maybe I'm naive but with the extraordinary leaps in engine technology and reliability these days from car engines perhaps it is about time aviation engines take a step back and re-analyze where they are coming from some of these new engines with direct injection are getting 12:1 compression ratio's on regular grade fuel with the torque and power curves much flatter then they ever used to be so with a little tuning an engine running at 3000rpm would not be very hard to do. The problem with most aviation engines is they are stuck being air cooled and as a result will always be more inherently unreliable and produce much less hp / cu since they have to allow much greater tolerances in the engine to expand and contract with limited and uneven cooling air gives, while a liquid cooled engine can be made to much tighter specs as it is always going to be operating within a given temperature range. An example could be the new "ecoboost" as for calls it they escape has a 1.6L ecoboost producing 173hp and a less usable 5700rpm but 184lb/ft at only 2500rpm, that is a 97 cu in engine we are talking about, the 2.0L ecoboost is an even more impressive 231hp @ 5500rpm but a very health 270lb/ft at 3000rpm. By the way that 2L engine is only 122 cubes. I realize that weight of car engines could be an issue but the radiator and associated parts can be shrunk substantially as a result of not sitting in stop and go traffic like a car, as well when you can take an engine that is a 1/4 to a 1/3 of the displacement of an aviation engine of similar power the weight will become a lot closer. Now take into consideration that these new technology car engines will probable only burn 1/3 - 1/2 the gas (just estimating) of its aviation counterpart you no longer need to carry as much gas further increasing the weight differential. Lets face it general aviation is dying and dying quickly it desperately needs and injection of new life and the only way I see that happening is if they car modify these new tech car engines for airplanes, much more fuel effecient and at half the cost of a traditional aviation engine this is the new way to go.
end of rant |
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