"R. David Steele" /OMEGA wrote in message
...
What has happened to the development of the diesel aircraft
engines? As far as I have seen, only Diamond has a production
aircraft with diesel engines (they flew one across the Atlantic,
with 5.76 gph).


The DA42 currently has a diesel engine, but Diamond is experimenting with a
Lycoming. Although they say that this would be for the European market only
and no decision has been made on a certification program, the fact is that
American pilots would probably be much more interested in this version. It
offers more power for about the same fuel burn and gas here is not much more
expensive than diesel.

I am very interested in one of these planes, especially the DA42 Observer
camera platform.

And it looks like the small jets are pushing the turbo props and
the twin piston engines. Is it a matter of time before it will
be cheaper to just buy a small jet?

Acquisition cost is one thing; operating cost is another. Turbines use much
more fuel and are far more difficult to insure. There will always be a place
for turboprops like the Caravan or Pilatus and for small piston twins.