I'm curious as to what kind of airframe you're considering putting something
like this in? Something fast, I'd assume. Also, something non-aerobatic.
Some kind of fast cruiser?

You might want to contact some people at VW to see if you can get some
detailed info on the engine. It could very well turn out that it would make
a great airplane engine, but there are a ton of unknowns at this point. How
would you go about examining the suitability of the engine for aviation use?
You're looking at a very non-trivial problem. Better know how to speak some
German, too.

I've watched the Mazda B13 thing closely over the last couple of years.
There are some interesting possibilities there, but none of the good options
look very cheap. You'll still spend a lot of time wringing the engine out
on the ground before you can gain enough confidence that you've done all
your homework. Granted, doing a homebuilt, you'll spend a bunch of your
time doing engine integration no matter what. Just gotta make sure to have
a sound approach to engine risk-reduction if you're going a non-standard
route. That means knowing the risks and being able to plan for them.

BTW: This summer, I'm starting work on an RV-8A. I'm tentatively penciling
in a DeltaHawk 180HP inverted V-4. I'm encouraged by their progress over
the last year. However, I won't hesitate to change my plans if some big
gotchas emerge with their design. Their first production run starts soon.
I figure they get to have two more years of maturity on the design before I
order mine. It's gonna cost a bunch, but I feel there is a resonably
controllable risk factor going with an engine that new.

"Bryan" wrote in message
...
Good points! I have no idea how to find out what the continuous rated
power
would be on this engine. I would love to have a DeltaHawk engine but as
you
put it, I do not have a ton of money. I was leaning heavily toward the
Mazda rotary, looks like the way to as there are many flying already and
components are available.