News on the diesel engine front...

[cjensen]

From AeroNews this morning...more info to come at Oshkosh!

Powerplant Developments Limited Names Tim Archer As President & CEO

Thu, 12 Jul '07
Former Superior Air Parts Exec Will Lead Efforts To Develop New Diesel Engine

Powerplant Developments Limited (PPD) tells ANN aviation veteran Timothy T. Archer was recently named President and CEO of the new company.

"Having someone with Tim?s reputation, integrity and experience leading our team certainly puts us way ahead in many of our certification and marketing efforts," Derek Graham, Chairman and Co-Founder of PPD said. "Tim helped take his last company from just a PMA parts supplier to becoming a certified engine manufacturer. I can?t tell you what that experience will mean to our efforts to bring the new Gemini Engine to market."

Located in West Sussex, England, the company is a joint development effort by Westlake Air Services and Jade Air. Powerplant Developments is developing a new diesel piston engine for the general aviation market; the company expects to release more details about that engine, and its possible uses, at AirVenture 2007.

"I am extremely excited to have this opportunity," Archer said. "It's not often in life where you get a chance to live your dream -- and that's just what Powerplant Developments is giving me the chance to do. This new engine is going to completely change how pilots and manufacturers perceive piston engine performance, reliability and value.

"I'm going to be part of a team that is going to do something that will truly impact the way people use private airplanes for recreation and business," Archer continued. "Not just in America and Europe, but around the world."

Prior to joining Powerplant Developments, Archer was President and CEO of Superior Air Parts. While there he oversaw the company's development and FAA certification of the Vantage Engine. Before being named Superior's President and CEO, Archer had held a variety of positions in the company and was a long time TCM executive.

[rv6ejguy]

That's all great but why don't these companies keep their mouths shut until they actually have the engine designed, built and flight tested before they make predictions like this? I wish them well but we know what has happened to others before them.

[flyvans.com]

another interesting development:

http://www.diamond-air.at/news_detail+M5756fb87cd2.html

and for all native english speakers a rather rudimentary translation:
http://translate.google.com/translat...&hl=en&ie=UTF8

anyway, at the moment it looks like the future belongs to jet-a1...

regards,
bernie

[Chewie65]

Didn't Thielert buy or aquire Superior or enter into some sort of partnership? I read that somewhere last week.....

[rv6ejguy]

As far as I know, Thielert started out machining parts for Superior and then bought them last year. Me thinks this has something to do with world (or US) domination of the piston market through an established US supplier.

[Dave_Boxall]

How about this for some interesting Diesel Aircraft Engine news...

from the dieselair newsletter 01 July

Diesel guru Mark Wilksch joins Continental

After a split with the UK company that continues to develop the WAM-120 diesel aero engine, and a brief sojourn in his native Australia, designer Mark Wilksch has reappeared on the general aviation scene with his appointment as director of new engine development at Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM). Although it is associated with 'traditional' aero engines, TCM was working on its own aircraft diesel engine some years ago. It's easy to speculate that Wilksch, whose WAM-120 was very much a 'clean sheet of paper' design, may have been brought in to set some kind of diesel programme back in motion at the US giant, which is based in Mobile, Alabama. (Flyer.co.uk, 5/31/07)
DieselAir comment: We can assume that Continental is initiating a new diesel design and have no doubt that Mark Wilksch can help them. It will be a long term project. Meanwhile it confirms the coming of the aero diesel age.