Finally: The right-sized Thielert

On 17-May-2006, "soxinbox" wrote:

I wonder whether its constant speed or constant pitch. I also wonder how
much useful load it eats up.


I believe that the Thielert engines tend to be a bit lighter than gasoline
engines of comparable power. Useful load probably won't change that much
but PAYLOAD should get a nice bump up because the diesel's lower SFC means
less fuel will be needed for a given mission, even taking into account that
diesel fuel (which is essentially the same as Jet-A) is slightly heavier (in
lbs/gal) than gasoline.

I strongly suspect that any modern piston aircraft engine over 200 hp will
be configurable for a constant speed prop. However, FADEC might take
control of RPMs out of the pilot's hands


-Elliott Drucker

wrote:
Useful load probably won't change that much
but PAYLOAD should get a nice bump up because the diesel's lower SFC means
less fuel will be needed for a given mission, even taking into account that
diesel fuel (which is essentially the same as Jet-A) is slightly heavier (in
lbs/gal) than gasoline.

Actually in this discussion, the density of the jet fuel isn't a factor
because BSFC is based on weight, not volume. Diesel engine has a lower
BSFC means it needs less weight of the fuel to produce the same amount
of power.