Continental Aerospace Technologies yesterday announced the development of a new diesel engine designed specifically for use in rotorcraft.
The Continental CD-170R variant is an evolution of the company's four-cylinder CD-170 engine that was launched in 2020 for fixed-wing single-engine aircraft.
The 170-hp, turbo-charged engine combines Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), resulting in lower fuel consumption and dual redundancy.
Continental believes the new engine could burn around 30 lph of jet fuel per hour when in cruise.
“We are incredibly proud to expand Continental’s engine line to include a rotorcraft-specific Heavy Fuel Engine," said David Dörner, Vice President of Global Research and Development.
"This is a major innovation milestone in Continental’s history that will allow us to serve even more pilots and operators in the general aviation industry.
“Transforming the pilot experience, the CD-170R was engineered with the pilot's needs at the forefront. Controlled via FADEC with rotorcraft-specific software mapping, pilots can now direct their focus toward the critical phases of flight and mission, alleviating the need to manage both the throttle and the collective simultaneously.”
As a rotorcraft-specific powerplant, the CD-170R does not include a gearbox, making it lighter by nearly 17 kg.
Contiental states that the CD-170R will debut with a Time Between Replacement (TBR) of 1200 hours, which is expected to increase with time in service.