On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 17:50:51 -0800, Dan Thomas wrote:

Thielert already has a 2400 hour TBR in hand for this engine. And they
have an STC for the 172 N and P series airplanes, as well as some Piper
models, but last I heard they were having some troubles with a shortage of
vendor-supplied items. They didn't specify what those items were, but I
imagine it has to do with engine mounts or radiators or something. I hope
it isn't the engine manufacturer being stubborn.
The 1.7 is a 135 HP engine. It produces more static thrust than
the original Lycoming it replaces, although that's through a CS prop. The
HP is rated at 2300 RPM, which is why the airplane's performance isn't
affected by the lower HP. At the 2700 RPM of the Lyc so much power is lost
to the much higher propeller drag that the 135 at 2300 is able to match
it.
It burns a bit over 4 GPH of diesel or Jet A, and fuel savings
over the life of the engine we have figured at about $40,000 CDN. The
engine's cost is about the same as a factory reman Lyc O-320, but I
imagine the initial installation would add considerably to that.
Go to http://www.centurion-engines.com/

Dan

It is interesting that they think static thrust is so important. Static
thrust is only important if you are using the aircraft to pull out stumps.
The thrust changes as soon as you start rolling ahead and then the
comparisons of static thrust become meaningless.

There is an FAQ on their web site "In a PA28 or a C172 with a CENTURION
1.7, can I expect the same or better take off, climb and cruise?" They
admit that the climb performance with the Centurion engine will be lower
(due to the lower power output - even with the constant speed prop). And
they carefully don't mention cruise speed at all. I wonder why?

--
Kevin Horton RV-8 (finishing kit)
Ottawa, Canada
http://go.phpwebhosting.com/~khorton/rv8/
e-mail: khorton02(_at_)rogers(_dot_)com