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Thread: Diesel engines

  1. #21
    Eric Witherspoon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by steveinindy View Post
    ...I may want to try to get this aircraft certified at some point (if for nothing less than to reduce insurance and to alleviate any potential issues with foreign travel in a large "experimental").
    If certification costs are something you can just throw around to save a couple thou in insurance, I think you've pretty well answered your own question. You're in turboprop territory. There are no diesels in the hp range you are looking for because there is no market demand, and those that come close are either ground-bound or too heavy. So it's turboprop if you want to burn the kerosene. Your design won't be wallet-friendly, but it will be much lighter and more powerful by abandoning reciprocating-piston-based power. I'm curious to find out what other capabilities your magic carpet will have that a Pilatus PC-12 or the Lancair Evolution aren't already offering...
    Murphy's 13th: Every solution breeds new problems...

    http://www.spoonworld.com

  2. #22
    steveinindy's Avatar
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    Your question is kind of like asking someone who is building a RV-6 "Why not just buy a Cirrus or Mooney?" or asking the guys who design and build their own LSA "Why not just buy an Aeronca or a Cub?". It's mostly just because we decided what we want out of a design and went for it. It's a challenge to figure out what all goes into a complicated design and that's what intrigues me most. The fact that I'll wind up with an aircraft at the end of the process is just icing on the cake.

    But to answer your question more specifically:
    -Speed (in the case of the PC-12)
    -Range (in the case of both but especially the Lancair; fully loaded a PC-12 doesn't have that great of a range)
    -Payload (in the case of the Lancair)
    -Comfort (in the case of the Lancair)


    But mostly I am working on my own design just for the challenge of the process. There are some other motivations but I doubt anyone here would be interested in them.

    Your design won't be wallet-friendly, but it will be much lighter and more powerful by abandoning reciprocating-piston-based power.
    Most aircraft that are even remotely useful tend to not be wallet friendly. Once you break it down to cost per passenger mile, my design conceivably would be friendlier on the wallet (excluding maintenance costs) than some designs.

  3. #23
    You might wait for a 500hp V8 Diesel that has already test run in 2010 www.raikhlin.com
    Seems to be rather quiet at present.

  4. #24

    New Engine design in australia look at revetec.com.au early in development but looks

    Quote Originally Posted by steveinindy View Post
    So I have been looking around at ways of reducing the cost (both initial and operating) and weight of my design. I'm trying to stay away from AvGas powered engines for a couple of reasons (predominately pending demise of 100LL) and have had a hell of a time finding an option other than a turboprop, a diesel or one of those odd modifications of a car engine (which I am staying away from because I don't see unleaded gasoline as a viable option either). The maintenance costs on turboprops are too high to make that an ideal choice which leaves me largely with diesels as a possible option.

    However, I am not having much luck finding one that is over 200-300 hp. Deltahawk isn't offering anything, it appears Lycoming has given up on their development of a diesel powerplant and I'm not finding much else that seems useful. Anyone else aware of anything else out there (or in the very final stages of development) that might be an option?
    william cox.Revetec Australia are a company developing a new design which may be useful. Go to the website.

  5. #25

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    [QUOTE=detlili;8832]DeltaHawk are doing a big mistake. Instead of selling an uncertified engine first and get a lots of feedback from Experimental builder they try to certify the engine with the result of loosing years and years and from the expected price range of about $30,000 they are now in high 50th.Check this link to DeltaHawk: http://www.deltahawkengines.com/sugges00.shtmlLooks like they are getting in bed with Velocity.........But the price escalates.........
    NoBama

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