Thielert in trouble
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A couple of IO550s bolted to the Twinstar would go a long way to improving the look of what has to be one of the ugliest aeroplanes around - and man would that sucker motor !
BC
BC
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Thanks Zed. Is brain fade and old age a valid excuse?
Nevertheless as one who was smitten by the promises and potential of the Diamond/Thielert alliance, it is distressing to see it in what looks like a terminal spiral dive.
I hope that isn't so and a work around can be achieved. Let's face it, the future of aviation using conventional (read traditional) technology doesn't have a good outlook.
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A couple of IO550s bolted to the Twinstar would go a long way to improving the look of what has to be one of the ugliest aeroplanes around - and man would that sucker motor
As for looking ugly, I thought so too at first, but it does grow on you (or me at least) and now anything else looks positively stodgy (except for the Commanche series, that are still the best looking aircraft ever produced IMHO)
Though I suspect you were kidding re the 550's I don't think the airframe would handle it as it's capable of reaching vne with the IO360's
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Couple of IO 320's would do the job!
In fact.... a couple of Jab 3300A's would have to be better than the 300 hr gearbox deals. Certified, and able to be replaced if you wanted to at 1000 hrs for around $20K changeover.
Cant be worse than the diesels...... and a burn of around 11 US Gal/hr
J
In fact.... a couple of Jab 3300A's would have to be better than the 300 hr gearbox deals. Certified, and able to be replaced if you wanted to at 1000 hrs for around $20K changeover.
Cant be worse than the diesels...... and a burn of around 11 US Gal/hr
J
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Cant be worse than the diesels...... and a burn of around 11 US Gal/hr
Diesel's are the way to go.
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diesels obviously AREN'T the answer, otherwise all the deathstars wouldn't be getting parked up soon!
strap a couple of Allison C20B's to the front of 'em. or a couple of -25 pt6's. planetary gearbox. proven reliability. 4000hr tbo. that'd be the shizz.
strap a couple of Allison C20B's to the front of 'em. or a couple of -25 pt6's. planetary gearbox. proven reliability. 4000hr tbo. that'd be the shizz.
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diesels obviously AREN'T the answer, otherwise all the deathstars wouldn't be getting parked up soon!
strap a couple of Allison C20B's to the front of 'em. or a couple of -25 pt6's. planetary gearbox. proven reliability. 4000hr tbo. that'd be the shizz.
strap a couple of Allison C20B's to the front of 'em. or a couple of -25 pt6's. planetary gearbox. proven reliability. 4000hr tbo. that'd be the shizz.
C20B's sound good but where you gonna put the fuel? You've gone from 40 litres/hr to 200 litres/hr for the same speed
Let's not even talk about Pt-6's for fuel efficiency....
I did get the joke , however
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ZeeBee
Time to listen up here....
Yes they do from time to time...... and less than many Lyc's and TCM's at times, and I am headed for a Lyc IO540, so I am aware of that too.
Fact is the Jab does not require even in the worst case, the expense and down time of the diesels you have in a DA42.
Defending the 300 hr thing is stupid
Yes the Jab and Rotax and Lyc and TCM all burn petrol, and some burn Mogas even........ but it works far better. Kero is for Turbines!
J
PS Maybe they should get into bed with http://www.innodyn.com/aviation/innodyn_turbines.html
Aand see if they can certify this into the world of Diamonds!
Time to listen up here....
Yeah, but it's still petrol, and from what I hear, the Jab engines have a few issues as well.
Fact is the Jab does not require even in the worst case, the expense and down time of the diesels you have in a DA42.
Defending the 300 hr thing is stupid
Yes the Jab and Rotax and Lyc and TCM all burn petrol, and some burn Mogas even........ but it works far better. Kero is for Turbines!
J
PS Maybe they should get into bed with http://www.innodyn.com/aviation/innodyn_turbines.html
Aand see if they can certify this into the world of Diamonds!
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Time to listen up here....
Ok, I'll take your word that Jab engines are the bees knees, I actually do like them.
However, I do take exception to you stating that I'm defending the 300hr engine, I don't.
The problem with the DA42 is not diesels, it's THAT diesel.As I said before, and many others, the Mercedes A Class engine wasn't a terrific choice and having to poke a crappy gearbox on it only made matters worse.
As for petrol burners, if they were facing legislators for the first time, they would never be allowed to be carried in a car, let alone a flammable thing like an aircraft. Diesel (or kero, if you like) is MUCH safer.
Friends who died or were seriously burned in the C404 fire at JKT would most likely have been walking around if they had Jet A-1 on board.
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You have some very valid points, I wont deny that. Trouble is..... how many diesel choices have you available.
I think the turbine would be nice, but its thirsty below 10-15,000' and its not certified.
Jab engines are not the bees knees.....but they do beat THAT diesel as you rightly point out.
So what are the real and available choices?
IO320's seem the go to me!
J
Actually I have a brilliant idea just in...... but I am going to save it for a flying trip with Austrlia's only a/c engine (certified) manufacturer
I think the turbine would be nice, but its thirsty below 10-15,000' and its not certified.
Jab engines are not the bees knees.....but they do beat THAT diesel as you rightly point out.
So what are the real and available choices?
IO320's seem the go to me!
J
Actually I have a brilliant idea just in...... but I am going to save it for a flying trip with Austrlia's only a/c engine (certified) manufacturer
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You have some very valid points, I wont deny that. Trouble is..... how many diesel choices have you available.
I think the turbine would be nice, but its thirsty below 10-15,000' and its not certified.
Jab engines are not the bees knees.....but they do beat THAT diesel as you rightly point out.
So what are the real and available choices?
IO320's seem the go to me!
I think the turbine would be nice, but its thirsty below 10-15,000' and its not certified.
Jab engines are not the bees knees.....but they do beat THAT diesel as you rightly point out.
So what are the real and available choices?
IO320's seem the go to me!
The IO-320 would get the DA42 going again, but the plane deserves better than that (sorry to all the happy lycoming drivers out there) as after all, it's really only a reworked VW engine, and I had hoped that we 've moved on a little since WW2.
The scarcity of good (new) aircraft engines only goes to highlight the courage of Jabiru in producing their line when they did.
If it were a diesel, it would be stellar (assuming it worked).
But getting back to Thielert and Diamond, it will be interesting to see how long it takes Diamond to produce their own, and then how they get over the certification issues without incurring all of the cost penalties that brought Thielert to it's knees.
Remember, Jabiru really only had the "homebuilt" market to mess with, whereas the Diamonds were meant to access the mainstream market that exposes them to all the terrific product liability issues that pay for lawyer's holidays.
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terrific product liability issues that pay for lawyer's holidays.
I did read on AvWeb or somewhere there is another company with a Mercedes association, perhaps a subsidiary, anyway they are aworking on a certified alternative......... so may be the end of Thielert if they get up.
I wonder what happens to Superior ?? I assume they were a viable concern....... now if I were the previous owners it would be a wonderful time to buy them back off the liquidators for a lot less than you sold it for!
Sort of like doing a Kerry Packer really!
J
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Superior might not be so superior
I wonder what happens to Superior ?? I assume they were a viable concern.
They've just hit a big pothole with recalls on faulty IO-520 cylinder heads that are failing after 700 hours.
Now ordinarily, you'd say "so what, Lycoming and Continental haven't been without problems" but they're not owned by a company that has no money.
And is it possible that the problems seen aren't a result of Quality controls being abandoned to save money?
For instance, in the last days before Shugart went broke, they were shipping house bricks instead of hard drives to keep the books looking good!
Z
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I suspect you were kidding re the 550's I don't think the airframe would handle it as it's capable of reaching vne with the IO360's
BC