Continental O-520

O-520
Preserved IO-520
Type	Piston aircraft engine
Manufacturer	Teledyne Continental Motors
First run	1963
Major applications	Beechcraft Bonanza Cessna 210
Developed from	Continental O-346

The Continental O-520 is a six-cylinder, horizontally-opposed aircraft engine produced by Teledyne Continental Motors. First run in 1963 as a development of the O-346, it has been produced in versions incorporating fuel injection (IO-520), turbo-charging (TSIO-520), and gearing (GTSIO-520).

Design and development

The IO-520 series of engines normally produced 285-310 HP and were used in numerous aircraft such as certain models of the Bellanca Viking 300 and Super Viking, the Beech Bonanza and Baron, and the Cessna 185, 206, 210, 310, and 400 series of aircraft. It has largely been superseded by Continental's newer IO-550 engine. The IO-520 series of engine is considered to be a reliable engine, but some of the early versions of this engine had a weaker crankcase than subsequent versions. Versions featuring more substantial crankcases are often referred to as having "heavy crankcases."

The GTSIO-520 was not as common and in its most common application (the Cessna 404 and Cessna 421 twin-engine aircraft) it produces 375 horsepower (280 kW). The engine has a reputation of being expensive to maintain and is intolerant of improper pilot technique. The intolerance is in the pilot going from cruise power to idle, reducing the temperature of a working engine to an idle engine and causing cracks to develop on the cylinder head from the fast cooling. More pilot planning is involved with this engine than the basic entry level engine because of the high temperatures of the engine and the environment (low temperature) that it is in. When operated properly, most pilots consider the engine to be reliable. Gearing reduces the RPM of the propeller making the engine quieter running than many other engines, although the gearboxes on early versions of this engine were notoriously unreliable. The gearing also adds measurably to the overhauling costs of these engines.

Variants

IO-520

(1963)

TSIO-520

(1964)

GTSIO-520

(1964)

GTSIO-520-D

GIO-520

(1966)

Applications

2

Specifications (GTSIO-520-D)

Data from Continental Motors.

General characteristics

• Type: 6-cylinder horizontally opposed aircraft engine
• Bore: 5.25 in (133.35 mm)
• Stroke: 4.00 (101.6 mm)
• Displacement: 520 in³ (8.51 litres)
• Length: 63.63 in (161.6 cm)
• Width: 34.04 in (86.5 cm)
• Height: 26.63 in (67.6 cm)
• Dry weight: 484 lb (219.5 kg) without accessories

Components

• Valvetrain: Overhead valve
• Fuel system: TCM fuel injection
• Fuel type: 100/130 Octane Avgas
• Cooling system: Air-cooled

Performance

• Power output: 375 hp (280 kW) (Maximum continuous operation at 3,400 rpm)
• Compression ratio: 7.5:1

See also

• List of aircraft engines