What to do with that old Austro engine

Discussions specific to Austro engines

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Boatguy
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What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by Boatguy »

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.
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ememic99
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by ememic99 »

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.
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waynemcc999
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by waynemcc999 »

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.
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by chili4way »

:lol: Build a Monster Truck version of an airplane tug!
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by chili4way »

Donate it to Savvy Aviation so the Mike Busch team can finally get some diesel engine experience! :)
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by chili4way »

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. :P
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by TimS »

Sell it to E-A/B owners. Donate the engines to A/P schools so there are more mechanics that know them.

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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by MarkA »

A few more creative options to consider ;) .
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by Colin »

Doesn't one of the drones use it? Make an experimental version of that drone.
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Re: What to do with that old Austro engine

Post by michael.g.miller »

Boatguy wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 6:23 pm 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.
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?
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