 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
When will a diesel be available for my aircraft? |
|
News, facts, and comments on the coming revolution for piston-engine aircraft.News of January 19, 2008A correction regarding Falconcorp./USA
Robert Adickes, Principal of Falconcorp./USA, asks us to amend information we published about the IndUS Aviation-Thorp-Wilksch report of January 5: Falconcorp./USA is not associated with IndUS and has no plans to manufacture a diesel conversion.
posted at 11:21 PM News of January 18, 2008What Happened to the Piston Twin? Asks Richard Collins (Flying Magazine, 2/08)We recommend this paper which explains very well why, in 1979, US sales of twins reached an all-time high of 3,000 throughout 31 different models, and a single engine airplane owner considered as a natural, if expensive, step up trading his plane for a twin; whereas today Piper (Seneca, Seminole) and Beech (Baron) are selling a few twins a year practically on special order. Reasons: Natural upgrade from a piston single now is a single turboprop, whereas a Cirrus SR22 or a Lancair fly almost as fast as a conventional twin and has a fixed landing gear; insurance rates were favorable to twins in the past because of perceived safety, and the opposite is true today because singles are much safer than they were. So, is this the end of the twin? We think that, on the contrary, aero diesel engines will open a new market niche for twins supplementing the classy single turboprops; and that the niche will become a big market within 20 years. Collins does notice that the Diamond DA42 diesel is hitting the market. It is the thin end of the wedge. You probably noticed that the most popular single turboprops are big planes such as the TBM 700-850 and the Pilatus PC-12. The Piper Meridian is smaller, but still offers 1,000HP+. And the price tag is very high too, beginning just under $ 2 million. This is because a really small turboprop, such as the Maule MX7-420HP, so powerful that it can almost hang on its propeller like a helicopter (now wait! I said ‘almost’…), is such a gas guzzler that its range at any speed with full reserves is very limited. All these planes suffer of a very high fuel flow at all speeds, meaning a strict flight plan and a swift change to alternates if the weather goes wrong. Which is no problem for a Pilatus, big enough to carry extra fuel; and for its owner, with a pocket deep enough to cover fuel, maintenance and depreciation costs. Turbines have two faults: Because they operate at very high RPM, very high pressures and temperatures, they are inherently costly to manufacture (precision forgings or investment casting with complex alloys, ceramics coatings, composites, ultra-high precision machining, the works.). Look at the Maule turboprop, priced about three times its equivalent with an O-540. Because their combustion is optimized at one airflow speed and power, any divergence from that speed means that the specific fuel consumption goes through the ceiling. What is wonderful with a piston engine is that the piston in high position ‘waits’ for the combustion to complete. With a diesel, even better: injected fuel is always proportional to actual power needed, so the specific consumption is close to constant. Assessing costs in 2008 dollars, but with turbo-diesel engines produced in quantities and in optimal cost conditions, we envision twins with 300-500HP engines, 6 or 8 cylinders, flying at 240 to 280 knots at FL 220-250; priced around $1 to 1.5 million depending on power and weight. They would offer as much room as a single turboprop, much lower fuel costs, and a much, much longer range. posted at 4:47 AM Aero-TV Checks Out The Jet A-Powered Thielert turbo-diesel 172S Skyhawk.The new Skyhawk TD (turbo diesel, of course) features a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) equipped Thielert Centurion 2.0 liter engine. The DOHC (double overhead camshaft) inline four-cylinder turbocharged engine develops 155 horsepower, is certified to operate on Jet-A fuel, is liquid cooled and drives a composite three-blade constant speed propeller. Thielert was issued a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Skyhawk in March, allowing Cessna to offer a factory-installed Thielert engine. The engine features low specific fuel consumption, electronic engine control systems and improved hot-and-high engine performance. With increased range and endurance, Cessna says the Skyhawk TD will offer an ideal solution for special mission applications like forestry patrol, wildlife conservation efforts, pipeline/power line patrol, traffic reporting and airborne law enforcement, according to Cessna. Cessna announced a partnership with Thielert on "future projects" earlier this year. The Wichita gang is also making the Garmin GFC700 Automatic Flight Control (AFCS) and Flight Director (FD) system standard equipment on most Skyhawk models. The autopilot function selector will be conveniently located on the Garmin G1000 flight display with the GFC700 capable of using all of the data available within the G1000 avionics system. Among the new navigational features included is all-digital, dual-channel, two-axis flight control -- featuring an attitude-based (versus rate-based) autopilot. The GFC700 on the Skyhawk also features a Flight Director, offering pitch and roll guidance to show the pilot the attitude for a standard climb or turn. The system also sports Flight Level Change capability --- to ensure the aircraft maintains airspeed while climbing or descending to a pre-selected altitude -- and a Go Around mode. Additionally, Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) with Lateral Performance, Vertical Guidance approach (LPV) and Vertical Navigation (VNAV) capabilities; Garmin SafeTaxi; and Garmin FliteCharts became standard for the Skyhawk, Skylane and Stationair starting with 2007 models. The Garmin ChartView powered by Jeppesen is optional. (Aero-TV 1/15/08) DieselAir Comment: With the 155HP, one can expect a maximal cruising speed of 130 knots at 12,500 feet, but let us wait for a full test report to confirm. Because of the constant speed propeller and of the ability of turbo-diesels to maintain power with altitude the climb rate to cruising altitude will also be faster. posted at 3:38 AM News of January 05, 2008Opening the report on IndUS Aviation and the Wilksch Airmotive WAM diesel engine.Wilksch Airmotive in the UK has developed a very interesting 2-stroke diesel of 120HP which has been flying for some time on a Thorp T-211 demonstrator. The firm is now expanding, and offering its WAM 120 and 160 engines at FOB prices of UK₤12,000 and 16,000. Visit http://www.wilksch.com/ Dr. Ram Pattisapu is the owner of IndUS Aviation, who is now assembling Indian-made, all-metal Thorp T-211 airplanes in Texas. The T-211 LSA, ancestor of the Piper Cherokee, is very well known in the Experimental world. Dr. Ram is also pursuing tests of his Thorp T 211 with WAM diesel, which has accumulated over 400 hours flight testing in the UK. IndUS Aviation is located in a three-storeyed office building at Koramangala, Bangalore, which is home to several tech firms, and gets an unusual amount of attention from passers-by. The T-211 with conventional Avgas engine sells in India right now for Rs. 4.5 mn (close to US$ 115,000). It is manufactured jointly with Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Limited in Bangalore. Planned production is for 2 airplanes per month. If you know more details please inform us! posted at 3:06 AM News of January 04, 2008Flying Magazine discusses the new Cessna 172 Thielert 155 HP.There is no hint that Avgas is going away anytime soon in the United States at least, but in much of the rest of the world the stuff has gone over the past decade from merely expensive to outrageously so. On the other hand, kerosene-based fuels, jet-A and diesel, have held the price line much better while remaining in abundant supply. One answer is putting diesel engines in piston airplanes, and Cessna has taken a big step toward that model with the introduction of a diesel-powered Skyhawk. The Skyhawk TD (for turbodiesel) will feature the Thielert Centurion 2.0 diesel engine, the same powerplant that is standard equipment in the Diamond DA42 TwinStar. As in that airplane, in the Skyhawk, the 2.0 installation will feature full authority digital engine control (FADEC) with single-lever power control and a three-blade composite MT prop. The diesel will offer lower direct operating costs — 8 percent in the United States and up to 32 percent internationally, claims Cessna — quieter operation and simplified engine operation, including immunity to shock cooling. The Thielert in the Skyhawk TD will be rated at 155 hp, so the performance numbers for the TD will be lower than those for the 180 hp Skyhawk SP. But it will sip at the fuel, burning a miserly 7.4 gph at 85 percent power, nearly three gallons per hour less than the gas-burning Skyhawk, and its performance as it climbs, as it is turbocharged, will be superior to that of the nominally more powerful Skyhawk SP. DieselAir comment: We are waiting with interest to read about the fuel flow at cruise economy speed and at best glide speed, which we expect to be extremely low thus enhancing safety. We also wait with expectancy for range data with IFR reserves compared with the standard 172 with O-360 engine. We have very little data on actual flying experience with the 155HP (most Thielert flying now are the 135HP, of which a majority still is 1.7 Liter) but assume that Cessna has bee convinced by whatever testing they did... posted at 5:15 AM A press release from Millen Aviation Services rf. their action against Diamond AirMillen Aviation Services says: 'We have on 17th December 2007 filed an action against Diamond Aircraft Industries in Austria. The claim for damages is based on our experience with our two DA40 1.7 TDI’s, their extremely poor reliability, high maintenance costs, waiting time for spare parts and, our firm belief of their premature release to market without sufficient research, development and testing.' During a phone interview Mike Millen added however that he does not question the future of aero diesel, essentially because of growing concern about price and availability of AvGaz in Europe and other parts of the world. posted at 4:57 AM |
Previous Posts
If you subscribed to DieselAir Newsletter... Archives
July 2002
|
