This time last year, Continental was officially limiting EAB diesel applications to kit manufacturer’s supervised build programs, the notable example being the Diesel Sportsman. However, that’s scheduled to change as Continental quietly gains experience with individual installations.
In conversation, Continental’s Rhett Ross told Kitplanes they would start with the air-cooled CD-230, and later progress to the water cooled 100 and 300 series diesels. The goal is to establish clear requirements, procedures, and checklists for installation and Phase 1 flight test. Although each installation would be technically Experimental, they want the experiment to be carefully controlled.
The first EAB CD-230 installation is now running in an RV-10, and should progress to flight test shortly. The builder is Delta pilot Scott Flandermeyer. The diesel is rated at 230 HP, 30 less than the Van’s specified 540 Lycoming , but with turbocharging it may offer similar cruise speeds at altitude, and better fuel economy. Watch Kitplanes for more information as it becomes available.
