Does anyone have any info on this Lycoming diesel? I have heard about it, but seen no pictures or specs or anything.
Really interesting. I suppose avgas was cheap back then…
Weight was a significant problem with the VM engine. Note in the 1998 AOPA article that Lycoming “will be sending it back to Italy for a diet” (after they purchased the design from Detroit Diesel, some years after VM publicized the prototype. Detroit owned VM before current owner Fiat)
Surely losing some weight is not rocket science. Use more aluminium and especially titanium. Not cheap but in the context of an aero engine retailing for $70k (OEM cost say $50k) six titanium conrods etc are peanuts.
Uncle Sam has often demonstrated having deep pockets.
I like this one from the first link:
When certified in late 1999, Socata believes that the new engines will cost about the same as existing avgas-burning powerplants. However, operating costs are expected to be 30 to 40 percent lower than those for traditional engines, because of a 3,000-hour TBO, lower maintenance costs, and lower fuel burn, and also because jet fuel costs less than avgas, particularly in Europe. Indeed, even if it weren’t for the lower operating costs, the new engine would be welcomed to the GA market, thanks to its ability to use jet fuel rather than the endangered avgas.
An interesting research paper on a proposal for a new two-stroke diesel with rotary inlet valves can be found here. A bit left field perhaps but interesting nontheless.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610214000800
Hit the pdf on the page to download the full fesearch paper.
We run the C182 SMA (with six seats).
Real world figures (flew her up from Cape Town last month):
140kts at 40L/hour (that’s about 30 quid).
Longest leg we did was 920nm from South Africa to Angola without stopping in Namibia – took 7.5 hours (we had a headwind throughout, grrr) and we had an hour’s fuel remaining on arrival.
In ‘range’ mode you have about 10 hours and over 1100nm range…
Indeed, the whole fuel thing creates it’s own complication – as in normal flying you rarely refuel! Example: Charleroi-Spa-Charleroi-Manston-Popham-Manston-Seppe (NL)-Charleroi – no fuel taken apart from at beginning and end!
So, I’m converted.
Fly safe, Sam.
