News, facts, and comments on the coming revolution for piston-engine aircraft. News of November 07, 2009 Kurt Goodfellow in his RV Van with Wilksch diesel 140 knots with 120HP and less than 5 gal/h of Jetfuel... Look at this pilots in the U. S., this is the future. Kurt Goodfellow reports from Nevada: "I now have 95 hours on my plane, and it has worked very will with the WAM 120 engine. On Oct 23, I met Ken Krueger (Van’s chief engineer) in Bishop, CA for a comparison test between my plane and Van’s company 160 hp RV9A. We both realized that it wasn’t an apples-to-apples comparison because of the HP difference, but Van’s doesn’t have an O-235 powered RV9 to compare to. We flew side-by-side, comparing: Brakes-off to 12,000’ climb, WOT speed at 12,000’, 10,000’, and 8,000’. We also flew a 1.25 hour cross country flight to test fuel burn, along with a power-off glide to test drag. Marc Cook, the editor for Kitplanes magazine was also there. Ken is working on all of the data gathered, and is working together with Marc on an article for the magazine. I aso expect an article in Van’s RVator newsletter. The plane performed beautifully, but was no match for the 160 hp RV9 when it came to climb and speed. However, even with the ‘9A cruising slower to match my speed, the WAM burned quite a bit less fuel. At the end of the day, we determined that the WAM performance was comparable to what you would expect (according to Van’s published numbers) from an RV9 with a Lycoming O-235. Since Ken kept track of all the numbers, we’ll have to wait and see them in the article. My cruise speed at 65% power, 8,500 ft, is 160 mph TAS (140 knots), burning just under 5 gph (I do not have a fuel flow instrument). The plane performs very well, even in the extremely hot ambient temps we experience here in Southern Nevada. On our climb to 12,000’, I was able to average 878 fpm. Even on a hot day (42C), I can climb out of Boulder City, NV at 850-700 FPM, staying within the temp parameters that WAM recommends. Wilksch Airmotive has been very helpful and supportive all through my installation and testing. There are five Van’s RV9A’s with WAM 120’s flying in the UK. They recently had a Wilksch fly-in in the UK, which was hampered by weather, but 3 WAM RV9A’s showed up. I’m forwarding a picture from the event." posted at 1:43 AM

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Mission Statement

Every month: news, facts, and comments on the coming revolution for piston-engines aircrafts between 130 and 400 HP: Retrofitting a diesel engine to run on Jetfuel or Kerosene, reduce Gallons/Hour by some 30%, eliminate ignition systems (magnetos, spark plugs) and their problems, eliminate mixture control, increase TBO to 2,400-3,000 hours, increase performance between 6,000 and 12,500 ft., and drastically reduce Operating Costs.

The letter is intended for piston engines aircraft owners, manufacturers, fleet operators and FBOs, re-manufacturers of engines for these aircrafts, manufacturers of engine components and ancillaries, and all professionals acting in decisions of engine exchange or refitting at TBO, in North and South America, Pacific Rim, African continent, and all parts of the world were Avgas, Mogas, Kerosene and Jetfuel are available.

The DieselAir Newsletter is a confidential publication available only as printed material sent by mail (airmail for overseas), to fully identified individuals or businesses involved in General Aviation. Forums and online content may be printed at discretion of the publisher.