They lack a bunch of emissions control equipment like fuel injection, catalytic converters, and the like.
They are 60's or maybe 80's car engines that are still made since nobody in GA wants to pay for better ones.
They are 60's or maybe 80's car engines that are still made since nobody in GA wants to pay for better ones.
Since nobody wants to pay to certify better ones.
The engine in a Cessna 172 is going to run you $20-40k (20k rebuilt, 40k new afaict - check out [0]) - far more expensive than an automobile engine with 'equivalent' performance. The difference is that the Lycoming is certified by the FAA for use with your airframe. (And it'll work in whatever conditions you care to name, and with a car engine that's only a 'probably')
Yeah unfortunately the weight and size of those systems is prohibitive for most light aircraft. Plus catalytic converters and oxygen sensors for closed loop efi can’t be used with leaded fuel.
> They are 60's or maybe 80's car engines that are still made since nobody in GA wants to pay for better ones.
The Lycoming and continental engines in most of the fleet were certified in the early 50s. A few were in the early 60s. That means they were designed in the 40s and 50s!