Lycoming O-540 Information & Lycoming O-540 Links at HealthHaven.com

O-540
	AEIO-540 in a CAP 231
Type	Piston aero-engine
Manufacturer	Lycoming Engines
First run	1957
Major applications	Piper PA-31 Navajo; Cessna 182; Socata TB-30 Epsilon

The Lycoming O-540 is a family of six-cylinder, horizontally opposed fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter engines of 541.5 cubic inch (8,874 cc) displacement, made by Lycoming Engines. The engine is a six-cylinder version of the four-cylinder Lycoming O-360.

[edit] Design and development

Generally these engines produce 235 to 350 horsepower^[1]. They are installed on a large number of different aircraft types.^[2] Their main competitive engine is the Continental IO-520 and IO-550 series.

The AEIO version was developed for high-performance competition aerobatics aircraft. Starting at 260 hp (190 kW), the power was then improved to 300 hp (220 kW). The AEIO-540 family has achieved tremendous results in competition aircraft such as the Extra 300, CAP 232 and Zivko Edge 540.

[edit] Variants

All engines have an additional prefix preceding the 540 to indicate the specific configuration of the engine^[1]. There are also numerous engine suffixes, denoting different accessories such as different manufacturers' carburetors, or different magnetos.

O-540: Standard, direct-drive, normally-aspirated Opposed engine, equipped with a carburetor.
IO-540: Normally-aspirated engine with fuel Injection.
AEIO-540: Normally-aspirated engine with fuel injection and inverted lubrication for Aerobatic use.
TIO-540: Turbocharged and fuel-injected.
LTIO-540: Left-hand (opposite-direction) rotation, turbocharged, fuel-injected; used as the right-hand engine on Piper PA-31-325 Navajo C/Rs and Piper PA-31-350 Chieftains^[3] to prevent critical engine control issues.
IGO-540: Gearbox at the front end of the crankshaft to drive the propeller fewer revolutions per minute than the engine, normally-aspirated with fuel injection.
IGSO-540: Supercharger driven by the engine, gearbox to drive propeller, and fuel injection (up to 435hp).
VO-540: Vertically-mounted engine for use in a helicopter, normally aspirated and equipped with a carburetor.
IVO-540: Normally-aspirated engine with fuel injection, mounted vertically for use in a helicopter.
TVO-540: Turbocharged engine equipped with a carburetor, mounted vertically for use in a helicopter.
TIVO-540: Turbocharged engine with fuel injection, mounted vertically for use in a helicopter.
HIO-540: Helicopter engine mounted horizontally as in fixed-wing aircraft, normally aspirated with fuel injection; not used in any fixed-wing aircraft.^[2]

[edit] Applications

[edit] Specifications (IO-540-K1A5)

Data from FAA Lycoming IO-540 Series Type Certificate. Retrieved: 1 September 2008.

General characteristics

Type: Six-cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed engine
Bore: 5.125 in (130.2 mm)
Stroke: 4.375 in (111.1 mm)
Displacement: 541.5 in³ (8.9 L)
Dry weight: 438 lb (199 kg)

Components

Valvetrain: Two overhead valves per cylinder
Fuel system: Fuel injection
Fuel type: 100 octane rating gasoline
Cooling system: Air-cooled

Performance

Power output: 300 hp (223 kW) at 2,700 rpm at sea level
Specific power: 0.55 hp/in³ (25.14 kW/L)
Compression ratio: 8.7:1
Power-to-weight ratio: 0.68 hp/lb (1.12 kW/kg)

[edit] See also

Related development

Comparable engines

Lycoming IO-580

Related lists

List of aircraft piston engines

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Lycoming (2005). "540 Series" (PDF). http://www.lycoming.textron.com/engines/series/pdfs/540ci%20Engine%20Insert.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
^ ^a ^b Page listing all variants of the Lycoming O-540 series. Retrieved: 1 September 2008.
^ FAA Piper PA-31-300/325/350 Type Certificate. Retrieved: 1 September 2008.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lycoming O-540

[Lycoming540SpecSheet-0] Lycoming (2005). "540 Series" (PDF). http://www.lycoming.textron.com/engines/series/pdfs/540ci%20Engine%20Insert.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-10.

[L2-1] Page listing all variants of the Lycoming O-540 series. Retrieved: 1 September 2008.

[2] FAA Piper PA-31-300/325/350 Type Certificate. Retrieved: 1 September 2008.

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