NZ engine for 'airscooter' flies offshore

The development of an engine to power a back-to-the-future mini helicopter has been a triumph for kiwi ingenuity but an embarrassment for kiwi implementation.

United States company AirScooter Corp last week announced its unit AeroTwin had issued its first US patent for the lightweight engine, which was designed in Christchurch.

Instead of being manufactured in Christchurch as AirScooter wanted, the two-cylinder, 65-horsepower, four-stroke engine is being made in Fort Worth, Texas, under licence.

With three, four and six-cylinder versions also to be built in Texas, a multi-million dollar business with dozens of high skilled jobs will be lost to New Zealand.

In fact, AirScooter is so excited by the engine that it sees its future more with the engine than its futuristic helicopters that already fly and recently featured on CBS's 60 Minutes television programme.

The story of the engine began in the 1990s when Christchurch company Pegasus Aviation developed a twin-cylinder, four-stroke motor that it billed as the first locally built aircraft engine since aviation pioneer Richard Pearse took to the sky nearly a century earlier.

After four years of development, and an investment of nearly $1 million, Pegasus was set to produce 500 engines a year. It made sales to Australia and the United States, including AirScooter. But it all ended in tears. Pegasus' developers had problems keeping down the costs of lightweight materials used in the engine and some parts were inadequate. The engines and the company fell apart.

However, AirScooter was so desperate for a suitable engine, it persisted with some of those involved in Pegasus, including engineer Bill White, who came to the project late to try and rectify problems, and director Stuart Pearson.

AirScooter president Dwaine Barnes told NZPA that AirScooter wanted an alternative to the noisy, smelly, high revving two-stroke engines it was using. It didn't want to design and build an engine and searched the world with little success before lighting on the Pegasus engine.

Asked why AirScooter persisted after Pegasus's collapse, Mr Barnes said: "The bottom line was that Bill White and his connections had motor cycle engine experience and that's why we stayed."

AirScooter worked through Mr Pearson's Pearson Motor Corp (PMC), which was essentially established to manage Mr White's engineering company W L White.

A unique aspect of AirScooter's chopper is that the pilot does not require a licence. Under US flying rules pilots of aircraft under 116kg don't need one.

AirScooter requested PMC to develop an engine lighter than 36kg. As well, the engine had to run vertically, have a dry sump, be four-stroke and deliver 65 horsepower at 4600rpm.

"The greatest challenge was the weight," Mr Pearson said. The engine has yet to meet the weight requirement for the AirScooter.

"We moved ahead rather than conjure on the weight issue because AirScooter are looking also at using this engine for microlight aircraft and there are much greater sales for aircraft than there are for helicopters."

The weight issue could be solved by using lighter materials such as magnesium for aluminium.

Mr Pearson said New Zealanders developed the engine because "we had the guts to do it".

"American companies don't seem to want to venture into that sort of thing. They would have to hire a dozen experts, each to do a different task. They have a different mindset.

"We just get stuck in and do everything ourselves where there they seem to do everything by committee.

"In the States you have an expert in each field and they all have to get together, but nothing ever gets done, and it costs a hell of a lot of money. In the States this would have cost $10 million, whereas we do it for less than one."

However, it seems New Zealanders, in this case, needed some US skills in corporate management.

Pegasus was riven with internal squabbling and, depending on who you speak to, PMC and AirScooter parted ways two years ago even though AirScooter still owns 30 per cent of PMC.

Mr Pearson blamed lack of access to finance, the bursting of the high tech bubble and the rise of the New Zealand dollar for the engine not being developed here.

When the economic situation changed, AirScooter retrenched.

It stalled on development funding "which left me high and dry". Mr Pearson was forced to sell down his rights to the engine.

"I was not able to find any finance to set up a manufacturing company because at that stage I hadn't proven a product.

"No one is interested because it was a one-man band and no believes it's possible to do and everyone thought it was ridiculous that we try and develop an engine in New Zealand."

Venture capital funds were even less enthusiastic than banks.

"The only way to continue was look at investment from the States and licence manufacturing there."

But Mr White, who Mr Barnes said was the brains behind the AeroTwin engine, disputes the claim over lack of finance. He said Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton and his ministry were very willing to help along with others.

"The Americans were very happy to have the motor made here and they would have funded the manufacture here.

"The reality was the Pearson Motor Company didn't want to take on the responsibility of manufacturing the motors here.

"It's not fair to say New Zealand wasn't ready to support the endeavour. It would be unfortunate to blame the local infrastructure," Mr White said.

"Jim Anderton and his associates would have supported it and the Canterbury Chambers of Commerce and Tech New Zealand."

Mr White, who worked on Rolls Royce and Bentley motors and had New Zealand's military vehicles used in Bosnia built to his specifications, said there was a suitable foundry willing to contribute funding and skilled workers were available.

"The Americans were never intending to be engine builders but said 'okay, if you won't do it, we will'."

However, Mr Pearson said it was lack of a backer, not lack of will that was the problem.

"It was a pipedream to make it here."

In the end AirScooter picked up the dropped ball and ran with it. Mr White was seconded to Fort Worth to set up a testing and manufacturing facility. For his troubles he was gifted "several hundred thousand" shares in the "pink sheet" listed AirScooter.

Although the US military, and law enforcement agencies have shown interest in the AirScooter, Mr Barnes' focus has shifted to the AeroTwin engine. Around 2500 ultralights (microlights) sell every year in the US and he has had plenty of interest in the engine from France, Germany, Australia and South America.

The AirScooter will sell for around US$50,000 ($71,350) and the AeroTwin engine will cost around US$6500.

"We could become an engine manufacturing company first and foremost because of the numbers and interest level we've gotten in this engine," he said.

Deliveries of the first AeroTwin motors are expected to be made to selected customers next month.

- NZPA