Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

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Nigel
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Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Nigel »

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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Kai »

Thanks for sharing, Nigel! A new engine will unfreeze the DA40 program, too. These are very, very good news! Interestingly, Diamond's original press release has not been translated to English:
Austro Engine und Steyr Motors entwickeln gemeinsam 6-Zylinder-Flugmotor
Am 2. März 2011 unterzeichneten zwei österreichische Schlüsselunternehmen im Motorenbereich, Austro Engine und STEYR MOTORS, einen Rahmenvertrag für die Entwicklung eines 6-Zylinder-Flugmotors mit 280 PS. Basis dafür ist der STEYR Monoblockmotor M1, der sich schon weltweit in Marine- und Sonderfahrzeugen bewährt hat.

Austro Engine wird das neue Triebwerk für zwei wichtige Flugzeugprojekte der Diamond Aircraft, die DA50 Magnum (1-motoriges, 5-sitziges Reiseflugzeug) und ein FSA (Future Small Aircraft), am Standort Österreich entwickeln, zertifizieren und produzieren. Damit setzt das Unternehmen einen weiteren Meilenstein auf dem Weg zum Marktführer im Bereich Multi-Fuel Flugmotoren.

Für STEYR MOTORS ist diese Zusammenarbeit eine neuerliche Bestätigung des M1-Konzepts, das für betriebliche Sicherheit, Umweltschutz, Leistungsdichte und Kosteneffizienz steht.

Prof. Dr. Rudolf Streicher, Vertreter der Eigentümer STEYR MOTORS: „Nach unseren Erfolgen im Marine- und Sonderfahrzeugbereich freut es mich ganz besonders, dass das Steyr M1 Motorenkonzept nun auch in der Luftfahrt Anwendung findet. Mit Austro Engine haben wir hierfür einen besonders innovativen Partner bekommen.“

„Durch die erweiterte Produktpalette wird Austro Engine seine Position als Hersteller umweltfreundlicher, treibstoffeffizienter und leistungsfähiger Motoren am weltweiten Markt noch mehr ausbauen. Die Zusammenarbeit mit STEYR MOTORS ist nicht nur für Österreich als Standort von Bedeutung sondern auch für unser Unternehmen ein weiterer Schritt zum Markt- und Technologieführer“, äußert sich Christian Dries, erfreut über die Kooperation.

Gegründet im Jahre 2007, entwickelt und produziert die Austro Engine GmbH Wankelmotoren und Jet A1 Kolbenflugmotoren auf dem letzten Stand der Technik für namhafte Hersteller von Flugzeugen der Allgemeinen Luftfahrt.

STEYR MOTORS GmbH ist das Fachunternehmen für Dieselmotoren, das aus der früheren Steyr-Daimler-Puch-Unternehmensgruppe hervorgegangen ist. Jahrzehnte des Motor-Engineering und der Produktion von Dieselmotoren für alle Arten gewerblicher & militärischer Fahrzeuge führten zu der Entwicklung der STEYR M1- ("Monoblock") Motorfamilie.
So let google do that:
Austro Engine Steyr Motors and jointly develop six-cylinder aircraft engine
On 2 March 2011 signed two key Austrian companies in the engine area, Austro Engine and STEYR MOTORS, a framework agreement for the development of a 6-cylinder aircraft engine with 280 hp. This is based on the STEYR M1 monoblock engine that has proven itself worldwide in marine and special vehicles.

Austro Engine is the new engine aircraft for two major projects of Diamond Aircraft, the DA50 Magnum (1-engine, 5-seater passenger aircraft) and FSA (Future Small Aircraft), located in Austria certify, develop and produce. Thus, the company is another milestone on the way to the market leader in multi-fuel diesel engine.

STEYR MOTORS is a further confirmation of this co-M1 concept, which stands for operational safety, environmental protection, power density and cost efficiency.

Prof. Dr. Rudolf Streicher, representatives of the owners STEYR MOTORS: "After our success in the marine and specialty vehicle area, there I am especially pleased that finds the Steyr M1 engine concept now used in aviation. Austro Engine, we got this a particularly innovative partners. "

"The expanded product range is Austro Engine's position as a manufacturer of environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient and powerful engines to expand the global market even more. Cooperation with STEYR MOTORS is not only Austria but also as a site of importance for our company another step closer to the market and technology leader ", said Christian Dries pleased about the cooperation.

Founded in 2007, develops and manufactures the Austro Engine GmbH Wankel engines and Jet A1 aviation piston engines on the state of the art for well-known manufacturer of general aviation aircraft.

STEYR MOTORS GmbH is the specialist firm for diesel engines, which emerged from the earlier Steyr-Daimler-Puch group of companies. Decades of motor engineering and production of diesel engines for all types of commercial & military vehicles resulted in the development of the STEYR M1-("Monoblock") engine family.
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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Nigel »

The DA50 is still listed on the website at 3560 lbs MTOW. By the generally accepted rule of thumb that the power plant should be about 15% of the weight of an aircraft, my (non engineer) calculations show the max engine weight should be 534 lbs including attachments, rads etc.. The M16 SCI (automotive version) comes in (naked) at 640 lbs. Does anyone think that Diamond/Steyr can put the M16 on that much of a crash diet?
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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Kai »

Nigel, I would think that 15% is not a strict rule which needs to be obeyed under all circumstances. A DA42 NG has an MTOW of 4,189 lbs and an engine weight of 408 lbs each, dry and naked.

But it seems you are aiming at the right point: the DA50 will not have the payloads you would expect from an aircraft which claims to commute with 5 adults, aircon, TKS, airbags and parachute at ranges of 700 nms and that is meant for "the demanding pilot, who flies long distance without payload restrictions." (diamond-air.at)

They will have to take one or two things out of their list. Probably one passenger.

Nevertheless, we can be happy to get a full 4-seater which cruises at maybe 170 kts guzzling 12g of JET A1.
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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by landgraf »

Hi fellow Diamond lovers,

I'm new to the forum. Owning a 20% share of a DA40 I am an enthusiastic frequent flyer. Of course flying in Europe in winter often requires de-ice, which we do not have on the DA40. That's why I am very interested in the DA50. Having flown a chartered DA42NG on a few trips through ice, I'm quite happy with the TKS. Regarding the announcement of a high-performance version of the DA50 I am thus quite excited. I think the MTOW will not stay at 3500lbs or so, but will go up and the Steyr engine will come down in wight. Not being an engineer I am a little unsure how they want to achieve without changing the engine monoblock, which is the distinctive feature of the Steyr M1. We'll see. Also interesting is that Austro-Engine moved away from car engines (like in the AE300) and towards marine engines (like in the Stayr-M1). The AE300 has always been critisised a bit, because car engines provide 100% power during a very small fraction of the lifetime while aircraft engines perform almost all the time on that power level. It was argued that the AE300 will fail frequently before TBO. I have very good experiences with the AE300 in the DA42NG. Even more exciting than a high-performance DA50 is the prospect for a six seat twin with two Steyr engines (DA62?). While this is far in the future, a six seat twin with (hopefully) pressurised cabin is exactly what I need. Current (old design) models like the Piper Aerostar or Cessna 303 Crusader are too costly to operate, and who knows what becomes of 100LL.....

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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Nigel »

More deisel development... 500 hp and not much more weight than the Steyr unit.
Pictures also show that it is possible to integrate large cooling intakes in an pleasing form. I don't know why Diamond doesn't make the effort to design a more attractive lower cowl for the DA40NG.
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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Antoine »

I have a small Excel spreadsheet from an aircraft design primer course I attended 2 years ago.

What it does is calculate the MTOW, power and fuel requirements based upon mission requirements and certain fixed parameters such as the ratio between empty weight and MTOW.
This spreadsheet makes it evident that excess engine weight is an absolute no go in aircraft design. The degradation of landing parameters between the DA40NG and the previous model shows this too.

I believe that there will someday be a manufacturer who will beat the hell out of Diamond (and Cirrus) by copying their airframe around a better engine and lighter technology overall.
A FADEC- equipped Lyco or even a reliable Thielert is probably a realistic alternative. Pipistrel?

Did you know the prototype of the DA40 flew with a Rotax 914 turbo?
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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Diamond13 »

The DA 40 developmental aircraft also flew with the TCM IO-240 as well....!.....in Canada!
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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Antoine »

... did you have a chance to test fly it? How does a DA40 feel with a lighter and less powerful powerplant?
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Re: Diamond announces 6 cylinder Diesel development

Post by Diamond13 »

Amazingly enough, I was quite impressed when I flew it, mind you the IO-360 DA 40 was not yet conceived, so I could really only compare it to the C1. It flew like a lazy C1, all the great handling qualities, just not the power for great climbs or high cruise speed! The fact the we had four adult males on-board I'm sure had something to do with that as well!
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