Diesel in a homebuilt?

Not that I plan to do this but I was wondering, if one was going to
plan to install a diesel in a homebuilt, what diesel would one put
in?
Lou

Lou wrote:
Not that I plan to do this but I was wondering, if one was going to
plan to install a diesel in a homebuilt, what diesel would one put
in?
Lou
V-16 Caterpillar.

Subaru is coming out with a diesel boxer style engine. I wonder what it
weighs?

At Team Tango we have a builder who is planning to install a Delta
Hawk In a Tango 2. He has been waiting for several years and will
receive one of the first production engines when they begint to ship.
This year, again, they say this fall (and this time its for real). I
am not aware of any other diesels designed for airplanes that are
actually in play these days, but I haven't kept up on SMA, Thielert.
I have heard of financial problems at the companies. I would havae
financial problems trying to pay for one.

"Lou" wrote in message
...
Not that I plan to do this but I was wondering, if one was going to
plan to install a diesel in a homebuilt, what diesel would one put
in?
Lou

Your location is not obvious from your email. In most of the world, diesels
are available in a wide variety. In the US, where fuel consumption is only
estimated from total mass flow and emission content at the exhasut, the
choices are currently quite limited, and I am really not very happy with any
of the choices. The 2 liter VW (Passat) is an all iron engine, and about
all I know is that it is about 100 pounds heavier than its gasoline
stablemate--which is partially aluminum. There are also V6 diesels offered
in the Mercedes E320 and the Jeep Liberty, but I know even less about them.
There are probably others that I haven't seen, and Isuzu has said that they
will be back in the diesel market when the regulations have stabilized.

Personally, I really do like the diesel idea--so I plan to take a very close
look if/when any of the lighter small diesels (such as the 2 liter Mercedes)
become available here.

Of course, there are a couple of avitaion diesels (Thielert being the most
widely known) that will bolt right in--but you have to fly a lot to save the
initial cost difference back in fuel.

You can correctly surmise from the above, that I tend to think in terms of
automotive conversion as soon as the disucssion drifts away from the smaller
Lycoming and Continental engines--and thier clones.

Peter

"denny" wrote

He has been waiting for several years and will
receive one of the first production engines when they begint to ship.
This year, again, they say this fall (and this time its for real).

Want to put any money down on him getting an engine this fall, or not?

I have been hearing that they are going to be shipping this "(X)" for at
least 3 years, now.
--
Jim in NC

On May 18, 9:46 pm, Lou wrote:
Not that I plan to do this but I was wondering, if one was going to
plan to install a diesel in a homebuilt, what diesel would one put
in?
Lou

Currently there is the delta-hawk in the USA. There is an english 2-
cylinder 2 stroke of ~100hp that is based on the Jumo engines. There
are a couple of German companies, one with a couple of certified gear
reduced diesels, and there is an experimental diesel based on the
Mercedes smart engine. Also there is the new Subaru diesel, and the
latest pump-dues engine from VW. Ford also has a tight little
european TDI in the 1.5L range, but I don't know what the figures on
it are. I believe Lycoming makes a TDI for military applications,
(UAV's) )but I've not seen it offered commercially. In a nutshell, if
you aren't going delta-hawk, you will be looking overseas since
domestic diesel tech is about a decade behind the curve.

Of all of them the Jumo style engine in the UK peaks my interest, but
it's probably cost prohibitive. It has a lower parts count, and is
based on technology that has worked in aviation since the 30's. The
flip side is their aren't very many documented installations.

The automotive TDI's have direct injection systems that are computer
controlled. Essentially they reduce cylinder pressure by injecting
several pulses per stroke to simulate a gasoline combustion cycle.
This makes for a lighter engine, but you are dependent on common rail
injection, computer controls and greater sensitivity to fuel
contamination. ( I am speculating on the fuel contamination based on
injector design) Switching to mechanical injection on these engines
substantially derates them.

I am futzing around with a design based loosely on the old Packard
diesel with some modern features from other engines. At the moment is
is just a few CAD sketches, and I doubt if it will ever become a
reality. But I am convinced the Packard design coupled with turbo-
normalizing and modern casting/machining technology would provide the
lowest parts count, with the highest reliability.

"Lou" wrote ...
Not that I plan to do this but I was wondering, if one was
going to plan to install a diesel in a homebuilt, what diesel
would one put in?


What about the Light Sport Aircraft from InDus (???).
I think it's called a Thorpedo(???).
Memory says they flew one into Sun N Fun with a British made diesel
installed. They plan to market it outside the USA.
Go to ByDanJohnson dot com, he usually has the latest LSA stuff on his site.

Lou schreef:
Not that I plan to do this but I was wondering, if one was going to
plan to install a diesel in a homebuilt, what diesel would one put
in?
Lou

Elaborating on earlier replies:

I know of two English designs, both aircraft-specific, both two-stroke:
see www.wilksch.com or www.dair.co.uk
Both are very rare, I never met one except on the maker's demo-planes.
I suspect their pricing is a bit prohibitive.
Also I seem to remember a third English design but have no details.

A couple of car conversions are flying in France, see one at
http://membres.lycos.fr/dieselis (in French only, regrettably)
and another at http://gazaile2.nmr7.free.fr/
both seem to suffer from engine weight.

In Germany, Thielert markets a heavily modified Mercedes diesel,
but this aiming at bigger planes. This engine powers the DA-40
and DA-42, highly successful in Europe these days.

And I once met a guy in Belgium who adapts Subaru petrol engines
mainly for autogyro use, I hope for the day he sets to work
on the Subaru diesel.

On May 18, 9:31*pm, "Morgans" wrote:
"denny" wrote

He has been waiting for several years and will
receive one of the first production engines when they begint to ship.
This year, again, they say this fall *(and this time its for real).

Want to put any money down on him getting an engine this fall, or not?

I have been hearing that they are going to be shipping this "(X)" for at
least 3 years, now.
--
Jim in NC

They promised me mine in Augest of 2002, December at the latest. You
all know "the rest of the story".