Diesel Aircraft Engines - Spend a few minutes comparing the performance of a gasoline engine to a diesel engine—also known as a spark-ignition engine or jet engine—and many of the diesel's advantages immediately disappear. Diesel engines don't have spark plugs and don't need magnetos. The Jet-A's combustion piston engines are also water-cooled, meaning they are less prone to overheating on the ground or during takeoff. Better efficiency translates to 30 to 35 percent better fuel economy with a jet-powered power plant. Avgas availability isn't an issue here in the US, but we live in a fuel bubble because 100LL isn't easy to come by in other parts of the world. A

Five years ago, Stephen Pope summed up the A-Power debate: "They're more efficient, run on cheaper fuel, and the EPA isn't threatening to rule them out of existence. Because they cost so much, are jet fuel diesels ready to take over? Does a Jet-A piston engine really make good sense?" It depends on who you ask. It depends on the specific problems a Jet-A power plant has to solve. : savings in fuel costs, increased range, lower maintenance costs, or some combination of the three. What we can say for sure is that there are more options for installing piston jet engines in Avgas aircraft today than there were five years ago. are more realistic. This move is definitely not an improvement... at least not yet.

Diesel Aircraft Engines

Diesel Aircraft Engines

Piper Aircraft delivered the first Archer DX in June 2015. After extensive testing and evaluation, the company selected Continental's CD-155 powerplant. Switching from the original 180 hp Lycoming gasoline engine to the Continental diesel brought several changes, many of which were common when abandoning gas engines.

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The power quadrant in the cockpit consists of a power lever directly connected to one or two channels of full digital engine control (FADEC) that actually adjusts engine power. Fadec also maintains a constant speed screw, with power now measured in percentages rather than revolutions per minute. Continental's CD engines also include a gearbox and coolant temperature gauge.

A shortage of up-and-coming pilots has fueled interest in jet-powered trainers of late, Piper says. Piper says that since a cold diesel is more efficient than an avgas engine, the range on the DX goes from 522nm to 848nm on the avgas Archer. The DX cruises at 114 kts per hour and uses less than six gallons of Jet-A per hour. Piper's results with the DX were so positive that in April the company introduced a new version of the popular Piper Seminole Trainer, equipped with a pair of Continental CD-170s. Piper claims that orders for 15 Archer DX aircraft will be delivered this year, with a large number of fleet orders likely to be transferred from Avgas to jet powerplants before delivery.

Diamond Aircraft has for years sold the DA62 powered by two Astro engine AE330 turbos, as well as the DA42 and DA40 NG diesel twins powered by a single Astro. When Cessna Aircraft Division Textron announced a jet version of the 172 in June 2017 with an in-house Continental CD-155 Jet-A engine, Textron quietly withdrew from that market to devote resources to more important projects. , as it did for the 182 diesel, it never made a dent in the market. Continental still maintains Jet-A conversions of Skyhawks for interested customers.

Before leaving the interior conversion, Textron said Jet-A power would add about $60,000 to the price of the new 172, while Piper said the Archer DX would cost about $58,000 more than the Avgas model.

Zoche Diesel Aircraft Engine Design

Jet-A engines can sound pretty good, even to some GA pilots who are known to fly half an hour from home in search of cheap fuel. This raises the suspicion of many American pilots that the relatively cheap 100LL is available in the United States.

American pilots need only look across the Atlantic, where European aviators learned their lessons about aviation. In that area, diesel engines are a normal part of flight life in GA aircraft, as Avgas are hard to find. More importantly, the price of Avgas in Europe is three times higher per gallon than the same fuel in the United States.

"There are areas of the world where you can't find a 100LL at any price," says Emmanuel Davidson, Continental Motors Group's director of global marketing and communications. Citing the example of Greece, a member of the European Union, he says: "This country has maybe 60 to 70 airports. In 10 of them you can find a 100LL. You're lucky." However, Jet-A is available everywhere in Europe and in a part of Avgas. Davidson says Continental is the company that launched its first built-in jet engine. 1906, it has shipped more than 5,750 jet engines worldwide since 2002, mostly outside the United States, and the market remains strong, he says. A diesel engine "makes sense for some North American operators," he says.

Diesel Aircraft Engines

Candidates for A-jets here in the United States would probably be individual owners with engines that do not require overhaul, but due to the economics of engine upgrades costing around $70,000. with a park. 32 training aircraft at North Perry Airport (KHWO) in Hollywood, Florida, and Miami-Opa Lock (KOPF), but Wayman Lui of Wayman Aviation has checked the numbers and says it's already starting to exit the avgas market. Feeling that his shop was recently awarded a Part 145 repair station certificate, Wayman Aviation flies its Part 141 aircraft for about 2,000 hours each month, keeping 34 flight instructors busy. To dip its toe into the Jet-A market, the company recently converted a pair of Cessna 172s with diesels.

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When asked about returning the Jet-A engine, Lui explains that the capital cost of replacing the engine is not his first concern.

"At OPF, our FBO has only one gas truck. We're wasting a lot of time waiting for that truck to refuel our aircraft," he says, "when nobody's making money. That's a major advantage of flying several hours across the country every week. Because jet engines are air-cooled. Rather than air." "Mostly, pilots don't have to worry about the aircraft's climb speed, which completely eliminates the chance for a new pilot to cook a cylinder under the scorching Florida sun. We're burning valves because pilots don't understand how to throttle properly," he said, adding that single-lever control is up to the pilots. Also makes learning about engine operation easier.

Lui sees other advantages to the improved 172, such as spending less time in the shop than a 100LL refueled aircraft. “With no lead in the fuel, we no longer need 50-hour inspections to clean spark plugs or change oil. Now we're checking in at the 100-hour mark. This is a significant savings, as Wayman Aviation currently uses 55 gallons per barrel of oil for the fleet. The company expects its mechanics to be ready soon to begin complete engine conversions in-house.

Despite Louie's enthusiasm, the cost of purchasing a GA aircraft with a diesel engine is no small obstacle for many fleet operators. Jeff Brown, president of Leading Edge Aircraft Co. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, says he thinks leasing offers another option. While his company is primarily focused on Canada, he said, "it's time to reach out to U.S. operators." Brown is currently in talks with Wayman Aviation about a possible purchase of the planes.

Continental Cd 230

"Until now, a flight school has bought an old Cessna 172 for $50,000 or spent $250,000 to completely rebuild an old plane with a new gas engine, avionics and interior," Brown says. "We offer a third option. For maybe $15,000 less, the customer gets a brand new A-jet like the 172, upgraded with modern avionics and a new interior. The operator guarantees us 50 hours per month at a dry rental rate of about $75 per hour. These planes come with a full warranty and, of course, This new aircraft burns four and a half to five gallons of Jet-A per hour and close to eight on the Avgas engine.

Five years ago, consumers were concerned about diesel reliability whether converting or a complete engine replacement. Those concerns haven't entirely gone away, but as more engine companies point to a way forward, one with little or no turbulence, businesses are preparing power plants for what they see as the next Jet-A revolution.

Continental Motors is one of the largest suppliers of Jet-A engine conversions and replacement engines.

Diesel Aircraft Engines

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