Oshkosh, WI, USA, July 26, 2011 – Centurion Aircraft Engines AG & Co. KG is expecting its presence at this years AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, to be a positive one. The German company, based in Saxony, will be presenting its environmentally friendly Centurion-series diesel aircraft engines for general aviation aircraft at the event on Stand 98. The company has also reported excellent figures regarding the reliability and safety of its engines. The amount of cumulative flight time logged has risen by half a million hours, a figure that shows just how intensively these engines have been operated by Centurion’s loyal customers.
The Centurion-series engines stand out thanks to their unique level of fuel efficiency and their reliability. In contrast to the competition, these engines have been developed so that these, having the same weight, can be installed without modifying or replacing the cowlings. It is precisely this fact that makes their use in a variety of manned and unmanned aircraft possible and makes replacing the Centurion 1.7 with the Centurion 2.0 very simple in all aircraft. Both engines have an above-average level of reliability. According to the FAA, engines used in general aviation experience an average of ten engine failures or “in-flight shutdowns” (IFSDs) every 100,000 flight hours. The shutdown rate of Centurion engines is around 50 percent lower and has been reduced even further since the last EAA AirVenture a year ago.
Taking the period since its introduction onto the market in 2003 into consideration, the shutdown rate for all Centurion engine models is 5.46 for every 100,000 flight hours. In fact, measured over the last 52 weeks, the shutdown rate of the most recent engine model, the Centurion 2.0, has been just 2.32 IFSDs per 100,000 flight hours, thus being the most reliable piston engine for use in general aviation. Naturally, the Centurion 2.0 possesses various advantages over the 1.7 thanks to all of the experience gained from the field with its predecessor which was integrated in the development of the 2.0. During the same period the cumulative flight time of the Centurion fleet rose by half a million hours to reach 2.7 million hours.
“Around 1.36 million of the flight hours account for Centurion 1.7, and with its introduction onto the market in 2002 we encouraged the market to develop alternative propulsion systems for small aircraft and UAVs. Its successors, the serially-produced Centurion 2.0 and the Centurion 2.0s, have generated 1.34 million flight hours to date. Well over 3,000 Centurion engines have already been delivered in total,” explained Centurion CEO Jasper M. Wolffson.
Centurion engines are also highly rated from the environmental point of view. Since they do not emit any lead, they are not affected by the EPA’s initiatives or by lawsuits like those in California. “Centurion engines are fit for the future both commercially and ecologically as they can run on standard kerosene-type jet fuel and are not reliant on aviation gasoline or avgas,” said Jasper M. Wolffson. “Not only are they independent from avgas – Centurion engines also have a whole range of other ecological advantages: They do not give off lead, and emissions of nitrogen and hydrocarbons are considerably lower in comparison to avgas engines. Moreover, Centurion engines basically consume less fuel and adhere to strict noise pollution regulations.”
Centurion Aircraft Engines AG & Co. KG will be presenting its Centurion engines and installation kits at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, at Stand 98 from 25 – 31 July, 2011.
