New Article on WAM Diesel on KitPlanes

[FresnoR]

The upcoming issue of Kitplanes Magazine will feature Kurt Goodfellow's RV-9 with a Wilksch WAM-120 diesel engine.

It includes a direct side by side comparison with a Lycoming O-320.

An Interesting and Fun read

[Dave_Boxall]

It's a shame they weren't more clear that they were testing a 160 HP Lycoming against a 120 HP WAM diesel. I'd also have been interested to see the power-off glide results for the Lycoming engine to get a comparison of the cooling drag between the 2 installations.

Otherwise a great article!

Dave

[Tomcat RV4]

A great article about alternative engine..This is my idea of what " E " in experimental is all about....As a 40 year foreign car mechanic and former salvage yard owner i am determined to fly my RV4 behind a Subaru engine when I get to the point of needing an engine..

[WAM120RV]

Dave,

You have aPM.

[KirkGrovesRV8]

How did the diesel compare to the 0-320?

[n5lp]

Originally Posted by KirkGrovesRV8

How did the diesel compare to the 0-320?

It had less power and burned less fuel. The installation seems to have more cooling drag. Article here

[KirkGrovesRV8]

Thank You Sir

[pierre smith]

Originally Posted by Tomcat RV4

....As a 40 year foreign car mechanic and former salvage yard owner i am determined to fly my RV4 behind a Subaru engine when I get to the point of needing an engine..

....as takeouts from RV's, sitting in hangars. PM me if you want one cheap....only 220 hours total time.

Best,

[The_CaptKirk]

Anyone have word on Deltahawk diesel? Last I saw they were announcing development of a certificated model for Cirrus.

BENEFITS
- specific fuel consumption about 60%
- Jet A fuel - assuming 100LL gets the hook
- turbo normalized for altitude (I one day hope to be able to cross Sierra Nevadas on a regular basis.)


DRAWBACKS
- unproven
- weight
- issues with turbo reliability
- availability of Jet A in rural airports
- did I mention weight?
- cost, although total cost of ownership may make this moot

[OceanBob]

Originally Posted by Tomcat RV4

A great article about alternative engine..This is my idea of what " E " in experimental is all about....As a 40 year foreign car mechanic and former salvage yard owner i am determined to fly my RV4 behind a Subaru engine when I get to the point of needing an engine..

A Lycoming will get you anywhere you want and resale will be highest. Many people spend more for an auto-conversion than a Lycoming. Many builders have so many problems with the Subaru (and others) they never complete the Airplane. Then they can't sell the bird unless they install a proper Lycoming. By then, the firewall has too many holes and has to be replaced. It's not the auto engine as much as the gearbox and accessories that makes these auto conversions a safety and money issue. Consider the Geared (GO-480) series from Lycoming in the 50s and 60s. Used in the Aero Commander they had problems with the Gearbox. These engines also have to run at higher RPM to get the power thru that gearbox; hence the TBO on some of these engines were 1000 hours; some needing a Top Overhaul at 700 hours..!