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72 F lygas Engineering manufactures and supplies engines, ancillary components and related technical support services, and it has developed a strong reputation for the high-performance, rugged superchargers it produces for aircraft engines. Its engineers have accumulated two decades of experience working with aviation engines and the various approaches to making them lightweight, robust and efficient. It has now applied its knowhow to developing an engine specifically for the professional UAV market. The GAS418S is a four-stroke, four-cylinder gasoline unit weighing 78 kg and designed to output up to a maximum of 132 kW (180 bhp) or an operating cruise power output of 97 kW. It is a supercharged 1.8 litre engine, with its cylinders arranged in a flat-four boxer configuration, and two valves per cylinder (one intake, one exhaust). Especially notable is its ability to maintain a power output of 160 bhp in the low air density conditions at altitudes of 11,000 m. History Flygas was founded in 2002 by Stefano Gamberini, who now leads the company’s technical services and ventures as its chief engineer. His experience in engine design and componentry began in the 1990s, Rory Jackson explains how this gear-driven supercharged gasoline engine maintains its peak power at high altitudes Hitting the heights February/March 2022 | Unmanned Systems Technology Flygas Engineering’s GAS418S is a 1800 cc, supercharged four-stroke gasoline engine designed for a peak output of 180 bhp (Images courtesy of Flygas Engineering)