New Tech

[Dobie]

I just stumbled into this, and while it’s too far in the future for most of us, it could be perfect for Part 103 aircraft. https://invest.liquidpiston.com/?utm_so ... technology

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

There are certainly many new engine concepts in development. The biggest issue I've seen with many of these concepts, the design eliminates many smaller drawbacks of the standard piston engine, but amplify one or two major issues that rarely if ever are resolved.

Taking a look at a long time rival to the standard piston engine is the Wankel rotary engine. Superb to the piston engine in almost every way - except - sealing of the combination chamber is very difficult, and the engine requires the burning of oil because of the combustion chamber seal issue and lubrication of the rotor seals which creates a pollution issue.

These two problems are the only issues that have relegated the rotary engine to niche markets and use, but these two problems are massive for the design. I believe that rotary engines will always suffer from these problems.

I love the concept of a more turbine style (meaning rotary) engine. The power output for such a small engine is truly exceptional. Unfortunately I don't see a solution to the combustion chamber sealing issue and oil burning issue for this type of design.

Hopefully someone will come up with a solution.

There is a rotary engine which is very light weight available on the Badland Aircraft web page. However, it is rather expensive and the TBO is pretty low compared to standard piston engines,

[LA F2 Flyer]

I imagine this would be prohibitively expensive for a UL but I AM curious about the investment potential...