By Steven W. Ells
There are now more than 1,500 diesel-powered airplanes flying around the world. One industry publication predicts that the number will increase by 500 by the end of 2008 and sales will further escalate each consecutive year.
It’s also predicted that diesel engines will become more accepted and will be increasingly found at flight academies in locations such as India, China, and the Middle East. In addition, diesels will power the evolution to smaller, more local flying services and commuter aircraft flying in archipelagos with small airports in the British Isles, the Azores, the Caribbean, and the Maldives.
The report, published in The Diesel Air Newsletter , further predicts that this growth will spur the mass production of diesel engines, making them more affordable, which will enable small aircraft utility to expand around the world. By 2015, diesels will take over what the publication terms “what’s left” of the North American market.
January 3, 2008