Plane with Diesel Engines!
 

I wish I had known about this before I went to the air show last week! I was there and could have seen this! An aircraft with dual diesels!

http://www.airventure.org/2005/frijuly29/diamond_aircraft.html

The Smart diesel 3 cyl TDI was getting certified air worthy certify too. Don't know what stage is it now?

Powerplant
Two Lycoming IO-360 or
Thielert Centurion 1.7, 135hp turbocharged diesel engines
(JET fuel)
electronic fuel management
automatic prop control
auto-feather
low engine noise emission
low noise
MT, 3 blade constant speed propellers

Wonder if it would fit in the W123;)? I suspect that it has an intercooler. Can you imagine what kind of charge you could run where the air is 32dF:)? I imagine they are detuned to beat the band to insure reliability. It would be interesting to see a cutaway of the engine to see where all aluminum was used.

Fuel mileage during certifications:

The whole story here:

diesel engined air plane

I wonder if it would fit in a 126!! :D :D :D

Maybe looking for a used engine in a few yrs, if to buy these new aviation engines, they'll be very expensive.
Being on the air, they take no chance at all. Every time oil change they need to check whats in there( any metal coming off), make sure is still within tolerance.

How many of us check the oil residue?

But after a while they'll toss out the engine because no longer safe in air, but still lots of life for us land lubbers.

A 2nd hand plane costs almost as much as a new plane, because the maint going in, and rebuild after so many hrs.

Remember our man Jay Leno has a couple of used Bell Jet ranger helicopter engines bike and truck.
They were beyond the service life to be air worthy. But make super fast bikes and trucks engines.

Aye! I bet a bunch of us do... :)

I too was at Oshkosh, and noted a particular plane touted as "Compression Ignition" that runs on Jet-A. Down in the fine print it said "diesel cycle". :cool:

But the plane and engine that I saw wasn't this plane - this was a different one. Single engine. I don't have any pictures, but take heart that there is increasing interest in diesel engines among the experimental aircraft crowd...

- Patrick

I think I read somewhere as plane engines has dual spark plugs, for safety back up reason. So how will that work for DSl plane engine, or install twin IP , Injectors. Is only money thats all. They had to be injecting all the time, both running at 50% capacity, should one fails the 2nd will go full tilt.

There was one co. manufacture ceramic plugs that doesn't require electricity once its running. Is almost like a glow plug. Was getting FAA approved too. Reason a distributor, wirings, spark plugs can fail, that increase the risk factor too.

If you entered from the main enterance, the twin diesel was on your left as you walked into the vendor area. I was interested in their canopy seal design for my own airplane.