What to do with that old Austro engine
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- Boatguy
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What to do with that old Austro engine
This is in the Austro forum, but everyone can participate!
Austro has discontinued overhauls and will only be replacing Austro engines. Owners will buy a new engine from Austro and still own a now not airworthy diesel engine. So what to do with that engine?
A 2.0l turbocharged Mercedes diesel (original or built under license), will surely run for many more years, particularly if it's run at only 50% load. These engines are far from junk, but aren't going to be placed into any other airplane. Austro says they will be making 800 new engines a year while Diamond's GAMA numbers suggest that they will only be shipping about 300 in new airplanes. That means 500 "old" Austro engines will become available each year. That's a pretty good supply of used engines. Surely some entrepreneur can come up with a good application, and thus market, for these engines. And the injectors can be changed so the engine will burn diesel instead of Jet-A if that's appropriate for the application.
So what do you say? Have some ideas for what to with a 170hp diesel engine? Drive a generator? Third world tractor? These engines should not be going to landfill or metal recycling.
Austro has discontinued overhauls and will only be replacing Austro engines. Owners will buy a new engine from Austro and still own a now not airworthy diesel engine. So what to do with that engine?
A 2.0l turbocharged Mercedes diesel (original or built under license), will surely run for many more years, particularly if it's run at only 50% load. These engines are far from junk, but aren't going to be placed into any other airplane. Austro says they will be making 800 new engines a year while Diamond's GAMA numbers suggest that they will only be shipping about 300 in new airplanes. That means 500 "old" Austro engines will become available each year. That's a pretty good supply of used engines. Surely some entrepreneur can come up with a good application, and thus market, for these engines. And the injectors can be changed so the engine will burn diesel instead of Jet-A if that's appropriate for the application.
So what do you say? Have some ideas for what to with a 170hp diesel engine? Drive a generator? Third world tractor? These engines should not be going to landfill or metal recycling.
- ememic99
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine
Sell/donate it to a car service as a spare part. They can overhaul it (if that’s needed at all) for much less money and put it to good use.
- waynemcc999
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine
Maybe DAN Austro users can make a deal with NPR (or similar "we accept all donated vehicles" non-profit) to provide a steady source of donated Austro engines.
Just brainstorming.
Just brainstorming.
Wayne McClelland
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- chili4way
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- chili4way
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine
Donate it to Savvy Aviation so the Mike Busch team can finally get some diesel engine experience!
- chili4way
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine
Donate it to your local target range so Lycoming owners can take shots and continue to point out that Austro Engines are not bullet-proof.
- TimS
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine
Sell it to E-A/B owners. Donate the engines to A/P schools so there are more mechanics that know them.
Tim
Tim
- MarkA
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine
A few more creative options to consider .
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine
Doesn't one of the drones use it? Make an experimental version of that drone.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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- michael.g.miller
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine
So why not keep running them? TBO/TBR is not mandatory under part 91. Doesn’t it make sense to keep running them until they aren’t serviceable?