Diesel motors are great...but?

[ksbrdmkr]

For those that don't watch the military aviation sites. Boeing: Phantom Eye

 

[MossRoad]

For those that don't watch the military aviation sites. Boeing: Phantom Eye

Thank you!!! :thumbsup:

 

[buickanddeere]

Let the engineers loose and most anything can fly. This state of the art UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is equipped with a liquid-hydrogen propulsion system that powers two four-cylinder truck engines. Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works explains,
"It's basically a Ford Ranger truck engine converted to burn liquid and gaseous hydrogen."
The engines each provide 150 horsepower, combined with a 150 ft wingspan, allow the UAV to cruise at approximately 150 knots while carrying a 450 lb payload. This highly efficient aircraft is also capable of staying aloft at 65,000 ft for up to four days and it's only byproduct is water.

Hydrogen has the most btu per pound of any chemical fuel. Hence the use in aviation and rockets. The cost and complexity of using cryogenic H2 is of little concern to the spooks. For John Q Public , liquid H2 is not a good idea.

 

[buickanddeere]

A flying fuel tank.
I'm surprised about those pods under the engines and the drag they would produce ? Would have expected sensor packages to be tucked into a streamlined area, aft of the fuel tank ???
All these low cost , easily deployable and maneuverable drones are going to cut into the snoop satellite business.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet in this thread, but Cummings is responding to costumer demand to lower the diesel emissions nonsense that is increasing operating costs and decreasing reliability in favor of developing a diesel-like natural gas line of engines that don't need to meet the diesel emissions nightmare before forced on all of us.

 

[buickanddeere]

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet in this thread, but Cummings is responding to costumer demand to lower the diesel emissions nonsense that is increasing operating costs and decreasing reliability in favor of developing a diesel-like natural gas line of engines that don't need to meet the diesel emissions nightmare before forced on all of us.

Careful. I was turfed off the board for two weeks for daring to suggest such sacrilege.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Careful. I was turfed off the board for two weeks for daring to suggest such sacrilege.

The famed German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, once said, "All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

 

[Redneck in training]

Natural gas engines are quite common in boats and on offshore oil and gas platforms. In the past when fuel was cheap most oil and LNG tankers had gas turbines for propulsion. When fuel got expensive most of them were re-powered either to recip engines burning diesel or NG or both.
Vartsila in Findland makes the most fuel efficient (and also the biggest) ship engine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXHvY-zY9hA

 

[MikePA]

The famed German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, once said, "All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

No worries, Eric. Comments about diesel emmissions regulations didn't, and won't, get anyone a timeout.

 

[Raspy]

Model airplane engines are diesel.

Ralph

This seems like a bit of a stretch. Wouldn't it be more accurate to call them glow plug engines? They run on ethanol/nitro fuel and have catalytic, hot wire ignition. No fuel injection for timing and no diesel fuel. Plus they are fuel lubricated. Maybe I'm splitting hairs.