Now Cessna Aircraft has two diesel-engine aircraft in its single-engine line. The company displayed a Cessna 172 Turbo Skyhawk JT-A at EAA AirVenture and said that certification is expected “soon” for the Cessna 182 Turbo Skylane JT-A.
The Skyhawk JT-A is powered by a 155-horsepower Continental CD-155 diesel engine that is claimed to extend the aircraft’s range to 1,012 nautical miles, a 58-percent jump over the standard Skyhawk, and to increase speed to 131 knots true airspeed while burning 25 percent less fuel. It will be offered as an option in 2015.
The engine is already certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency for retrofit to newer Skyhawks under a supplemental type certificate.
“We’ve been working for a few years now to find new, reliable alternative fuel solutions for the Cessna Skyhawk to meet changing environmental regulations, particularly in Europe, as well as the limited global supply of (avgas),” said Joe Hepburn, Cessna’s senior vice president of piston aircraft. “The recent advances and growing maturity in diesel engine technology in the aviation market now give us the means to satisfy a growing demand around the world.”
The Continental Motors CD-155 engine was originally designed and produced by the Thielert Aircraft Engines as the Centurion 2.0S. (Piper is using the same engine in its Archer DX.) Cessna has long sought to produce a diesel Skyhawk, and in 2007 the company announced that it would start deliveries of Thielert-powered trainers the following year. But Thielert-powered aircraft were plagued by operational problems, the engines weren’t granted their projected 2,400 lifespans, and the German company was forced into bankruptcy. Continental purchased the company in 2013 and plans to produce a full range of diesel aircraft engines ranging from 135 to 300 horsepower.