Diesel Rotary Piston Engine

Scorpion

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
41
Location
Pacific Haven (Australia)
In late 2009 we will begin production of three different size, High Torque Multi-fuel Radial Piston engines which will be Air-cooled and Fuel Injected.


There are very few engine choices in the 65HP to 120HP range at the moment and Diesel engines in particular, are virtually non existent for Recreational Aviation use.

We have Patents for the engines already in place for some countries with more to be submitted in early 2009 to give us full world wide protection.

Below are the specifications for the three engine designs (all Diesel, but can be configured to run on UL petrol at slightly less HP). They will have inbuilt gear ratios and drive configurations. All engines have a maximum 3000rpm and are designed to have the following drive options;

(1) Direct drive (for fixed wing and Gyro's) for all three capacity engines
(2) Direct drive with counter rotating shafts (for helicopters, fixed wing and Gyro's) for all three capacity engines.
(3) Direct drive with 500rpm on front output of engine and 3000rpm on the rear (for Helicopters only) for the 1600cc and 2000cc engines.

The specifications are as follows;

CAPICITY ............HORSEPOWER.............. DIAMETER ............WEIGHT
1200cc .....................70HP ............................510mm ................<50kg
1600cc .....................95HP ............................610mm ................<65kg
2000cc .....................120HP ..........................710mm .................<80kg

Production cost estimates put these engines at around 15 to 20% less than currently available petrol engines (Rotax in particular) of similar horsepower and considering a diesel has 26% more power than a petrol engine of the same displacement, this makes our Radial Piston Diesel a very viable alternative.

We are looking for 'serious' comments from members regarding these engines. We will be relying on your feedback so that we can determine the viability for us to proceed with the production and general consensus that they will be readily accepted throughout the aviation community.


I have attached a photo of the Petrol version proof of concept prototype engine.


Looking forward to your comments.


Regards
Graeme[/FONT]
 

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Graeme,

In general I am always very excited to hear about any new aviation engines. And I sure think that Rotax needs to have some serious competition in order to drive their prices down as I believe they are rediculous right now.

This engine would burn multi fuels, which could turn into a big advantage, however the power to weight ratio is nothing special, and it is a very unproven engine with no history. I believe this engine has potential and should be pursued, however if you come along with something that is similar to what is otherwise available but you are new and unproven, I think you need to be priced SUBSTANTIALLY lower than the, time proven leader (Rotax) if you want to take away a significant portion of their business. Being priced 20% lower may be enough to steal their business once you have a proven track record but in the beginning I think you should be priced considerably lower than that.

If you look at some of the 4 strokes they are building for snow machines and water craft. They have a much better power to weight ratio, have a proven track record (although in other types of machines) and a 100+ HP engine with turbocharging and intercooling can be purchased for $6,000 (that's less than 25% of the Rotax version) Granted these are not made for aviation but they are starting to be used for that and they are attracking a lot of people.

I think you've got to do something better (in a big way), be much lighter or much cheaper (or even better, all 3) if you want to take business away from the undisputed leader of the pack. Just my opinion.

Gyro Doug
 
Hi There Graeme,

.......In late 2009 we will begin production of three different size, High Torque Multi-fuel Rotary Piston engines which will be Air-cooled and Fuel Injected......

Confirm you meant Multi-fuel "Radial" Piston engines, judging from the proof-of-concept picture.

Regards,

Francois
 
Graeme
There is someone building a helicopter with a deisel engine with a name similar to yours. (Graeme) (or Graham) I was following the thread on Rotorway forum. Is that you ??


The helicopter was completed and ready for testing. It sure looked good to me.

Arnie
Bell 47
 
I've always thought that diesel was the way to go because it can run on domestic fuel which is taxed at a much lower rate than diesel. Here in France I can buy domestic fuel for around 0.63 Euro per litre and diesel is about 1.2 Euro per litre.
It's a pity your direct drive with 500 and 3000 rpm version is helicopter only, put a clutch on the 500 rpm output and you've got the pre rotator. I suppose you could do the same with the contra rotating shaft version. Where are the shafts relative to each other, side by side, each end of the engine?
Are your weights wet or dry and do they include radiator, coolers and alternator?
A 3 view drawing and better photos would help.

Mike G
 
Mike,

They are air cooled.

Shafts are inline at one end with inner and outer shafts.

Weights are estimates at the moment.

The 3000/500 is not strictly for helicopters. We didn't even think of pre-rotator operations.

More details will be coming in the months ahead.

Graeme
 
Mike,

They are air cooled.

Shafts are inline at one end with inner and outer shafts.

Weights are estimates at the moment.

The 3000/500 is not strictly for helicopters. We didn't even think of pre-rotator operations.

More details will be coming in the months ahead.

Graeme

Are these using a Geneva wheel?

There was a guy in Australia years ago working on an engine using Geneva wheels to transmit power from the piston to the crank. It was a very good idea that substantially reduced friction, piston travel, and more efficiently produced power. Heard they closed shop due to lack of funding.
 
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