FADEC Proves Itself In Flight Tests

TCM is spilling the beans on some intriguing test flights that they've undertaken in recent days. Over the course of these tests, TCM achieved a peak fuel economy of 30.7 miles per gallon in a Full Authority Digital Electronic Controlled (FADEC) piston engine aircraft. The fuel economy demonstration flight consisted of two legs of 339.3 nautical miles each.

The flight was conducted in a Diamond DA20 (file photo below) powered by a TCM IOF240 FADEC controlled engine. The flight covered a 678.6 NM round-trip route from Mobile Downtown Airport (KBFM) in Mobile, Alabama to Craig Municipal Airport (KCRG) in Jacksonville, Florida. On the first leg, the flight achieved 30.7 miles per gallon. Due to inclement weather on the return leg, TCM demonstration pilot, Tim Kenney, requested several vectors and altitude changes to avoid thunderstorms and turbulence. Even with the diversions on the return leg, which are a normal part of flying in the real world, the FADEC powered DA20 achieved an average 24.4 MPG rating with an average true airspeed of 127 MPH over the full 678.6 NM course.

File Photo

"Today's announcement is another example of Continental Motors' commitment towards advancing modern engine technology without compromising owner economy" said Rhett Ross, President of Teledyne Continental Motors (pictured below). "TCM's FADEC products offers today's pilot reduced workloads and operating costs - Two distinct benefits that only TCM can deliver," Ross concluded.

TCM's FADEC provides single lever, electronic engine control for piston powered general aviation aircraft. It is the first production system of its kind for piston engine aircraft designed to reduce a pilot's engine management tasks to simply selecting the desired power setting through a single control lever. The power of FADEC also gives operators and maintainers unprecedented access to diagnostic and analytical tools enabling faster and more reliable fault detection and correction which minimizes downtime and maximizes utility.

FMI: www.GenuineContinental.aero, www.teledyne.com