On Sat, 1 Jan 2005 23:39:49 +0000 (UTC), Martin Spott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> They also have a version with two Lycoming IO-360 for the North > American market, Is that out yet? I'd heard that they were working on one because there's no repair network for the Thielert diesel engine in North America; I'd also heard that they were working on setting up such a network. The Thielert engine certainly accounts for a lot of the savings -- I'd expect two IO-360's to burn at least 20 gallons per hour, vs 10 gph for the Thielert engines, but they'd probably also increase the useful load by a couple of hundred pounds and make the plane fly faster, to offset that. The Rotax engine originally used in Diamond's Katanas was an unmitigated disaster (we had yet another Katana forced landing at the Ottawa airport a month or two ago), and left the North American market very nervous about any non-Lycoming/Continental engines -- Diamond finally started making the Katana available with a Continental engine (I think). The Thielert diesel engine has nothing to do with the Rotax, of course, but Diamand will have to do a lot of work to win back North American buyers' trust about non-standard engines. We fly planes hard and far in North America, often with multiple 3-5 hour legs through some pretty extreme climates (from about 45 degC in the American southwest to -40 degC in northern Alaska and the Canadian arctic), so engines that perform nicely for occasional recreational use for local flights in a moderate Europe climate don't always cut it over here after a few years of use. I'm hoping that the Thielert will make it, because the fuel savings sound fantastic. All the best, David -- http://www.megginson.com/ _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@flightgear.org http://mail.flightgear.org/mailman/listinfo/flightgear-devel 2f585eeea02e2c79d7b1d8c4963bae2d
