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Old May 12th 05, 06:40 PM
Andrew P.
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Wandering aimlessly about the Web, I heard Max Kallio say:

Proposal for a future (helicopter) engine...

2-stroke diesel
2500cc two cylinder 45 degree V (120-150hp)
air cooled (cowlings)
common rail direct injection (high pressure)
supercharged (Whipple fixed displacement max. 25 psi twin-screw)
piston ported (or with LIM-type intake valve)

Links...

www.limtechnology.com
www.zoche.de

-- SNIP --

I've been watching Zoche for 6-7 years, and as far as I know, they still
haven't released anything to the market that you can buy. The material
on their web site hasn't been updated in three or four years. Their
aerodiesel designs look good -- excellent power/weight, fuel economy
significantly better than gasoline, use of more widely available jet
fuel or kerosene, projected high reliability and life due to much lower
component count than 4-stroke engines, compressed air starter eliminates
need for large, heavy cranking battery, etc., etc.

Unfortunately, Michael Zoche got wrapped around an axle in typical
German mindset by trying to get JAR-E and FAR-33 certification before
marketing the engines. That's kept them entangled in bureaucratic red
tape for years, particularly in Germany. (The bureaucracy in Germany is
phenomenal. It's little wonder Germans have been relatively
non-innovative in the world market, compared to Japan and the U.S.) It
would have been better to get some of their smaller, lighter engines
into the hands of homebuilders and experimenters on a non-certified,
use-at-your-own-risk basis to gain operational experience, while they
continued to work on JAR and FAA certification. After all, look at the
junk ultralight builders have been strapping to their machines for
years. A Zoche pre-production engine would probably be as good or better.

--
Andrew P.

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