> What the heck. Fully FADEC controlled and reliable engines with automated runup tests, what's not great about them? A run-up is a grand total of 4 inputs eve

> What the heck. Fully FADEC controlled and reliable engines with automated runup tests, what's not great about them? A run-up is a grand total of 4 inputs even on a gas engine with 2 ignition circuits (power, prop pitch, ignition 1, ignition 2). Automating this is not rocket science, it's a gimmick. Yes, the Diamond diesel is a Mercedes taxi cab diesel with an aftermarket gearbox and oil cooler. > The large numbers of people flying RV10s seem to disagree. Experimental aircraft are not an apples/apples comparison to certified aircraft, they are just barely airworthy. > Right, I can picture it right now, a C172 with a turbine engine. Maintenance and fuel requirements aren't even in the same league, no matter how small this turbine is. Because of the FAA. The cost to get an appointment with them prices most would-be competitors out of the market. The FAA exists to protect airline and defense contractor monopolies, period. Speaking of RV10s.... https://www.kitplanes.com/turbine-powered-rv-10/ https://www.kitplanes.com/turbine-powered-rv-10/ quote from the article: > What does TSG want for the firewall-forward package it is developing on the RV-10 (come on, I know you want to know)? “We are hoping to offer it for between $168,000 and $175,000 USD.” From its quoted operating cost of 20-25 gallons per hour that's doable. The last gas piston single I owned held 92 gallons and burned 19 per hour in cruise (a turbo Lycoming 540). Range would be a tradeoff, because of the increased weight of the fuel, but the bigger hindrance is weight and balance mismatches, which brings us full circle to my original point: The entire industry has been held teetering on the verge of bankruptcy by the FAA for the last 40 years. And by "FAA" I mean their corporate and military "customers" as they refer to them when emails get subpoenaed. No one in their right mind would design new light GA airplanes (Cirrus and Socata included). All of the domestic US manufacturers have either quit or gotten the "Goldman Sachs special" (bought, loaded with debt, intentionally bankrupted, and then sold off to Textron for the meager parts supply chain profits). Flying machines were a great idea, unfortunately they were invented in a shithole country...