Thielert Aircraft Engines (TAE) is uprating its Centurion 4.0 from 310hp (230KW) to 350hp as it works to find a launch customer for the diesel-cycle engine and build its retrofit business for the smaller Centurion 1.7 unit, which powers the Diamond DA40 and DA42.
So far, only prototype aircraft – including the High Performance Aircraft TT62 – have flown with the 4.0 engine, but managing director Frank Thielert says TAE hopes to secure a volume production deal soon that would see it manufacture 60 units next year once the 350hp version is certificated.
Thielert says that in 2005 the company's retrofit business will overtake its main original equipment customer – Diamond Aviation – in terms of units for the first time, with more than 300 engines sold. Earlier this year, the company won US Federal Aviation Administration supplemental type certification for its Centurion 1.7 kit for the Cessna 172, and will add the Piper PA-28 "very soon". The German company now plans to ramp up its service network in the USA, using the aircraft manufacturers' own facilities, and is setting up a training centre in Dallas.
Source: Flight International
