This is gonna be interesting....
 

OK - It’s place your bets and state you guess time.

A diesel engine runs on diesel fuel.
It will also run on jet fuel.
It will also run on WVO.

A turbine engine runs on jet fuel.
It will also run on diesel fuel.

The big question is…..you guessed it….will a turbine engine run on WVO?

Jennifer’s Bell 206B has an Allison 250 C-20B turbo shaft engine that has run out most all of it’s life limits, as well as those of most of it‘s components. Fuel pump, fuel control unit, governor, etc. Everything currently operates as it should. We just flew it yesterday.
We’ll be upgrading with a whole new replacement engine. This leaves us with a good running donor engine for some experimentation. :D
We’ll also be doing some fuel cell mods/replacement, so no issues with that system either.
So - before we pull the engine and dig into the fuel system. What do you think the odds of it running on WVO are ??

Please note - I did not say “flying”. I said “running”. Running would be very cool. Actually flying would be……ok, very very cool, but……..also very very illegal. Risky… Stupid…Dangerous… Did I mention illegal?

I don't want to post what we here think until we get some thoughts from you folks.

With about zero experience with airplane engines (they sound cool while flying on a commercial jet) I say that it will start up and sputter then die. Please keep us (I at least want to know) advised to how your test goes.
--Matt

I wouldn't to try.

Clog a filter on a MB and you have to change it, 15 minutes.
Stall a jet engine at 30k feet and you die.:D

Fun experiment though, I wonder if the military ever did and research into this?

All the tanks are turbine powered too.

That's an interesting question.

If I had to make a WAG on it, I'd say that you might have some trouble getting it to light off. The WVO would need to be quite hot.........I'd be very doubtful if it would light at ambient temperatures.

However, if you did get it lit, the engine would certainly run with it. But, it won't produce anywhere near the power that the jet fuel will produce.

As you mentioned, I wouldn't try to lift a helicopter with it.:eek:

What you should really do with that Allison 250 is to figure out a way to install it in a W123. Now, if you could do that.......you've got 425 hp with about 125 lb. of weight. Of course, you'll need to tow a trailer with a fuel tank........but.......that should be no problem.:D

What are the average mpg's on a "normal" (4 passenger?) helicopter? I'd assume its pretty good based on their size and how far they seem to be able to go.....(while keeping all that weight suspended and going 100+ mph in a forward direction........man I wish I could fly one. oh well. :o)


Just wondering......:dizzy2:

Don't aircraft measure fuel burn in pounds per hour or something like that?

They burn a lot though, I'd imagin an F22 on full afterburner would suck that juice right down.:D

Exactly. There really is no "mpg" for an airplane......but.......you could certainly calculate it.

I believe the Allison 250 C20B will burn about 250 lb. per hour (about 35 gallons).......if it's at maximum power. Cruise would be somewhat less.

Makes sense, I have played enough Janes games to know a bit about fighter aircraft.

I remember on the F14, with full combat load, at 1k feet, throttles wide open. (Mig was umm had a lock, caught me off guard:rolleyes: )

The fuel guage was counting down by 100's!:eek:

You mention an aircraft with the biggest POS for engines that was probably ever build by Pratt and Whitney. More than once, a brand new F-14 would go into the drink off the coast of Long Island because both TF-30's would fail on the maiden flight.

The fuel consumption at max. power was abysmal.

2 engines.........42,000 lb. thrust........116,000 lb. per hour.:eek:

OHH! they had an article on that! its on the tdiclub, not wvo but biodiesel.

Let me find it

Well...I know its in pounds per hour, but I was just wondering what the mpg's would be......:D

Lets see....you said 250lbs per hour, and the cruising speed of that Bell 205B is about 112mph according to a source I found....35ish gallons of fuel to fly 112 miles roughly, very roughly. :D Gives a mpg's of about 3.2, for what it is, thats not even that bad!! :eek:

The site I was on said their engines produce about 813hp?! :eek: The mileage is pretty good then!

Imagine what a 600SEL going down the autobahn at 112mph (or higher) is using....probably only a little bit less! With 200 less horsepower! I wonder what a 600SEL DOES get at about....180-190mph....its probably measured in gallons per mile at that point.... :eek:

Yep I'm not F14 fan. Actualy I prefer the Mig 29. Fly's much better.

The F22 is the sweetest though, you can cruise mach 1 with the AB off.:cool: Was just flying one actualy Sunday, flying cap ran up against a pair of Mig 29's. Slamraam nailed the first one, second closed to fast Sidwinder failed to lock. Went in for the kill with the 20MM, full AB, cut power to 50% in a hard left turn, found the Mig's underside and opened up.:cool: Love the power of computer games...:D

The F22 is probably about the nicest plane out their today.:cool:

At 150mph an S600 would probably get about 5-8ish. Not sure never ran one that fast to find out.

3.2mpg is pretty good, large boats are usualy doing great if they get 1mpg. Some get much much much less.:D

Maximum weight is only 3200 lb.

What's that boat weigh??;)

Oops...
 

You've got apples and oranges here. The fuel burn of a 206, the speed and hp rating of a 205. They are two different ships. The 205 is a much bigger ship than the 206. 206 JetRanger. 205 Huey.