AnthonyQ wrote:
Slightly off topic but arguably relevant …
Fun fact. Oil has traditionally been worth more than fish, but a couple of weeks ago when people started to think Norway would go bankrupt due to low oil prices:
I guess the more people we are on this planet, the more oil we will burn, but we cannot even live without food, and the supply of food is not infinite. So while oil prices have plummeted, salmon prices have skyrocketed 
A wild salmon is probable way more costly than a barrel!
Actually it’s got to the point where an empty 55 USG drum is worth more than a barrel of oil (42USG)…
The one aspect people tend to forget or downplay is that the Mercedes based Aviation diesels are by far the most modern engine on the market. They are more or less state of the art in automotive engines and frankly, running my car is a lot less problematic than running any Lycosaurus or Contigator where alons starting it under some circumstances requires knowledge and skills car drivers have long forgotten. (Choke anyone?) How lovely is it if you enter your plane, turn the key and there is the engine, without 5 times priming, power lever yoga and sacrificed goats 
Ok, Rotax engines apparently are similar but still.
I only once flew in a DA40 with the Thielert 135 (I believe) and I could not believe how easy it was to get the thing started and to run it. Like comparing the start up of a TU154 engine (who wants to know the checklist steps can try the Project Tupolev freeware, most people nver got that started) to an Airbus. From 40 steps to 3.
And flying with the kind of flows these things have also makes a 50 USG plane long range.
Clearly, it will be a while and the Thielert bancruptcy almost killed them, they are back.
Re the Mooney M10, I am really looking forward for that plane to enter the market. From what I hear it will be very competitive towards the Aquilla and the likes but with that diesel in front and 140 kt TAS (T model).
Mooney_Driver wrote:
The one aspect people tend to forget or downplay is that the Mercedes based Aviation diesels are by far the most modern engine on the market.
I love the four cylinder air cooled carburated engines in my planes – for me they are an oasis from (largely computer and software related) nonsense that I deal with in everyday life, and the annoying parasitic people who are so often associated with it. Simple and independently maintainable is good, particularly when (as in my case) my monthly Avgas bill is no more than half my hangar rent.
My everyday car has a check engine light that comes on once every couple of months, but then goes out after 15 or 20 start cycles. I had the dealer check it once but the code disappears. He’s clueless, just as clueless and deceptive in his response as every time I’ve looked for help from a car dealer with proprietary tools. My wife’s car meanwhile just got a new radiator that we think was the cause of slight coolant consumption and smell in the garage after shutdown. Time will tell. It’s not the water pump shaft seal because that was replaced earlier without effect. I really, really don’t want any of that nonsense anywhere near my planes.
I did a reverse engineering/tuning project once to make some EFI motorcycles run properly, about 1800 of them at last count. It actually paid for my planes a couple of times over, so in that instance I guess I was the parasite… Other than the money made, it was gratifying only on the basis of the people I met and was able to help. Technically it was a pain in the behind.
I love the four cylinder air cooled carburated engines in my planes
I like them too, in vintage planes. But they are hardly the solution for tomorrow’s GA. It is (really) time that new engines are developed and certified. But things go so slow, … I wonder if I will ever see that new V-6 TCM Diesel flying. The last press release on the website is from 2014, and when I sent the PR department an eMail i didn’t even get answer …
Flyer59 wrote:
But they are hardly the solution for tommorow’s GA
So what is, for the actual market, on a rational basis? For me a carbureted O-320 Lycoming is genuinely better than any other aircraft engine yet created, and I don’t see that changing soon. An injected water cooled turbo diesel wouldn’t come close. I wouldn’t even consider it, ever, on a rational basis. I can certainly imagine improved engines, but they wouldn’t be anything like an injected water cooled turbo diesel.
How about an engine ….
… that runs smoother and with muss less vibration? (I have flown a 320 for 20 years)
… with FADEC?
… electronic ignition, electronic fuel injection, catalyt converter and no mixer?
… that has a little bit more power from 5 liters of displacement than 160 hp?
… runs on car fuel or Diesel but doesn’t need high doses of lead?
… will start better when it’s cold?
I like those old fashioned engines too! But you wouldn’t be amused if they sold you a car with a 50’s VW engine today … right?
The only one of those items that would motivate me (and I’d guess most of the market) is less vibration, but not if it came at the cost of increased complexity as its already smooth enough. Electronic ignition would also be fine as long as it were self powered modules, no ship’s power required. The rest is either a response to government requirements that don’t and shouldn’t exist, or no benefit.
The car comparison doesn’t resonate with me except to say that I don’t want anything like a modern car engine in my airplane, now or ever.
It has no benefit to have no lead in fuels?
except to say that I don’t want anything like a modern car engine in my airplane, now or ever.
Sure, I understand that for your airplanes. But do you think that is a concept for modern GA of the future?
