Right, he didn't say it can't be done it's just that for various reasons it isn't economically viable. Right off hand, I do not know how Diamond managed to work the numbers on their Benz diesel conversion because they obviously do not sell more than a few hundred DA-40's with those diesels per year. I cannot imagine it is paying for itself. I suspect they are losing money so they can keep existing airplanes in the fleet going and retain customers. If you know otherwise, I am all ears. They are not going to show the balance sheet anyway, so we will never know. But one thing is for certain- multiple attempts to put automotive engines in airplanes have transpired and they never really work because of FAA certification costs and the overall poor payback on the deal.

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Cirrus Prez Comes Out Against 94UL

(Brent Wouters, 06/17/10 Cirrus Aircraft) Cirrus Aircraft Community, Recently there has been much industry discussion regarding the future of 100LL aviation gasoline, the likely transition to an unleaded aviation fuel in the future and the possible impacts to owners, operators and general aviation industry health of a future fuel. While this subject is by no means a new issue, the recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issuance of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) regarding lead content in aviation fuel formally initiates a regulatory decision-making process and has increased awareness of this topic and its potential future impacts. Cirrus has been actively working on this fuel issue for many years now and we are integrally involved in the industry leadership team working with the EPA, the FAA, and avgas producers. Simply, we are aggressively focused to achieve the very best path ahead and Cirrus will ensure that this path will keep your aircraft flying with the minimum possible transition and operating costs...