News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on FAA approves hundreds more engines to use unleaded avgas. Parent comment

Re:FAA approves hundreds more engines to use unleaded avgas by lutorm on Saturday October 30, 2021 @02:51AM (#29046621)
The difference in operational regime is true, although it's my impression that automobile engines are pushed through some very severe tests as part of their development. For example, this movie, https://youtu.be/GNPB3RtHN2M, claims that KIA tests their engines for 300 straight hours at full throttle.

As for reliability, I'm not convinced. In practical terms, I think automobile engines are far more reliable than aircraft engines. When was the last time your automobile engine broke an exhaust valve, cracked a cylinder head, or had a magneto come apart?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:FAA approves hundreds more engines to use unleaded avgas by userbinator on Sunday October 31, 2021 @01:41AM (#29054742)
When was the last time your automobile engine broke an exhaust valve, cracked a cylinder head, or had a magneto come apart?

Exactly. An automobile engine is subjected to far less stresses in normal operation. 300h at full load is considered an extreme torture test for one, while a typical aircraft engine is meant to run for over 1000h between overhaul ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_between_overhauls ) and spends a significant amount of that time at full load --- that's normal operating conditions.

[ Parent | on HN ]