by Steve Busby, Aerolite Flight Services

The Patrol can accept engines from 115hp to 210hp. The prototype is powered by an O-360 Lycoming 180hp engine, and this is the standard choice among most builders. It is up to the builder to decide on accessories and engine configuration, e.g. carburated vs fuel injected, standard mags vs electronic ignition. The kit is supplied with a Lycoming O-360 Type 1 dynafocal mount. This mount will work on all four cylinder Lycomings except the engines that have conical mounts.

If a builder wants to use a smaller engine, e.g. Lyc O-320, then you will want to keep weight in mind when building. 180hp is very adequate for the patrol, though, as the horsepower rating is stated, you can go higher. As an experiment on an early Patrol kit, we had a 210hp IO-390 in the shop, so we test fitted it to the kit. It bolted right on to the engine mount, but being an angled valve motor, was wider than a 360. To make the cowls look right, it was decided a wider firewall would be needed. We decided right then that the required mods were not worth the extra expense, complications and weight penalty.
The same kit as mentioned above, was fitted with a 195hp IO-375 Lycoming, with dual Pmags for electronic ignition. The accompanied pictures here show that installation, but a 180hp O-360 would be very similar, the large oil cooler being the biggest change. Though the performance with the 375 is amazing, a standard 360 will meet most everyone’s needs and will provide performance beyond most builders expectations.