Steam powered Aircraft

That makes you wonder just what could be done with modern tech. The heat source would probably be electric, with a generator driven by the engine. Initial start would likely require external power to get the water heated, but the real problem would be electrical efficiency of the generator. Would it be able to keep up with electrical demant without being too heavy? I know the green activists would be happy to see one work!
 
Tom Clayton said:
That makes you wonder just what could be done with modern tech. The heat source would probably be electric, with a generator driven by the engine. Initial start would likely require external power to get the water heated, but the real problem would be electrical efficiency of the generator. Would it be able to keep up with electrical demant without being too heavy? I know the green activists would be happy to see one work!
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Solar cells.
 
Tom Clayton said:
That makes you wonder just what could be done with modern tech. The heat source would probably be electric, with a generator driven by the engine. Initial start would likely require external power to get the water heated, but the real problem would be electrical efficiency of the generator. Would it be able to keep up with electrical demant without being too heavy? I know the green activists would be happy to see one work!
Click to expand...

Can't see it ever happening in aviation. Thrust to weight ratio could never match what's already available. There are some efforts to create fuel cell engines for aircraft but even for them the current technology makes for poor thrust to weight. Same story for battery power. Solar power is limited by the necessary square footage of current cells and therefore you can only fly the most spindly kind of aircraft with it.

Where I wish general aviation would go is simply to catch up to the technology of automobile engines. Direct fuel injection combined with turbocharging would truly revolutionize GA. It is sad to see how much piston aircraft engine technology has stagnated. Modern fuel metering systems used in direct injection would represent a doubling of fuel economy and that would also represent a dramatic reduction of emissions.

I drive a Ford with a direct fuel injected turbocharged engine that weighs less than what's on my Skyhawk and yet produces more torque and horsepower at lower RPM's and on greatly improved fuel economy and vastly less emissions. Vice going for the revolutionary options, I'd simply like to see the best of what's already out there finally adopted in aviation.

Ken
 
Well, perhaps not in real life... but in FS 9 you can.

Search for "Potter's Steam Aeroplane" at the larger sites.

Search: uabat.zip
 
Ken, you're right about the thrust/weight ratio. The water itself weights 33% more than gasoline, and the weight of the heating element will be pretty high for the foreseeable future.

To be a little more realistic, I'd rather see a diesel with FADEC and electronic direct injection. There are plenty of places in less developed regions where gasoline is scare - not to mention avgas. Everything there runs on diesel or kerosene. That's why the only planes you see flying in are turbines. With a diesel piston engine, the pilot wouldn't need a turbine rating, and the cost of the plane would probably be lower too.
 
Tom Clayton said:
Ken, you're right about the thrust/weight ratio. The water itself weights 33% more than gasoline, and the weight of the heating element will be pretty high for the foreseeable future.

To be a little more realistic, I'd rather see a diesel with FADEC and electronic direct injection. There are plenty of places in less developed regions where gasoline is scare - not to mention avgas. Everything there runs on diesel or kerosene. That's why the only planes you see flying in are turbines. With a diesel piston engine, the pilot wouldn't need a turbine rating, and the cost of the plane would probably be lower too.
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As Hawker-Beechcraft emerges from bankruptcy, they have said they are looking at diesel piston powered Barons and Bonanzas as future projects.
 
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