Why havent they ever tried producing diesel engins for airplanes ?

Question

This question goes out to all the avaition guys and airplane people. You get diesel powered cars and trains and gas powered cars and planes. Has anyone ever thought of developing a airplane with a turbo-diesel powered prop engine ? Whats it gonna sound like and will it be just as powerfull as a turbo-diesel-intercooled powered car ? Couldit be a 4-cylinder, V6, V8 or even a V12 TDI airplane ? What would the fuel consumption be like ? Anyone in the avieation industry that could answer this question for me, please do so !

Answer 1

They do.
The Diamond star Twin is capable of burning diesel fuel or jeta fuel.

http://www.diamondair.com/aircraft/da42_private/index.html

Answer 2

It's been done, and done a lot of times over the years. The first one I remember reading about was a plane called "Old Glory," in the 1920's. It was one of the planes that tried to cross the Atlantic before Lindbergh and was lost at sea.

As someone said above, there is actually a plane on the market that uses diesels--they usually burn jet fuel, since that is easier to come by at airports than diesel fuel, and a diesel can be set up to run on jet fuel (a standard piston engine can't).

There are also a few diesel engines being sold to experimental aircraft builders nowadays.

The reason it took so long for them to become common was mostly weight. For most of their histories, Diesel engines were bulkier and heavier for the same horsepower. They made up for it in reliability, which is why they are used in ships and heavy equipment. But weight is VERY important on airplanes. We're just getting to where we can build a good diesel that light.

Answer 3

Diamond DA42 TwinStar has 2 diesel engines. Thielert has several size diesels for aviation use that have been STC'd for several aircraft. These however are not the first diesels.
The Packard Motor Car Company built 3. Here is the description from Aerofiles.com.:
"DR-980 1928 (ATC 43) - 225hp@1950rpm 980ci 9RA diesel. Herman Dohner, Lionel Woolson. POP: c.100. First diesel to fly. Used to set unrefuelled endurance record of 84h:32m on 5/28/31, which was not broken until the Rutan-Yeager Voyager global flight in 1986."
"DR-1340 1932 - 550hp@2200rpm 1340ci 9RA diesel; dry wt: 1050#. Two-cycle. POP: 2."
"DR-1655 1932 - 550hp@2100rpm 1655ci 9RA diesel; dry wt: 1150#. POP: 1 for testing."
The DR980 was the most produced about 100 being made. The others only 2 1340s and one 1655.
These were radial engines.
The nearest I could find in gasoline engines is th Pratt & Whitney R985 450 hp @ 2300 rpm. It weighs only 668 pounds.
Read this article by Peter Garrison from Oct 2004 Flying Magazine.
http://www.flyingmag.com/article.asp?section_id=12&article_id=501

Answer 4

Oh damn I think that after 70 years in the industry the experts didn't have this idea. Please let the builders in..... Weight is a big factor. Aero engines have amazing fail proof's. Dual spark plugs dual magnetos separate set of wires. Secondly Mogas such as diesel is more likely to vaporize and create vapor lock in the fuel lines of an aircraft. Avgas has many more properties. Turbo powered already exist. Aviation was the FIRST place turbo chargers and super chargers were used. Now why not V6? Not that popular in aviation. Horozintaly opposed cylinders are very common for GA planes. Less space.

Answer 5

Some diesel airplanes exist although they are not diffused.
During WW2 german made some Diesel airplanes
One was a long range marittime patrol, and it was able to reach New York and come back. It flied a mission and arrived enough close to see lights of New York but then they did not bombed to avoid strong reactions and came back.
There are also some small prop planes powered by diesel.

Answer 6

Packard introduced a diesel engine for aircraft back in the 1930's. The Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field, (KDAL,) has one on display.

Do some Google therapy, and check out the duly noted Thielert diesel engines and the Katana Twin Star.

Germany had some aircraft that used compression ignition, which would be considered diesels, but from the few tales I've heard, they sounded like they had rocks in them.

The limiting factor to horsepower is going to be the weight of the engine. Diesels are much heavier than gasoline engines, to the point that NTB and Discount Tire all referred me to a heavy truck tire shop for new tires and shocks after discovering that my company issued F350 had a Powerstroke in it.

Modern aviation diesels burn Jet A, (which brings to mind a wonderful opportunity for misfueling,) and I won't be surprised if they offer a greater economy than standard engines of simillar output.

The killer may be that Jet A weighs 6.79 pounds per gallon, while 100LL weighs 6 pounds per gallon. At the single gallon level, that isn't much, but when you're talking about a Cessna 421 carrying at least 100 gallons of fuel, Aunt Bertha may have to stop demolishing every buffett she comes across before you can take her anywhere.

Another killer could wind up being Thielert's TBR, (time before replacement,) against the TBO (time before overhaul,) for standard engines. Given the cost of engines, it's going to take a special owner who's willing to watch his timed out diesel go to a scrap pile while another pilot is watching as his old gasser is getting new cylinders.

Check out Plane&Pilot, Thielert's bound to have a website, and the Diamond DA-40's seems to do most of their marketing on the internet.

Fly the Friendly Skies!
JT

Answer 7

Yes they have and along time ago. Check out the Daimler-Benz DB600 series used in the Heinkel 111 and others during WWII

More recently they have started to make a comeback. The Austrian built Diamond DA.40 and DA.42 both have diesel engines. both are selling well.

Ian M

Answer 8

All piston driven air craft are powered by a form of jet fuel or another. Jet fuel is very similar in the fact that it requires a high heat source. Many pre-jet engine aircraft had super chargers and turbo chargers. How ever with the improved technology of today the possibilities are endless. However nothing other then a true ram jet engine will be better then regular jet engines.

Answer 9

Cessna will begin selling aircraft with diesel engines.

Diamond is already selling a small aircraft with diesel power.

Answer 10

Airplanes are rather sensitive to weight. Diesel engines are usually a few hundred pounds heavier than a comperable gas engine. If equipped witha diesel a plane will have lowered weight capacities and may become very nose heavy and thus very dangerous.