Saturday at Sun ‘n Fun, the IndUS Aviation folks, who were the first to get their airplanes certified as LSAs, will show off their latest achievement, an LSA that flies with an ASTM-certified diesel engine. “Now our technology can go worldwide,” IndUS President Ram Pattisapu told AVweb on Friday. In many parts of the world, he said, diesel and jet A are the preferred fuels, while avgas and even motorgas are hard to come by. “We’re an American company, based in Dallas,” Pattisapu said, “but we want to sell to the global market.” Here in the U.S., as well, interest in the engine alternative is high; the engine typically burns up to 25 percent less fuel than gasoline engines at the same power setting, and can run on biofuels as well. The WAM-120 is a three-cylinder, two-stroke liquid-cooled engine of inverted configuration with pressure-fed lubrication and an integral sump. It weighs no more than traditional avgas engines, the company says, and is easy to install.
Pattisapu said the diesel-equipped airplane will sell for around $125,000. For more information about the IndUS diesel aircraft and to join the online discussion, visit the Kitplanes blog.
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