"Dude" wrote in message
...

Much to our modern technology chagrin, the designers of these engines
got a lot of things right. They work pretty damn well.


I give them their proper and due respect. I thank them. Now, where is
the
next generation? Why are a bunch of people not content to travel on the
ground content to see no progress in engine technology?


Because the one thing none of these designs are promising yet is the only
one that really matters to most of us: cost.

The diesels make sense in Europe where 100LL costs more than grand cru
Burgundy but to me they look like a gamble wired in to my bank account. This
is subject to change as they prove themselves.

As for the comparison to auto engines, I used to think it made the Lycosaurs
look bad, but if you look at the experimental crowd, they've been playing
with auto conversions for years and it's hard to say what it's gotten them
other than something to tinker with endlessly while they're not flying. The
majority of experimentals that are built for the sake of flying are built
with the same 1940s engines the rest of us use. Plenty of these "amateur
experimentals" are built by people who know as much about engines as any
professional, though they do work with far smaller budgets.

About the only serious problem I see with current technology is the
dependence on 100LL, which is going to disappear long before most of us do.
The rest is just pet peeves.

-cwk.