a planeboat, swamp boat, bayou boat, or fanboat) is a flat-bottomed watercraft propelled by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. In early aviation history the term ''airboat ...
s, most notably in the
Hurricane Aircat
The Hurricane Aircat was an airboat used as a riverine patrol boat by the US Army and South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) during the Vietnam War. It was used to conduct various counterinsurgency (COIN) and patrol missions in riverine and marshy areas w ...
s used by the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
The first O-360 certified was the A1A model, certified on 20 July 1955 to United States CAR 13 effective March 5, 1952 as amended by 13-1 and 13-2.
The
Lycoming IO-390
The Lycoming IO-390 engine is a horizontally opposed, four-cylinder aircraft engine, manufactured by Lycoming Engines.
There is no carburetted version of the engine, which would have been designated O-390 and therefore the base model is the ...
is an O-360 which has had its cylinder bore increased by , developing .
Series
The O-360 family of engines comprises 167 different models with 12 different prefixes. All have a displacement and
bore and
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
.
* O-360
carbureted
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
series
* HO-360 horizontally mounted series for helicopter installation
* LO-360 same as O-360, but with left-hand rotating crankshaft, for use in pairs on twin-engined aircraft
* TO-360
turbocharged
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
series
* LTO-360 turbocharged left-hand rotation series
* IO-360
fuel-injected
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All com ...
series
* LIO-360 same as IO-360, but with left-hand rotating crankshaft
* AIO-360 inverted mount (dry sump aerobatic) fuel-injected series
* AEIO-360
aerobatic
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...
fuel-injected series
* HIO-360 horizontally mounted fuel-injected series for helicopters
* LHIO-360 left-hand rotation, fuel-injected, horizontally mounted for helicopters
* TIO-360 turbocharged and fuel-injected series
Variants
Applications
![Piper PA44-180 aircraft](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Piper_PA44-180_aircraft.jpg)
;O-360
;LO-360
*
Beechcraft Duchess
The Beechcraft Model 76 Duchess is an American twin-engined monoplane built by Beechcraft intended partly as a low cost introduction to twin-engine aircraft.
Development
Developed as Model PD289 (Preliminary Design 289), the prototype was u ...
*
Piper PA-44-180 Seminole
;IO-360
;LIO-360
![LIO360engine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/LIO360engine.JPG)
*
Piper PA-34 Seneca I
*
Diamond DA42
The Diamond DA42 Twin Star is a four seat, twin engine, propeller-driven airplane developed and manufactured by the People's Republic of China, Chinese-owned, Austria-based company Diamond Aircraft Industries. It was Diamond's first twin engin ...
;AIO-360
*
Stephens Akro
;AEIO-360
*
Aero-Cam Slick 360
*
Aviat Eagle II
The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s.
Design
Designed to compete with the Pitts Special by Frank ...
*
American Champion Super Decathlon
The American Champion 8KCAB Decathlon and Super Decathlon are two-seat fixed conventional gear light airplanes designed for flight training and personal use and capable of sustaining aerobatic stresses between +6g and −5 ''g''. The Decath ...
*
Extra EA-200
The Extra 200 (Type EA-200) is a two-seat, tandem arrangement, low-wing aerobatic monoplane with conventional (taildragger) landing gear fully capable of Unlimited category competition, built by Extra Flugzeugbau.
Designed by Walter Extra, it ...
*
FFA AS-202 Bravo
The AS/SA 202 Bravo is a two to three-seat civil light aircraft jointly designed and manufactured by the Swiss company Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein (FFA) and the Italian company Savoia-Marchetti. The aircraft was designated the AS 202 in S ...
*
Great Lakes Sport Trainer
The Great Lakes Sport Trainer is an American biplane trainer and aerobatic aircraft. It was originally produced in large numbers before the company building it went bankrupt in the Great Depression in 1933. Owing to its continuing popularity, ho ...
*
Grob G 115E
*
Mudry CAP 10
The Mudry CAP 10 is a two-seat training aerobatic aircraft first built in 1970 and still in production in 2007.
The plane was developed from the Piel Super Emeraude and was born as the CP100. The name changed to CAP 10, CAP for 'Constructions Aér ...
*
Peña Capeña
*
Pitts Special
The Pitts Special (company designations S-1 and S-2) is a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world ae ...
*
Tech Aero TR 200
The Tech Aero TR 200 is a French homebuilt aerobatic aircraft that was designed and produced by Tech Aero of Glisolles, first flown in August 1988. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Purdy, Don ...
*
Valmet L-70 Vinka
The Valmet L-70 ''Vinka'' is a Finnish-designed piston-powered military basic trainer aircraft of the 1970s. A production run of 30 aircraft were built for the Finnish Air Force in the early 1980s, and although the type was not exported, it formed ...
*
Zlín Z 242
;HIO-360
*
Enstrom F-28
The Enstrom F-28 and 280 are a family of small, light piston engine powered helicopters produced by the Enstrom Helicopter Corporation.Apostolo, Giorgio: ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters'', pages 64-65. Bonanza Books, New York, 1984 ...
*
OH-23 Raven
The Hiller OH-23 Raven is a three-place, military light observation helicopter based on the Hiller Model 360. The Model 360 was designated by the company as the UH-12 ("UH" for United Helicopters),Donald, David. ''The Complete Encyclopedia of ...
*
Schweizer 300
The Schweizer S300 series (formerly Hughes 300, Schweizer 300, and Sikorsky S-300) family of light utility helicopters was originally produced by Hughes Helicopters, as a development of the Hughes 269. Later manufactured by Schweizer Aircraft, ...
;LHIO-360
*
Silvercraft SH-3
*
Silvercraft SH-4
Specifications (O-360-A1A)
See also
References
External links
Lycoming Homepage*
{{Lycoming aeroengines
Boxer engines
O-360
1950s aircraft piston engines