Speedie Posted January 31, 2006 Posted January 31, 2006 http://www.ultralightflyer.com/airshow-snf05/19.html smart engine adapted for aircraft use - why? It is all about the mileage! Not sure about the 2600 Metre height restriction that the engine has though - you would have to plan your route pretty carefully. Cheers, Cameron Quote
MikeT Posted January 31, 2006 Posted January 31, 2006 They're gasoline engines, IIRC. No limits! Quote
Speedie Posted January 31, 2006 Author Posted January 31, 2006 Nope - this one is the turbo diesel Quote
MikeT Posted January 31, 2006 Posted January 31, 2006 Should have looked. The alleged boiling fuel problem can be licked (even in our cars) by fitting a more dense fuel radiator core. It sounds like that's what they have done. PS: torque comes in at 3000? 5000 hours would be maybe 300,000 km on my car. That's OK. Quote
Leipa Posted January 31, 2006 Posted January 31, 2006 Having been a longtime member of the Recreational Aircraft Assoc of Canada, and an EAA member for many years, I get a bit ticked at yhose that make "stretched" claims. "Sold for the past 5 years in Canada"?.....If memory serves me right Oct 2004 was the release date...that is not quite 18 months yet.. "millions sold in Europe"....are they all diesels? I am not saying that the smart diesel is not a great aircraft engine, I only would wish that accurate claims were made. Quote
MikeT Posted January 31, 2006 Posted January 31, 2006 smart has sold about 130,000 fortwo cdis since they were introduced. Around 750,000 fortwos overall have been sold. Quote
100MPGUS Posted January 31, 2006 Posted January 31, 2006 3/4 of a U.S. gallon of fuel per hourWOW! If they can do that flying, imagine what it would get in a motorcycle frame! PLEASE someone donate me their engine. Quote
IMSMRT Posted January 31, 2006 Posted January 31, 2006 3/4 gallon an hour? I used to fly a areonca champ with a 65 hp engine that I paid for by the tach hour. It had a "real" aircraft engine. I could often get 1.5 hours real time on 1 hour tach. the thing is to get 3/4 gallon an hour they are probably throttled so far back as to JUST keep flying. So while you are saving fuel you are not going anywhere fast.....or even sorta fast. Its the same as you driving everywhere as close to idle as you could and still be moving. Dont believe everything you read on the internet. S Quote
Speedie Posted February 1, 2006 Author Posted February 1, 2006 They didn't mention if they had it strapped to an oversize hang glider or not to get the figures Still interesting they are considering it for aviation use. Personally - as good as the engine is - I wouldn't want to be the first one to fly it. At least in a boat or a car you stand half a chance if it quits. Maybe they based the math on the weight of the smart v.s. the weight of the airframe i.e. airframe = 1/2 weight therefore mileage = 2 times. Cheers, Cameron Quote
IMSMRT Posted February 1, 2006 Posted February 1, 2006 The only way an untested engine becomes truly dangerous on an aircraft is if it becomes physically separated and falls off in flight upsetting the weight and balance. All aircraft will continue flying with the engines turned off. Its just a question of whether you are somewhere with a safe place to land. The glide down wont kill you but landing in trees or a lake might. Every pilot practices and demonstrates forced (engine at idle) approaches and landings to their instructor and examiner. For a glider pilot every flight ends in a forced landing....and sometimes at the airport of departure! Happy Flying! S Quote
Speedie Posted February 1, 2006 Author Posted February 1, 2006 I still would rather have the spinning bits going the right way - had a ride in an S-61 that had to feather an engine back - mind you they don't glide very well. Cheers, Cameron Quote
IMSMRT Posted February 1, 2006 Posted February 1, 2006 helicopters are a whole different fish. They do glide...its called autorotation. Basically if all power is lost the pilot pushes down on the cyclic and it feels like it is falling out of the sky. He is building up kinetic energy. the speed keeps the rotors spinning. just above the ground the pilot pulls up on the collective slowing the descent and at touchdown it technically feel like it was done with power on. but it could be hard or too soft as well. I was told that this was the whole reason that there are windows under the pilots feet. if you lose power you look between your feet thru the window at the ground....that point is where you are landing! Most aircraft with 2 engines are designed to fly on just one... its all pretty safe and failures rarely happen S Quote
deezle Posted February 1, 2006 Posted February 1, 2006 So our diesel is used in land, sea, and air applications! I've been wondering lately how the marine sales are going for smart diesels. Quote
SmartieParts Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 Sean - I think I recall (from the Abbotsford Airshow) that the ability to funtion on autorotation greatly depends on the altitude when the engines cut out. Too low and they're screwed. Quote
IMSMRT Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 Altitude is definetly your friend. The higher you are the more options and more importantly TIME you have to make the right choices. You can convert altitude into speed (energy for autorotation) or distance (gliding) But if you lose all your engines 1/2 mile off the end of the runway you are still landing in the trees or grassy field straight in front of you. Altitude is what saved the aircraft that landed at Gimli, Manitoba or the postage stamp sized islands of the Azores! The pilots had time to make a plan and the altitude to give them options no matter how limited they were. When I was instructing on gliders we would practice emergency landings...a premature release from the tow aircraft under 300 feet. The rule was a quick 180* turn and land back on the runway. But we had 50 feet of high lift wing and 80 mph so lots of energy to get it turned around if you act fast. But in the tow aircraft or a little Cessna at the same height wouldnt even consider a turn. A larger heavier powered plane with generally short wings and close to stall may turn around only to land in the trees. Twin/multi engines have the extra engines to avoid those situations. Even on take off they are supposed to be able to continue a climb (maybe shallower) and return to the airport to land. There was an AA flight the other day that did this. In my opinion while notable the aircraft performed as it should and the flight returned safely. For the amount of hours commercial aircraft fly it is still rare to encounter problems.....even considering the sheer number of aircraft in the sky at any one time! Wow didnt mean to ramble on this long! S Quote
Speedie Posted February 3, 2006 Author Posted February 3, 2006 60 miles or more out at sea you are a bit screwed too - sure they have the floatation devices around the wheels but it gets a little bumpy out at sea with a water temperature hovering around zero. Doesn't instill confidence either when the Pilot is in a dry suit and you have to wear a Mustang thermofloat coat with the flap up. Or when the Twin Otter you are climbing into is about 5 different colours of panels. Cheers, Cameron Quote
IMSMRT Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 I saw tonight the HMCS Athabaskan lost her Sea Thing off the coast of Denmark while they were trying to land after a night mission. The 5 crew were rescued and were uninjured. The helo is enjoying its salt water bath until the salvage tug arrives to haul it up. I am hoping 24 hours in salt water is long enough to keep them from trying to repair it. Too bad it was only in 60 m of water and not 1000m. Cause of crash....tired old helicopter. not really but probably had something to do with it. Hopefully the new PM will properly equip our troops so they can be certain that it isnt the equipment thats going to kill them. S Quote
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