In article
,
bildan wrote:

Take a look at this:
http://www.fairdiesel.co.uk/

A Diesel version of the cam engine! This engine was certificated (in
gasoline version) in 1946 and was tested in a Piper Arrow, IIRC, in the
1980s.

I saw one of these run at a fly-in in Southern California about that
time -- it had a 4-blade prop attached and sounded like a baby Merlin.

I do not know the results, but I have seen some engineering materials
analysis, which indicates that it pushes the stress limits of some major
components -- namely the main cam followers, which drive the pistons. I
would think that a Diesel version would place even higher stress on
these components than a gasoline version would.

The design is intriguing and would offer a very low frontal area and
incredible smoothness. I think that it would have to be water-cooled,
due to its compactness -- air-cooling would be next to impossible.

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