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When will a diesel be available for my aircraft? |
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News, facts, and comments on the coming revolution for piston-engine aircraft.In 1998, one diesel engine flew on a converted airplane for the first time since 1945. Today, close to 4,000 singles and twins are flying. This is the beginning of a worldwide trend which will eventually allow a rebirth of the piston-engined aircraft, around new specs and new missions. DieselAir Research, Inc., the publisher of The DieselAir Newsletter, offers strategic intelligence services to the aircraft industry, its suppliers and its customers who ambition to benefit from this global change of paradigm which will mean new markets, new concepts, new services, new materials and components… You may be interested in our services if your firm designs and/or manufactures aircraft and components, aero engines, avionics, propellers and engine components, fuel systems or additives, advanced materials, or industry specific machinery for manufacturing of these; or provides aviation services such as fuel production or distribution; flight training, aircraft chartering, maintenance and operations (FBO’s); or airport management and design, traffic control, hangar, materials handling and storage equipment; or consulting and financial services for these industries; or advertising, sales promotion, trade shows, specialized publications. To know more, send a confidential email inquiry to Dr. Eng. André Teissier-duCros at atc@geanoverseas.com News of March 23, 2008Considering the Cessna 172 Thielert after the Flying Magazine report (April 08 issue.)
Well, Cessna now sells a diesel airplane. And it is the famous, eternal 172, the most ubiquitous flying machine in history, a machine which will certainly still be flying in huge quantities 50 years from now. And Flying Magazine has published a very comprehensive report on the product. A major event, considering that only 7 years ago, when I first published the DieselAir Newsletter, the prevailing opinion was that the aero diesel engine would never get to the US market. And the report is very favorable, while underlining objectively all the pros and cons of this product. Bravo to Roger Goyer who wrote the report. The pros: The 172 Thielert, called 172TD, is fast: 130 knots at 10,000 feet, despite a take-off power of only 155 HP versus 180 for the SP model (180 HP). This is of course because it is a turbo with a constant speed prop, and can fly higher. It is fuel efficient as one could expect: At 130 kts and 10,000 ft it burns 7.8 gallons per hour; but at 5,000 ft and 112 knots, only 5.8 gph. The test did not cover fuel flow at best glide speed, a test which would have verified our most important point: Between and a bit above best glide speed (1.3 to 1.5 times stalling speed), it is so low that one can consider staying in the air for ever, addressing any realistic need or factor preventing any landing anywhere such as unexpected fog, or obligation to fly back because of icing. (Yes, of course, it would never happen to you because you are such an experienced pilot. But have you ever thought that if GA is going to grow again, there will be again lots of inexperienced pilots flying?) I hope someone will complete that test some day. All these combined confirm our other point: A 172 diesel is a practical IFR machine, something which is somewhat questionable for a gasoline 172 because of its limited fuel capacity and relatively short range with full IFR reserves. However, the no-wind range at 85% power (118 kts at 8,000 ft) is 588 NM. A respectable figure for sure, but relatively modest for a diesel. How come? This is because Cessna decided to reduce fuel capacity to 44 gallons instead of 50 on a 172SP. A 6 gallons difference with a fuel flow of 5.8 gph can be important. Why did Cessna do that? To understand them, we must discuss what the accessible market for this product is during the next ten years. In the But this is completely different for a It is also completely different, and more so, for foreign flight academies who have to pay a much higher fuel price differential, and who face the growing problem of vanishing Avgas. And then you have the countries where Avgas has disappeared, or is available only in reusable tanks of dubious cleanliness, notably In the mean time, Flying Magazine underlines the cons: Right now, a Thielert engine is very expensive. Also its TBO. It needs preventive maintenance at key times such as 300 hours, and a major inspection at 1,200 hours. No doubt this will improve with time. Also other diesels will compete with Thielert proposing simpler designs: Air-cooled non geared, O-engines such as the SMA, and 2-strokes engines such as the Wilksch, the Gemini and the DeltaHawk. And do keep in mind that, in the world of aviation, the only things that go fast is the airplane itself when it does fly, which is not very often. All the rest moves much, much slower than in any other industry… Meanwhile, Paul Bertorelli (Aviation Consumer) is quite right to question if diesel are more economical. Right now, in the Andre Teissier-duCros posted at 6:56 PM News of March 16, 2008FAA issues emergency AD for Thielert Engines
In-flight engine shutdowns have led the FAA to issue an emergency airworthiness directive (AD)[http://download.aopa.org/epilot/2008/20080652ad.pdf] for model TAE 125-02-99 engines from Thielert. The shutdowns were the result of cracks in the high-pressure fuel lines caused by excessive vibration. The March 12 AD affects engines with serial numbers from 02-02-1500 through 02-02-2279. The engines are installed on Cessna 172, Diamond DA42, and other aircraft. Before the next flight, owners must install a new high-pressure fuel line and bracket. Special flight permits are allowed for a single VFR flight of up to two hours to the nearest maintenance station. posted at 4:27 AM News of March 08, 2008News from the Ecofly diesel light aircraft (Germany)
Ecofly, the manufacturer of the Smart aircraft engine conversion, has started flight testing program of the new 80 hp Smart-Roadster engine. This engine was designed by Mercedes Benz and is used in the new Smart Roadster car. It is an upgraded M160 powerplant of the Smart citycar. Mercedes-Benz designed this 0.7 liter, 3 cylinder turbo motor to be light (132 pounds in car trim), compact, quiet and very efficient. The all aluminum engine has dual ignition and an intelligent turbo charging system that develops rated horsepower to over 8,000 feet and "overboosts" to develop additional power at low rpm. Cruise speed at a mild 4300 rpm is 111 mph burning less than 2.6 gallons/hour. Bosch fuel injection system eliminates carburetor icing and gives the engine great fuel efficiency. The Ecofly conversion of the engine incorporates a toothed belt reduction drive of 2.1 to 1 and includes a centrifugal clutch that engages the propeller at 1300 rpm. The package is very quiet, was rating only 54 dba during JAR certification testing. The installed weight is 11 pounds more then that of the 912s. See http://www.ecofly.de/english.htm posted at 3:51 AM What is the future of Avgas?
The following was published on the Blog of Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) Flight 8 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: This has been an interesting question for a number of years, but most people have not been paying attention. The heat was recently cranked up a notch by comments made by the new President of Teledyne Continental Motors, Rhett Ross. In an interview with AvWeb Ross stated that he thought it would only be a matter of time before aviation was ‘forced out’ of using 100LL. His company is proceeding full speed in the development of a 300 hp diesel engine that will be the first of a series of jet-fuel burning diesels from 100-300 hp. You can tell by the fact that they hope to have this new engine certified by late 2009 or early 2010 that Continental considers this a priority issue. But is there a threat of 100LL disappearing in that sort of short term window? The answer is an emphatic ‘yes’ and GA needs to be ready for it. We used to have four grades of Avgas - 80/87, 91/96, 100/130 and 115/145. The refining industry just stopped making each one of those over time and it caused some real heartache, especially for owners of aircraft that needed 115/145, because they could not go to a higher grade. A lot of engines stopped flying and some aircraft left service or got re-engined to turbines. A few years ago there was a specification developed for 82UL (for unleaded), but no refiner has shown any interest in making any of it. Too small a market to bother. What might cause 100LL to go away? There are currently two different types of threats to the one remaining grade of avgas. The first is economic and the second is environmental. From a refiner s economic perspective 100LL is hard to justify making at all. The market for it is tiny and spread out far and wide. The specifications for it are very tight which makes it expensive to produce. It also needs special handling at the refinery and during transport, because it contains tetra-ethyl lead (TEL) - it cannot come into contact with other fuels. It requires dedicated everything as a result. Overall making 100LL is a pain for the refiners and they wish they did not have to do it. There are only two refineries in |
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