[continued from my previous post]
Then there are the issues of unleaded fuels and the fact that we can run on unleaded 91 pump gas at 11:1 compression ratio and make way more horsepower than an aircooled engine without the risk of detonation! This is much of what you are missing due to the lack of reporting on water cooled aircraft engine technology by all of the aviations publications. I could go on but without a good interview to better understand the 'bigger' picture of GA engine development and technology not to mention the trials and tribulations of bringing something like this to market all of you can never begin to understand or appreciate the potential.
Without optimism and forward thinking from the aviation press there will be little to no incentive or ability to fund innovation for the GA market. I believed that I could improve GA by updating the archaic power plant that powers all GA piston aircraft without throwing the baby out with the bath water and I put my money where my mouth is and optimistically pushed forward into near zero visibility only to be confronted with one ill-informed nay-sayer after the next all bent on defeat or at least no faith that a little guy (like myself) instead of some faceless giant corp could actually make a something better you know, kind of like those two Wright brothers and their associate, the historically almost non-existent Charlie Taylor without whom they would not have achieved powered flight when they did with a
water cooled engine!
Beyond the occasional mention of the small Rotax engines and perhaps electronic engine management in the aviation press little is publishd in regards to the sad state of affairs in piston engine development that stopped dead in its tracks 70+ years ago! While it has been recently reported in the July 2013 issue of AOPA magazine that 'Rotax has long considered building a higher-horsepower engine for the GA fleet, and even certified a V-6?but never put it into production'. Well, while Rotax is still considering
Liquid Cooled Air Power has already accomplished! Do you think that anyone from AOPA even tried to contact Liquid Cooled Air Power for some input? Nope! So its no surpise that all you get is - a hope and prayer that something better will come along someday even though something better
already exists and has been flying since 2001! Other than those that are trying to offer electronic fuel and ignition systems there are really no alternative engine options besides copy cat derivatives of a 70 year old engine that was primarily designed to meet the military need for forward spot aircraft.
Besides, one article will not make any difference. Many are necessary to help dispel the many myths and misinformation that has been so painfully obvous in this forum's posts. There were and have been innumerable articles about Loran when it fist appeared, then GPS, then glass panels, etc. Is it any wonder that everyone knows the benefits of that technology in relation to aviation and then started to demand it. The aviation press has published little to nothing on the subject of water cooled GA piston engines and the few articles that have been written are filled with myths and misconceptions with little to no research by the reporter.
Unless the aviation press makes a concerted effort to research and report in an unbiased manner about better engine technology and better possibilities and also educates their readers about the bigger picture of engine development, deployment and most importantly field support there is little chance of achieving any real innovation in GA piston engine propulsion. The 'build it and they will come' mentality of the tech world doesn't exist in the GA world and never will. Manufacturers want a stable status quo to keep their expenses low and margins high.
The pilot community doesn't know that any other possibilities even exist so they don't think to ask for it. There are no billionaires to fund development - actually there aren't even any millionaires to fund development and that is why most American GA aircraft companies are foreign (mainly Chinese) owned. Without inspiration and support from publications such as AOPA and others, there will be no inspiration on the part of aircraft buyers to want something better. Instead we will continue to have the situation of the last 30+ years - a stagnant GA market with cottage industry production numbers and a seriously declining pilot and aircraft owner population.
The main reason we have have air cooled piston engines is because they were originally developed for the military (like most everything we have today in aviation) to use in light forward spot aircraft that had to survive being shot at and could be easily repaired in the field. That is the legacy of the engines that we civilians fly behind. Today, other than the possibility of being shot out of the sky by an F16 or drone for trespassing near the border or some TFR there is absolutely no requirement or benefit for an air cooled engine.
Back in 1997 when I conceived this program, I was dumb (I like to think blissfully ignorant) enough to think that if I built it - you guys would come. I can assure you first hand after almost 16 years and spending more than $1M of my own money that will not happen in GA and sadly the many postings in this forum containing so many negative preconceived and outdated notions doesn't help change my view. Given that every car on the road is water cooled I am mystified at the complete disconnect there is when considering water cooled engines for GA.
I don't know where some of you got your information but I can state with certainty that nobody has ever successfully (as in an airworthy, flying version) converted an air cooled aircraft engine to water cooling - except us! The modifications and instrumentation were innovative enough to be awarded not one but 2 patents which had to hold up against the original Daimler Benz water cooled internal combustion engine patent! You are mostly holding onto tired old myths mainly connected to the abysmal failure that was the Continental Voyager 550 engine which was not a conversion and I will be glad to enlighten you as to the many things that were wrong with that engine. Continental did GA a great disservice by proving that they had no idea how to design and build a water cooled engine and also that with enough money and connections you can get even the most abysmal piece of **** certified.
To be clear - a new engine mod like ours isn't going to become widely available unless there is a demand and unless at least one OEM jumps on board. The experimental route is just too risky. One incident that may have nothing to do with the modification would kill all of the time money and effort of my entire team and I am not willing to gamble on the skills of an amateur builder for the commercial success of this program.
If you want to see change and innovation don't expect it from any incumbent manufacturer, including VANS aircraft - they have every incentive to
prevent change and have demonstrated a remarkable ability to do so for the last 70+ years. I just cannot convey the value and depth of what we have done with our work in this posting. This story goes well beyond that of just developing a water cooled engine. Without some cheer leading from the press and demand from the GA consumers I can assure you that there will be little to nothing of significant innovation in engine technology likely to happen in GA.
I highly recommend that you really go through the
Liquid Cooled Air Power website as it has a huge amount of information.