Although avgas is expensive, there is no shortage in the U.S., and oil companies continue to support its production and distribution. Nonetheless, Cessna Aircraft has decided to outfit its best-selling 172 Skyhawk with a diesel engine. Starting in the middle of next year, Cessna dealers will sell the Skyhawk TD powered by a 155-hp Thielert turbocharged diesel engine installed under an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC).
Cessna officials had expected to see more demand for the Skyhawk TD outside the U.S., where avgas prices are much higher than in the U.S., according to John Doman, vice president for worldwide propeller aircraft sales. But since it announced the jet-A-powered Skyhawk TD at the AOPA Expo early last month, he said, “domestically the dealer organizations are ordering them in greater numbers than we expected.” (Cessna made the announcement to its dealers earlier in the year. See AIN, September, page 104.)
