Deltahawkengines

[ship]

Originally Posted by David-aviator

It is a mystery as to why it is so difficult to get these engines in an airplane and flying.

it's hard to exaggerate the magnitude of bringing a COMPLETELY new engine design to life

add to that the challenge of making a diesel light enough to fly yet strong enough to hold together

the DH is a clean-sheet design from a very small company. it runs constantly. it flies often. it works very well.

like airplanes, it's the last 10% that takes 90% of the time.

Slow development? yes
Longer than planned? for sure
Honest about status? yes

a new engine in the 200hp class can EASILY cost $100 million...and that's BEFORE you start selling motors or designing installations.

Even Subaru took many years and several hundred million dollars with scores of engineers to develop the H6. Egg only has to package it....and look how hard THAT was to get it right.

It's a LOT harder than it looks. As Jan would readily agree.

[minnehahas]

I have spent about 2 hours on the phone with these folks in the last few weeks and they are totally stoked as a company.

They are in production and the rest of this year is sold out. I believe they said they are opening a new window of orders in July with delivery in the first quarter.

I also spent a lot of time with an engineer who is in the test planes. One thing to remember is that these engines are liquid cooled and can run at 100% for cruise. That is what they are designed for. With the supercharger at 11,000 feet and 100% hp the planes are going to really hit great cruise performance.

Currently they are producing the 160s and 180s. The 200s need more work so I wouldn't expect those out till late next year at the earliest. However, because of the supercharger they are out performing the Lyc 200hp at cruise with the 160 mounted on the Velocity right now. This was directly from the guy flying the Lyc equipped plane.

In addition, they are using these on military drones. That only will probably ensure their success. Nothing like the military to pay for things like this and the need to have it home grown.

Finally, they indicated that the FAA is very interested in having a certified diesel built in the USA. They indicated that this is a 2 year process though to certification.

Anyway, maybe they are lying through their teeth and I am a fool but I blelieve the these guys and hope they make it. Its time for new engines and advancements in the industry.

[Tandem46]

I believe them too and I'm about as excited as I've been in a long time about a new "real" aircraft powerplant. I've been in contact with them via email, and I hope to some day fly behind a DH. They still need the FWF kit for the RV and to get a bunch out flying and build hours and history. In the meantime I'll keep flying my IO-360 and when it hits TBO, hopefully it'll be replaced with a DH.

Tobin

[Dave_Boxall]

I've just had the Wilksch factory call me up to find out how soon I need delivery of the 120 Hp engine for my 9A (they would prefer to ship according to customer need rather than strict purchase order). They're currently shipping 2 engines per week and are working on ramping up production.

Unfortunately there are no customer engines flying yet, but there are high hopes of at least 2 customer aircraft flying (one a 9A) at the PFA rally in early July.

Dave

[Ola]

To you who's been in contact with DH, are there any hints about when the first customer will get his engine? Or about when he's airborne?

The Q&A on their website is kind of ambiguous about a FWF kit. I don't know much about what is supposed to go in one in the first place, so hopefully some of you can embellish on this for me:

The standard engine package delivered for the purchase price above will contain starter, supercharger, oil pump, fuel pump, water pump, all engine-to-engine lines, turbo charger, and the engine-to-turbocharger exhaust system.

What else would you need for an RV? (apart from a modified cowl and the mount)

Is it likely they would conduct in-house tests and then provide drawings/specs for engine mount and cowl, so you could get it manufactured somewhere else? There is quite a lot of combinations to approve even if you're just providing plans, but considering the power/weight range of the first line, there must be a pretty big market amongst RVs...

My plan is to equip an RV-8 with something between 160hp/fixed pitch and 200hp/constant speed (depending on which lottery I win) but it's still some years away until I can order...better keep an eye on the anti-matter propulsion industry as well.

Anyway, diesel is definately on the rise here in Europe. DA40s powered by Centurion 1.7s (135hp) have been certified for almost 3 years. Centurion is coming into the experimental market "soon" ( ) but I must say the letters TBR instead of TBO causes a slight frown.

[Tandem46]

Ola,

You're still going to need some type of FWF kit, much like Van's puts out for the Lyc but probably with more stuff. The most obvious additional items are going to be cooling system, radiators, oil coolers, and such. The engine mount will need to be special made, or take the Van's stock mount and modify it like they do with the Eggaru.

Not sure about how many customers have taken delivery or when first flights will happen but DH did tell me that their original FWF developer fell through and so they're working with a new one.

I get the feeling talking to them, (and this is a good thing) that they don't want or like to say too much about anything because they don't want to give any false promises. They seem to be releasing info as it becomes available through actual testing instead of making claims that then just don't materialize. All of this is of course just my opinion, but these guys come across as really reputable.

Tobin

[Ola]

Haha, I completely forgot about the radiators and cooling.

As mentioned, it's a long time until I make a decision on such things, it will be interesting to follow their development. With several tantalizing Jet A1 powerplants just over the horizon, I'm glad I don't have to make any decision soon!

[Rotary10-RV]

Originally Posted by Ola

Haha, I completely forgot about the radiators and cooling.

As mentioned, it's a long time until I make a decision on such things, it will be interesting to follow their development. With several tantalizing Jet A1 powerplants just over the horizon, I'm glad I don't have to make any decision soon!

OLA, All the new acessable JetA engines are water cooled. The French certified aero diesel is almost 50% more than a comparable LYCOMING! OUCH! No wonder they aren't selling like hotcakes. Deltahawk is W/C, Wilsich is W/C. Zosche is vaporware, and the builder clkaims he won't sell to homebuilders! (WHAT AN IDIOT) Mistral, (rotary) is building a 2 rotor SPARK IGNITION "heavy fuel" JetA version of the engine they are certifing for gasoline. This engine is also water cooled.
Just FYI,

Rotary10-RV

[Ola]

Originally Posted by Rotary10-RV

OLA, All the new acessable JetA engines are water cooled.

I know, I meant I forgot to consider it when looking at the accessories that Deltahawk provided. Spec'ing, fabricating and fitting a custom cooling solution to ones own project is going to be a pain, hopefully they'll provide as much assistance as possible.

[Highflight]

I was hoping to use a Deltahawk myself, but it was made very clear to me in a phone conversation that the company has absolutely no intent to support any particular type of aircraft installation directly. They want to sell engines; period.

I don't think of myself as an experimental builder in "that" way (as in "performing an experiment"), so not being willing to engineer my own installation from scratch, Mattituck will be getting my money this Fall.