Quote:
Originally Posted by gunnut
Why are there no diesel powered piston aircraft?
There must be a very simple reason but I just don't know.
Is it because of the high rpm required? Does a pistol airplane need high rpm?
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C.I. (Diesel) engines have always been traditionally heavier than petrol engines, ie cast Iron heads and blocks. This was done to cope with the higher compression ratios in C.I. engines. Now we can build all alloy Diesel engines that are cost effective. As Omon stated, another improvement is Direct injection.
I don`t know if weight was actually the primary concern but the industry is geared up for petrol aviation engines on the whole.