Diesel (again)
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Somewhere out there. . .
Diesel 172
Likewise, I would like to make contact with someone who has converted their 172 to the Diesel engine. I know that Meridian in Bournemouth have converted at least three. Their aircraft G-ECON has also done alot of demonstration flights so far. Has anyone seen it flying or taken it for a spin???
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
From: South UK
'whats the TBO'
Hi Airchart
As far as the Centurion engine is concerned ,
I found out today from the the authorised
distributor that there is no TBO allowed .
TBR at the mo is 1000 hours ,but this is
fully expected to be increased to 2400
with a 'possible' further extension to 3000.
Retro fit to a 172 is in the region of €45k .
According to the chap I spoke to there are 70
'engines' flying up till now !
As far as the Centurion engine is concerned ,
I found out today from the the authorised
distributor that there is no TBO allowed .
TBR at the mo is 1000 hours ,but this is
fully expected to be increased to 2400
with a 'possible' further extension to 3000.
Retro fit to a 172 is in the region of €45k .
According to the chap I spoke to there are 70
'engines' flying up till now !
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 13,787
Likes: 0
From: EuroGA.org
The question you've got to ask is whether you want to be a guinea-pig for any product in the GA market.
I could tell you some right horror stories, from my own experience, about how warranty issues have been handled on a brand new plane, 6-figure price tag. How certain manufacturers (none mentioned in this thread) try to weasel out of responsibility, etc.
No matter how wonderful some new engine was, I wouldn't go for it unless it came with a pretty amazing warranty. I would want 10 years or 2k hours, completely comprehensive.
Plus of course a sufficiently local service organisation. In GA, very few firms trust others to pay bills (and correctly so) so getting warranty work done locally and then recovering the cost from the dealer can be a right job.
Unfortunately this is nothing to do with diesels...
I could tell you some right horror stories, from my own experience, about how warranty issues have been handled on a brand new plane, 6-figure price tag. How certain manufacturers (none mentioned in this thread) try to weasel out of responsibility, etc.
No matter how wonderful some new engine was, I wouldn't go for it unless it came with a pretty amazing warranty. I would want 10 years or 2k hours, completely comprehensive.
Plus of course a sufficiently local service organisation. In GA, very few firms trust others to pay bills (and correctly so) so getting warranty work done locally and then recovering the cost from the dealer can be a right job.
Unfortunately this is nothing to do with diesels...
