Kawasaki’s Clean-sheet Aero Engine Design Draws on Motorcycle Engineering Expertise

Kawasaki Motors is working on a new piston aviation engine initiative and hopes to have the first four- and six-cylinder inline models type certified as early as 2030. The company is designing the models to initially run on traditional combustion fuels, but with the capacity for transitioning to hydrogen and e-fuels depending on customer needs. These engines will offer high power-to-weight ratios and are designed to be compact and low-vibration, drawing from what the company has learned in decades of motorcycle engine development.