Certainly, a confidence builder any company that is vertically integrated, but especially, Made in America aircraft engines! It allows complete oversight of your quality control. Good stuff!
Continental Engines got a brand new factory out of the deal with the latest and greatest machinery to boot. Enstrom helicopters is back under US ownership and most likely Continental will come back under US ownership. Hopefully more will follow including Allison turbine engines from foreign ownership.
We paid $50k to overhaul our Continental six cylinder engine for the third time over the life of the aircraft. What did we get? A 4-month wait, a six liter 1950's tech engine rated at a mere 210 hp, but that still has to be operated with extreme delicate care because of it's fragility. We got an engine that does not have electronic variable ignition timing, computer adjusted fuel mixture and power delivery, multiple valve cylinders, variable valve timing or any of the other common modern tech and reliability of an automobile engine. We got an engine that is air cooled instead of modern liquid cooled, so is susceptible to overheating and premature wear. We got an engine that is less fuel efficient and runs rougher than a modern automotive engine and which may suffer a catastrophic internal failure because of its antiquated design. Yes, these engines work harder, often using 75% of their rated power at cruise, but they only have half the rated power of a 6.0 liter car engine. Because they still require leaded fuel they wear prematurely and emit pollution because the fuel producers and the FAA has dragged their feet over certifying unleaded fuel. The FAA has also sacrificed safety by putting up insurmountable bureaucratic barriers to certifying truly modern engine options. Over in light sport aircraft, they do have a modern engine series, made by Canadian company Bombardier/Rotax. They have EFI oil and liquid cooling, get fantastic fuel economy and are so reliable that the airplanes they're installed in have made repeated transoceanic and transcontinental flights for publicity. New FAA rules to bring our light aircraft technology into the new millennium are on their way, but were supposed to arrive four years ago. We're still waiting. In a different universe, I would already have bought a light, efficient and cleaner aerodiesel based on proven designs from Steyr, Mercedes, BMW and others, that gets 40% better fuel economy and lasts the life of the airplane.
man, i thought i was the only one thinking this; you’ve hit the nail on the head. What bothers me is that these antique engines are truly less reliable and more fragile than modern automotive engines. If the FAA and the engine manufactures were actually concerned about safety, then all of these engines would be in museums by now. I just saw my friend pull the lifters out of an IO520 with only 600 hours on it. Some of them already began flaking and losing material on the wear surface. And before someone replies and says “it’s because the owner wasn’t operating it or maintaining it correctly”, then why can Toyota engines get neglected in third world countries and still last to half a million miles with zero issues? Anyone that tries to defend continentals or lycomings is ignoring the fact that they’re more fragile than a box full of wine glasses.
@@johncunningham4820 Continental was purchased by a Chinese state-owned aerospace company in 2011. While the Continental is still based in the US, their parent company is located in Beijing, China
@@MrTheblackopsdude . So what you are saying is , These Engines ARE still built in the U.S.A. ? Thought so..................... That was all my comment construed .
YES, this happened back in May 2011. They were attracted to it because several US drone types are power by TCM motors, and TCM wanted the new machines you are looking at here as well as to acquire the French aero-diesel manufacturer, and to make China's tank engines lighter and more competitive. CFIUS really screwed up letting this one happen. It was one of the first aerospace conquests against the US from the PRC.
@@gendaminoru3195 pretty sad. Was looking at Continental for their 6 cyl Diesel for an experimental build because of the lack of, or limited supply of 100LL. Found out these guys are owned by china and that just vaulted them into the nope pile. Would just take some planning to deal with the fuel situation.
@@killerdoxen Yup it is sad and I would not spec them either. I don't know of other aero diesels ready to go either, except there have been large block V-12 and a new V-8 conversion in Wisconsin, but I think those companies failed. There was also a Zoche air cooled radial that seemed promising out of Germany that failed. That leaves us Lycoming or a small turboshaft. Allison doesn't want to be in the 250 biz anymore, so priced themselves out of it except for helos. If your aircraft can tolerate the size, the GE H75 would be a great engine. It is a more efficient re-worked Walter engine like Lancair and others tried. Just copy Beech's inertial separator and get a good prop solution and they will work with you. I wouldn't go with one of the really small turbines though - they are not ready.
@@bushhogg4342 Yes, they did it to get better lightweight engines for their main battle army tanks - an old Continental Design and FADEC TSIO-550's for their light drones. Don't feel too bad though they also ripped off the PWC 535 & 305 for larger drones, and Continental got the money they wanted for projects. All of which works great for both parties up until the part where they realize CHINA IS THE ENEMY! oops, so much for the CFIUS panel, right Obama??? AVIC is a Chinese state-owned aerospace company, controlled by the Chinese Communist Party / Xi Jinping who wants WW III and to dominate the world. If the USA wasn't so irresponsible they would have made an investment in Teledyne to prop up and keep the tech onshore with Continental, even if it did piss off Lycoming, but we already made investments in their parent company, Textron's AVCO in the 1980's
