The Rotax 912 series was used in the Diamond Katana A1 with reasonable successs. Lack of follow-up development killed its future.

by Paul Bertorelli

If the generally accepted wisdom that engine development drives aircraft development is true, is the reverse also true? Does the lack of cutting-edge propulsion stunt the industry? Who can say? All we know for sure is that we haven’t seen any cutting-edge engines lately but we definitely have a stunted industry.

Catching us by surprise—and obviously hoping to change that calculus—comes Bombardier/Rotax, a Canadian conglomerate with no small amount of experience in the engine world, but not much in the field of certified aircraft engines. In late April, we began to hear rumors that Bombardier was up to something big but none of this was confirmed until May when…