I spoke with Ian Bently and Sarah Doherty yesterday and today. I wanted to place an order, but I continued to be concerned about the risk of sending money to a start-up before they were profitable. I came away confident that the company will not only make it, but that they have a good chance of being very successful.
Ian and I talked a lot about the desiel engine. He is a big proponant of it in Cirrus aircraft. The bottom line is that once a viable diesel is certified, Cirrus intends to offer it as an option as long as the price and other factors aren’t deal killers. Ian said that realistically, it will probably be at least two years before we see the European desiel engine operating on SR20s in the USA. Beyond the obvious certification issues, Ian pointed out that it will take a while before a service network can be established for the new engine by its manufacturer.
As to Continental’s engine, Cirrus is very interested. However, Continental still has weight and other issues to resolve. Continental is apparently not as far along as the French/Europians.