Actually plenty of studies have been done indicating that auto powerplants are far more reliable than their aviation cousins. The auto engines have been tested for millions upon millions of hours collectively and have been put through far worse torture tests than any aviation engine I have heard of. The aviation engine designs also herald back to the 1930's with only very slight modifications over time. New and improved auto engine designs come out every few years with plenty of improvements and innovations since the 30's. That's not saying that you can just pull one out of a car and throw it in a plane, a lot has to be done to make it safe in the air, but with a little know and patience they are far superior to aviation engines. From a price standpoint you can get a new or rebuilt high performance auto engine for a minute fraction of the cost of an aviation engine and the auto engine will include advanced fuel management, fuel injection, a turbo or supercharger, intercooler, an electronic sensor/troubleshooting suite, and better fuel economy than an aero engine and the TBO is the same or longer and costs less than a quarter of the price of a lycoming TBO. The high performance isn't meant to be used as such, it is simply meant to beef up the engine and is more insurance than anything else. In addition to the better parts options, availability, price, and upgrades, the auto engines win every time. The aviation market just doesn't have even a drop in the bucket compared to the auto world in R&D budget, and that's not even including the gigantic aftermarket suppliers. On our engine the glass panel setup is almost included in the price of the engine since we have every readout known to man available so we can see what the engine is doing and how it is performing at all times. This kind of advanced warning and troubleshooting simply isn't available on commercial aero engines. The weights are about the same too once the auto engines are stripped of unnecessary parts like cast iron exhaust manifolds and heavy auto engine mounts and that is even including the weight of the PSRU(prop speed reduction unit). I would much rather fly behind something that I have driven to work every day with no problems my entire life than an aged design which is forced to redline every time it takes off or lands. The engine we are using in place of the aviation equivalent has 1.5 times the horsepower (greater ceiling and less strain on takeoffs/landings)and can cruise at a modest 2500 rpm and gives us a far greater range. Sorry to rant, but I have done my homework and auto engines in aircraft simply kill their aviation cousins.
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Hey Joe, does Kermit still have his Grumman Duck? They were flying that thing daily. The Storch had been taken to bits....it's been a while since I was out there.
