AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 78

The fact that this old Bonanza is about as good as it gets all these decades
later is either really cool, if you're a nostalgist, or terribly sad if you're a
futurist. Putting avionics and instrument panels aside for a moment, general aviation has looked pretty much the same for the past few decades. But,
futurist, fear not, as change is afoot-or shall we say, aflight?
Always in aviation, engines drive airframe development. Nowadays, though,
we should say that "propulsion" drives airframe development, as we are beginning to see the impact of electric motors on airframe designs. As with early
automobile development, much of what we see today likely will be relegated
to the history books in a couple of decades, but for now we are fascinated with
projects such as the Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer 2, a two-place electrically powered
trainer that is nearing certification. A four-place variant is also in development.
Pipistrel is delivering its two-place Alpha Electro, an electric aircraft certified
elsewhere in the world, but hopefully approved as a Light Sport aircraft in the
United States-flying at the moment under a special exemption, as the FAA regulations and Light Sport ASTM standards don't yet recognize electric motors
as a means of propulsion. History will undoubtedly look back and ask, "Why?"
The idea of ending a flight by plugging your airplane into the wall rather
than calling the fuel truck is intriguing, especially with projections of hourly
fuel costs of between $3 and $7. The cost of 100LL avgas averages $5.07 a
gallon at the moment, with many locations charging $6 to $8. Converting
the existing fleet to electric is unlikely, although hybrid electric may become
an option for some.
Converting existing airplanes to diesel engines may be more practical, but diesel development has languished. Diamond Aircraft offshoot
Austro and Continental Motors have had some success with diesel engines.
However, companies such as EPS-Engineered Propulsion Systems-and
DeltaHawk have had various diesel engine models in development for years,
always seemingly close to certification, but not quite there. Even then, it is
unclear how likely pilots will be to accept an all-new engine, despite frequent
complaints about the ancient air-cooled, horizontally opposed engines powering airplanes today, including my old Bonanza. Capable of burning jet fuel,
which is widely available around the globe, the diesel-cycle engines offer a
lot of promise, but the conversion costs will be high. And with barely 1,000
new piston-powered airplanes being manufactured a year, the new-airframe
market isn't all that lucrative, either.
Removing the lead from avgas would simplify distribution, eliminate the
constant threat from environmental groups, and clarify the future for many
piston-engine owners. But the development of an unleaded fuel has languished. Regardless, the use of fossil fuels is falling out of favor.
While the fuels effort has proven to be cumbersome, a characteristic of
many FAA projects, there have been regulatory wins that may spur some general aviation revitalization. For example, the FAA has seen the light when it
comes to allowing proven, modern safety-enhancing equipment to be more
easily installed in the legacy fleet.
Part 23 of the federal aviation regulations outlines the requirements
a manufacturer must meet to certify a new airplane. AOPA, the General
78 | AOPA PILOT February 2019

Aviation Manufacturers Association, and
other organizations worked with the FAA
on a decade-long project to rewrite the
onerous regulations into ones that are less
prescriptive and more appropriate to the
type of flying a particular airplane model
is designed for. In other words, moving
away from a one-size-fits-all approach
into a certification environment that
allows manufacturers to demonstrate in
simpler and novel ways that the product
meets the regulations. The goal is not a
lower level of safety. To the contrary, such
moves increase the likelihood that companies will develop new, affordable products
that take advantage of modern materials
and standards-which, in the long run, will
improve the safety, reliability, and utility
of the fleet. The Part 23 rewrite was fully
recognized by the FAA in late 2017. The
general aviation world is in a wait-andsee mode to understand what the future
might bring as a result. The perspective
from 2039 will be interesting indeed.
Meanwhile, the European regulatory
agencies-a traditional bastion of mercurial regulatory overbearingness-has
seen the light and begun to wind down
the onerous maintenance and certification
laws it once demanded for light general
aviation airplanes across the pond. The
European Aviation Safety Agency at one
point made the FAA look fleet and not at
all domineering. However, starting around
2015, EASA recognized that general aviation was all but gone from the continent
and that no one was being served well
by its Draconian oversight. As a result
it began to back off on its regulations,
and began encouraging general aviation
activity and manufacturing. The result is
several new high-performance light airplanes. Unfortunately none of them fit into
useful FAA categories, so they are a bit
handicapped if imported into the United
States. But it's another sign that general
aviation's future is bright, as companies

AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2019

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