I often get questions from Malibu and Mirage owners about “what exactly does a FADEC upgrade consist of?” Well, that is a really big question and the answer starts with research and development; lots of it. We have worked tirelessly with TCM and Aerosance to develop not only the first turbocharged Continental FADEC engine to be sucessfully certified, but one that has been developed specifically for the Piper Malibu & Mirage. You may ask, why does it matter that it is specific to the Malibu? Well, the fact that the Malibu is considerably larger and heavier than all other single engine piston aircraft, yet performs better than planes half it’s size, calls for a specific range of operating criteria that can easily be lost on lighter aircraft.
For the Malibu you need an engine that can climb strong and stay cool, but also have enough power and thrust to give good climb rates at faster speeds as well. The secret here is to have an engine that gives good power statically, but also can continue to produce high horsepower at altitude. The TSIOF-550-J FADEC engine not only produces approximately 370HP under normal conditions for takeoff, but will actually increase power as you gain airspeed and climb. This is due to FADEC control, effective intercoolers and more efficient turbochargers that lower induction air temperatures and also increase the critical altitude of the new FADEC engine to FL220.
So how does FADEC create more horsepower? Well, primarily through reducing full power fuel flow to bring the mixture closer to best power, but the trick is to not get too lean, which will make temperatures too hot and risk detonation, but that is where FADEC jumps in. If the CHTs or EGTs get too hot, FADEC will add fuel on an individual cylinder basis and run the perfect mixture to balance power vs. temperature. As the pilot, it appears to be acting very much like the thermostat in your car, regulating temperatures during the climb. In cruise, it produces more power by setting the mixture perfectly for each cylinder through a calibration process, which is impossible without electronic fuel control. Ordinarily, a single manual mixture control can only set a compromise of six approximately equal mixtures.
Of course making horsepower is half the battle; the other half is turning that horsepower into thrust. For that we go back to the amazingly strong and well designed Hartzell 3-blade Kevlar composite propeller that we have used in our Malibu M-5 STC and a very similar version has been used on the Mirage since 1998. During development of the FADEC powerplant we tested other propellers, but could not find a propeller that performed as well as this near perfect propeller airfoil design. Many people don’t realize that with the combination of the FADEC engine and the amazing 3-blade Hartzell propeller, we are producing nearly 70% more static thrust than the original Malibu. We will talk about safety improvements and other features of the FADEC installation in future editions of the FADEC Malibu project overview.
