AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2018 - 14

LETTERS

FROM OUR APRIL 2018 ISSUE

Tech talk
How proven must a technology be before you would invest in it for your airplane? Readers
weighed in on a column by Editor in Chief Thomas B. Haines.
My 2001 Turbo Saratoga has
1,905 hours on its original
engine as I ponder the factory
remanufacturing quote for a
TIO-540 of $70,000-plus, not
including the labor to install
it. While I hope to make it past
TBO to get a few "free" hours,
I lament about the prospect of
paying so much money for the
1930s technology Thomas B.
Haines references ("Waypoints:
Our Technology Conundrum").
I would certainly consider
and likely purchase the new
technology that "should" be
available to us now but isn't,
for all the reasons he mentions. We pilots take risks, but
they are largely and hopefully
almost entirely calculated ones.
If an engine manufacturer and
the FAA would streamline the
certification process, I believe
many of us would take a not-solarge leap of faith.
Roger Welling
AOPA 9704225
Anaheim, California

One out of 40

I just finished reading Jill W.
Tallman's article about Cloud
Nine Rescue Flights in the

WAYPOINTS

Our technology conundrum

BY THOMAS B. HAINES
Editor in Chief

Give me the latest and greatest-but only when it's proven

Editor in Chief
TOM HAINES owns
a 1972 Beechcraft
Bonanza with a
healthy beyondTBO engine and
wonders daily
what might sit in
his cowling in the
future.

MINUTES: The time it takes most any hangar flying session to turn to grumbles about the state of the fleet.
The average age of our airplanes is over 40 years. Mine
turns 46 this year. The industry delivered 2,234 aircraft in 2017-across all segments: pistons, turboprops,
business jets, and helicopters. Between crashes and airframes parted out, we are at best maintaining but not
growing the fleet size, thus the average age will continue to increase.
We've seen great progress in avionics over the past
two decades, but almost none in powerplants. Everyone
around the hangar wonders why "someone" doesn't certify a twenty-first century aircraft engine that has even a
few of the features we've had in cars for decades-electronic ignition, variable valve timing, electronic fuel
injection, to name a few. Such features would allow us to
move away from our boutique (read: costly) 100LL avgas,
get the lead out, and generally make life grand again.
And although we pine for such improvements,
who wants to be first to fly that new engine down the
Alleghenies at night in weather? Or across the Atlantic?
How proven must an engine be before you would invest
in it for your airplane?
Say what you will about our 1930s-era Lycomings
and Continentals, but decades of experience and overall good reliability provide a lot of comfort on difficult
flights. If the pilot makes fuel available, the engines keep
on ticking with surprising regularity.
The "newcomer" in this space, Rotax, which has
only been supplying aircraft engines for a few decades,
has become a reliable performer-but many old guard
pilots still see it as "new" and therefore somehow not
yet trustworthy.
I ponder this conundrum of desire for new technology versus distrust of anything new while watching what
is happening around us. EPS-Engineered Propulsion
Systems-for several years has been developing what
appears to be a remarkable diesel engine. The design
was frozen in 2016, and the company was expecting
certification in 2017. That has now slipped to late 2018,
according to company officials. The slippage is not
because of mechanical problems, but because validating
the software that runs the engine has taken longer than
anticipated. With variants planned for between 320 and
420 horsepower, the engine would be an ideal choice for
high-performance singles and cabin-class twins. While

the beefy diesel will likely weigh more than an air-cooled
avgas engine, its better fuel specifics will allow it to ultimately outperform conventional powerplants. That,
combined with a planned 3,000-hour TBO and the ability to burn jet fuel, which is much cheaper than avgas in
most of the world, could make it a winner.
With its advanced metallurgy, single-lever power
control, and other improvements, it holds a great deal
of promise. But, knowing the mindset of aircraft owners,
I wonder how quickly it will be accepted into the fleet.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the performance
spectrum, Bye Aerospace, Pipistrel, and others are making great strides in electric propulsion for light singles
and training aircraft.
Bye just got another $5 million round of funding to
continue its development of the battery-powered Sun
Flyer 2 trainer, which founder George Bye says can fly at
65 knots for as long as 3.5 hours. At more typical training
speeds of 80 to 100 knots, it easily will last for a 1.2-hour
training flight. Battery charges should take less than 30
minutes. And with only one moving part, the electric
motor should last some 10,000 hours. Electricity costs
should be about $2.40 an hour and total operating costs
will be about $16 an hour, including reserves. Typical
hourly operating costs for a Cessna 172 are about $88.
Meanwhile, the company is working on a four-seat electric airplane and numerous large unmanned aircraft.
Pipistrel's Alpha Electro two-place electric trainer
also continues to make progress. A group in the Fresno,
California, area has launched the Pipistrel Alpha Electro
Trainer Sustainable Aviation Project, which is working
to develop a network of charging facilities for an electric
training fleet. It has also embarked on a project to win
FAA approval to use the Alpha Electro in flight training. Transport Canada certified the trainer in February.
It all looks promising and I am convinced that diesel,
electric, and probably a few other powerplant options
will propel our airplanes into the future. I'm also convinced that the challenges for such progress have less
to do with the technology than in convincing aircraft
owners to make the change-the same owners who in
the hangar are clamoring for such advances.
AOPA
EMAIL thomas.haines@aopa.org
SOCIAL

Follow on twitter @tomhaines29

18 | AOPA PILOT April 2018

Rick Stegehuis
AOPA 1372066
Helenville, Wisconsin

April 2018 edition of AOPA
Pilot ("Forty At A Time"). I
believe that one of the dogs in
the photo on page 76 is a puppy
that my wife and I adopted
near the beginning of this year.
When we adopted the puppy
from Ghost Town Dog Rescue
in Phoenix, we were told that
she was a "Texas dog" and
they had driven to San Diego to

How have you supported your local airport?
Hosted or attended an airport
open house or fly-in
46%
Patronized businesses
at the airport

Participated in the AOPA
Airport Support Network

Learn about the Airport Support Network volunteer
of the month on p. 12.

14 | AOPA PILOT June 2018

6% 4%

43%

Joined or started an airport
support group

Aviation eBrief poll

If you are looking for the first person who
would put a "modern" piston engine in their
airplane, sign me up. While I'll admit to a certain fondness for the rumble of my O-470
Continental, I would give it up in a heartbeat
for an engine that has the reliability, durability, efficiency, simple operation, easy starting,
low oil consumption-and price tag-comparable to a modern automobile engine running on
unleaded fuel.

43%

46%

pick her up. It would be great
to find out if Jacqueline-I
changed her name from Alice
to Jacqueline before we even
got her home-is the same dog
that is being held by one of the
Dixon girls in your article.
Many years ago, when
I worked at the fire station
located at what was then
the Desert Resorts Regional
Airport in Thermal, California,
we found a stray dog and
named her Amelia after Amelia
Earhart. Amelia lived a long
life well into her teens with
us, but sadly she passed away
a few years ago. Now that I
have retired from the fire service, we decided we were ready
for another dog and decided to
drop in at the local pet adoption
day that was being held at our

community park. That is where
we found Alice and adopted
her. She had to be renamed
Jaqueline to keep with the
famous female aviators theme.
It seems kind of ironic to
me that I have hopes to make
this little dog my co-pilot, and
she has already been flying;
she has flown directly into my
home and heart.
Bristowe Pitts
AOPA 1234848
Anthem, Arizona

Return on investment

Hooray for John Carroll and
his feature, "A Better Return
Policy." As glider pilots-and
many power pilots, know, the
"impossible turn"-is anything
but impossible. It's easy, safe
and feasible-as long as you
know what you're doing.

AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2018