Lead Times for Lycoming Factory Exchange Engines and Cylinders Now at 2-Years
How much longer are we going to have to hear of production lead time issues, forcing us to adjust our utilization schedules, maintenance planning and budgeting? Well, when it comes to the Lycoming engine, we see nothing on the horizon to give us optimism things will be getting better anytime soon. Our message to customers is: plan accordingly.
During a coordinating and status call with Lycoming, Rotorcorp learned that lead times for new orders of critical engines and cylinders for the Robinson fleet are getting worse — not better. We were told customers should now account for a 2-year wait (yes, you read this correctly) for all new orders. This latest bump marks a 41% increase in production lead time over the last guidance we received of 12-14 months.
We share your frustration. When will Robinson helicopter operators, those agricultural sprayers, tour operators, flight schools, game management, and public safety officials get relief from having to park vital operating cash for years just to keep their revenue generating aircraft flying? Right now, we can’t answer that question, but what we can do is use our market strengths and resources to lessen the pain both in planning and budgeting for this engine sourcing dilemma.
In late 2023, when hints of issues affecting engine production lead times were swirling in the wind, Rotorcorp went into brainstorming mode to devise a solution. We then initiated discussions with Lycoming to secure engine production slots and to make these available to our Robinson operators. With a design to ease the planning and budgeting pain for our customers, Rotorcorp now owns 26 factory exchange engine (O-540 and IO-540) production slots with published delivery dates from as early as April 2024 through June 2025 and more on the way.
Related resource: Lycoming Engine Explainer | Rotorcorp
These committed engine positions provide customers the opportunity to reserve a slot in proximity to their anticipated maintenance date. Just a small refundable deposit locks-in the specific engine and delivery time while preserving critical operating cash for use elsewhere in your business or household. In other words, Rotorcorp will stand in the engine line for you while you hang on to your money until your engine is closer to delivery. Even better, if you have a 2200/2400 hour overhaul that is driving your engine requirement, this program allows you to synchronize the delivery of your airframe overhaul kit with the delivery of your engine!
You can learn more about the Engine Reservation Program and view available positions here.
Let’s all hope Lycoming leadership gets things turned around soon and we start to see evidence with meaningful and consistent lead time reductions. Until then, we hope you trust that we are expressing your frustration to the right people while at the same time trying to bring real solutions to keep you flying (and in business). Rotorcorp will continue to keep you apprised as developments dictate.
