Diesel Engines

[Rick Polley]

Hi all, I am a new member private pilot in Australia and a mad Maule fan.
For a long time we kept hearing about diesel aircraft engines and for years now all has gone quiet. Nothing at all. I was particulately looking forward to seeing the M9 with a diesel.
Well what is the go? Can someone fill me in on where we are at with the Diesel M9?
The secrecy is getting beyond a joke.
Thank you,
Rick.

[Rezrider]

I cant comment on the Maule diesel plan but the manufacturers have struggled the last 10-15 years trying to bring a cost effective and reliable design to market. How many companies have tried only to go bankrupt? I've lost count. The Diamond twin star is the only one left flying if I can remember correctly.

[DeltaRomeo]

In case you missed this thread:

http://maulepilots.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3283

There has been no news other than Maule still has the tail number registered. I think a diesel would be an excellent option but they have been so pricey I think the market balks at them. The one issue I think that could be a deal breaker for some is that if you loose the turbo, it will flame out at a critical altitude.

[Rick Polley]

Thank you very much to those who replied.
So you are saying that it is down to the costing of the Diesel motor. I was not aware of that. Seeing as how the aircraft diesel is fairly new I thought they might be having some reliability problems that they wanted to keep quiet.
If anyone else has an input I would love to hear it.
Thanks again,
Rick.

[DeltaRomeo]

The irony is that with the EPA trying to eliminate TEL from avgas and the long arduous road that has gone down (with 30 years of testing...and counting), the lack of avgas in some markets, it would seem that a Jet A diesel plant would be a hit. I admit I like the concept but the FAA world of testing requirements has made bringing new innovation to the existing fleet all but impossible. In the 40's we designed clean sheet aircraft that ran on 87 octane mogas (because that is what they had at the time), brought them to the battle field, used them with incredible success, are still operating some of them today, all in less than ONE YEAR. The regulations we have in place today makes that impossible; look at the F35 project... (17 years and counting)

[51598Rob]

I have been watching the Deltahawk Diesel for years... Nothing yet, but looks like the may be getting closer since new funding.